What do you need to become a manager? Books for sellers

The inspiration to try yourself as a product manager can strike any team member. Is it necessary to have a special education for this, if such a thing is available at all? And are just “burning eyes” and a great desire enough to become a successful product manager? The stories of many large companies and startups show that it is possible.

Product managers are professionals who work with and for a product from the ideation stage to release and post-release activities. Such specialists play a key role in companies of different sizes and levels, often performing related responsibilities, including in the field of marketing.

Statistics are widely available today that show that product managers often earn equal or more than developers. Moreover, for this it is not necessary to “knock” on the company’s door as a junior. Many successful PMs immediately rise to the level of product owner or product director.

What does it take to have a successful career as a product manager?

It's unlikely that you dream of becoming a product manager as a child. Moreover, it is unlikely that the nearest university or college will offer a classical discipline. But today various courses and seminars are very popular, and every year more and more interesting books and cases from large companies prepared specifically for PM development.

You may not have the initial background and sufficient experience for a career as a product manager. Practice shows that, most likely, people come to product management in three cases:

• from development, When " inner world“The product is becoming scarce and I want to go beyond development, getting involved in team, communication, organizational and marketing issues of the product.
• from marketing, when a specialist has enough experience and knowledge about the product to delve into its details and all stages of the life cycle.
• from the team of a product when it simply becomes cramped in its functionality and there is enough experience and knowledge on the product to invest more of your own efforts for successful releases. This could be any experienced player on the team from support, testing, marketing, etc.

Some studies show that product management often includes project managers, business analysts, and ex-product owners. A fairly large percentage of students entering this area are those who have just graduated from specialized educational institutions.

Generally, business leaders and HR managers who hire a product manager look for three things:

• professional competencies and skills
• personal and interpersonal characteristics
• compatibility with the team and compliance with the company philosophy

Each of the points has its own undoubted importance, but the first thing a novice product manager should pay attention to is professional competencies.

Professional skills of a product manager

Professional skills for a product manager are a set of skills from different areas. Much of this must-have list is acquired with experience and years. Here are some important areas that PMs need to focus on early in their career:

• working with product strategy at a very early planning stage
• effective interviewing of clients
• user testing
• organization and support of sprints
• working with priorities and (product roadmap).
• proper allocation of resources
• pricing
• defining and tracking various metrics
• assessing market conditions, etc.

How do product managers differ between startups and large companies?

Product manager at a startup

A PM at a startup can simultaneously be responsible for discovery controversial issues, feature preparation, pricing, support issues, marketing and sales.

It is important here to always be prepared for frequent changes and be able to quickly take a different direction, as the company operates in a highly competitive product market and learns to become larger.

• Advantages: Product managers in startups can be more actively involved in the company's strategy, can have more influence on top management and can take risks. In startups, PMs have enough influence and authority.
• Flaws: Startups typically don't offer mentorship, great practices, or a lot of experience to borrow. Here you will always have to do almost everything yourself and for the first time. There likely won't be huge budgets, so many initiatives will be limited.

Product manager in a large company

Here, product managers may have a more narrow job specificity and often delegate tasks. PMs in large companies are most often part of a large management team.

• Advantages: large companies, are likely to provide product managers with mentorship, company best practices, and exemplary role models. The client base will most likely be developed and you won’t have to start from scratch. Work will also be established with specific .
• Flaws: Product managers in mature companies are less familiar with global strategy. They can easily get lost or, on occasion, fail to navigate the organizational system and company policies in time.

What tips and tricks can help aspiring product managers become gurus and gain the trust of their stakeholders? Where to begin? The 10 tips below are not a panacea, but each of them should work when applied correctly, regardless of industry or product specifics.

The more research the better

This is something a potential product manager should think about the day before. It is important to study the industry in detail, the history of the product (if any), competitors and target audience.

The more you study the product and everything connected with it, the easier it will be for you to “get on your feet” in your career.

Try the product

If you want to better understand a product or service, try it for yourself. For managers working with consumer goods and products, it is very important to know as much as possible about the product they offer. It is important to interact with the product daily and “test” all updates.

If you work with B2B or B2C products, ask for access to a demo. Typically, such access can be provided by a sales manager or support team.

