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Dear Quota Team,
"I’m part of a small sales team (100% remote) within a large company – I’m one of 3 reps. I am the highest performer by a longshot – the other two have much less industry and overall sales experience.
Our manager means well but is spread thin. We are one of 2 teams he oversees, and the other team is much larger. Naturally, we are often overlooked / not given as much attention or recognition, but lately with our overall numbers lagging our manager is growing impatient with us, despite not investing much time in training and resources for our specialized product.
To make things more frustrating, he is constantly late to our huddle calls, and when he’s on them he’s barely even paying attention and obviously answering emails / Skype chats. I spend maybe 30 minutes total a week in front of him. He continues to lean on me to get the other two up to speed. I help when I can, but it is a high-volume role- lots of cold calling.
I don’t feel it should fall on me to basically manage my peers when I’m not being compensated for it and taking away from time I could spend selling. How should I address this (or should I even address this?) without putting myself in a bad place with my boss?"
Overwhelmed in Idaho
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Dear Overwhelmed,
This is honestly one of the tougher questions we’ve received, since the answer isn’t as black and white as some of the others. That being said, it comes down to this: you’re frustrated enough to write in for advice, which means you should address this with your boss.
There’s a good chance that he doesn’t even realize that he’s asking you to do work for free, and it’s obvious that he feels like he can count on you, so it makes sense to broach the situation with him directly, in an honest, professional, and nice way, then let the chips fall where they may.
One of two things will happen after the conversation: either he’ll respect your honesty and initiative and agree to help you, or he’ll get angry and not help. If it’s the latter, then it might be time to look for a role where you’re not asked to act as management without a manager’s comp plan. It’s still a job seeker’s market out there, and since you know how to sell and presumably have a track record, you won’t have a problem landing a great gig.
So don’t let your frustration keep building up. Address the issue head-on, and you’ll feel better, one way or the other. The squeaky wheel gets the grease, and you’re pretty squeaky right now. Good luck!
