As a small business owner it is hard to give up crucial functions within your business, so you can focus on actually running your company. However, without giving up some of the responsibility of those crucial functions you may be setting yourself and your business up for setbacks. Have you found yourself trying to not only be a business owner, but the sales manager too? Even though you are the ultimate expert when it comes to your business it may not translate well into being a sales manager. Here are a few reasons trying to be in both roles at the same time can be a bad idea for your business.

Providing Meaningful Feedback
You just don’t have the time to give your sales team the attention it deserves. A big part of managing your sales team is observing their performance and giving them critical feedback. Without feedback your sales reps won’t know where to improve in the process. Providing the right kind of sales training and coaching can make or break your business.

Developing the Right Metrics
Knowing what kind of metrics to hold your sales reps accountable to may be overwhelming. How are you supposed to measure your sales reps’ performance if you are unsure on what to measure? Developing sales Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) can be critical to your business’ success. Sales reps need something to measure their performance against and a way to hold themselves accountable. Developing the right metrics can take time, and you may not have that time by trying to play both roles.

Having the Right Strategy
You know your business inside and out, but do you know what kind of sales strategy will work best? Providing accurate sales forecasting, insight on how to manage your sales funnel pipeline, overall sales strategy on opportunities, and general sales management to your sales team is essential to your business succeeding. Developing a sales strategy that works can take time, and as the owner you may not have enough time to dedicate to this vital function.

Just Not Interested
Are sales your passion? Is it why you started your business? Probably not. You started your business because you are passionate about your service or product. Although you know sales are important to your company’s success, they may not be your favorite function to focus on. As the owner you will likely want to focus on what you are passionate about, and that is understandable. However, you need to be able to recognize when to bring someone else in to help with this important function.

Some business owners may thrive in acting in multiple roles in their business, but that doesn’t mean it is for everyone. Knowing your strengths and weaknesses as an owner, and when to ask for help, can be just are crucial to your business as a great sales strategy. Don’t hurt your business by trying to wear too many hats, and always know when to give each core function the attention it deserves.