Know the global goals of management

This doesn't require completely accepting your boss's philosophy of life. Nobody likes a copycat. However, trying to find out more about personal feelings and impressions of the product, goals and prospects can help form a common team position on various issues.

Communicate with clients

Do not limit yourself in communicating with clients directly. Sometimes friendly existing customers who have been using the product for a long time can provide useful information. feedback, offer interesting idea or identify pain in time. This interaction can be used in future stages of the roadmap.

Make friends with the sales manager

Of course, communication should be developed with all team members. For example, a project manager is the person who can quickly introduce internal projects; he should work closely with QA and developers. In turn, sales managers are closer to customers and know the market better technical side. Sales professionals can give you insight into how active customers are using the product in Everyday life. This experience will provide a deep understanding of the product and demonstrate all its strengths and weaknesses.

Try yourself in support

Spend a few days, or better yet a week, answering customer calls and emails and solving their problems. Let it be 30, 50 or even 100 requests that you try to handle on your own. Of course, there must be a competent employee nearby to resolve difficult situations.

Know your competitors

Before your first interview with a product representative, be sure to inquire about the current position of the main competitors. Study them Latest updates and current offers, market reaction.

Plan to participate in available conferences and other useful events

In the first months of working with the product, you probably won't have time for external professional events. But when the situation gets back to normal, start looking for useful activities that can provide you with new professional knowledge and contacts.

Read and study

Nothing can teach you better than your own experience. Only your own ideas, mistakes and achievements will give you confidence in working with a new product. However, often borrowed experience and theory can also lead to brilliant solutions. Today, classic publications about product management and new products, interesting articles and product blogs are widely available, where you can always find useful information. It wouldn’t hurt to subscribe to specialized groups on social networks.

Professional tools

As a new product manager, you will definitely need a convenient and friendly service with tools for managing goals and tasks, planning, reporting systems and working with remote employees.

An important functionality for a product manager is backlog management. Proper work with the sequence of tasks will help to avoid the build-up of the backlog, organize ideas and plan iterations.

Conclusion

The great thing about being a product manager is that there is no perfect path to career development, and there are no significant obstacles that can prevent any applicant from becoming a successful PM. The role of product manager in a team today is a prestigious and sought-after field where you can make a real tangible difference and impact.

Often good manager product is self-taught. If you're serious about product management, by listening, memorizing, and practicing, you'll quickly learn everything the profession requires.

The most important thing about a professional sales approach is that you don't have to wait for something to happen, you can make it happen. The most successful professionals maintain a beginner's attitude when selling, where you approach the selling process as a continuous learning process. We are constantly learning “little” things that make a “big” difference. There is no benefit from the trade deal we almost made. We must keep up with change, otherwise our clients will have to deal with competitors.

Successful attitude
You must start before you fail. Most people really don't fail because they don't really start. Failure is an event, not a person. You may have failures, but that doesn't mean you become a failure. Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he invented the light bulb. Edison convinced himself that every failure was another step on the path to success.

No person has ever been 100% successful in life. Remember: you cannot control all the circumstances in your life, but you can do a lot to control how you feel about them. Positive thinking It won't make you all-powerful, but it will allow you to do everything better than negative thinking. When you realize that your prospective client is, first of all, a person, an individual, you will feel much more confident.

Search for clients
Without customers, you are out of business. Always look for the intended client! Always when there are people around you. Constantly work on developing relationships with other people, especially people in your related field. Forced selling is caused by a lack of prospective clients, which is a consequence of insufficient hard work, which in turn is caused by total laziness.

The basis of the sale is good conversation. The secret to getting a meeting for a conversation like this is to first sell the meeting. Meetings are easier to sell than, for example, houses, insurance, cars or computers. There's little benefit in telling a prospective customer about your product if you haven't first sold them on the importance of listening to you. Use the first 10 seconds of your call to “buy” the time you need to talk. full history. Do not hurry. You shouldn't talk about a product if you can't finish your story. No ending - no sale. Sell ​​the conversation before you start selling the product.

How to deal with the fear of communicating with clients
People for whom persuasion is a profession, for example, theater and film actors, lecturers, managers, teachers, doctors and sales specialists, have a lot in common, including experiences associated with the “moment of truth.” No matter where this moment occurs - in front of an audience, in front of a movie camera, in front of a crowd of people, in front of office employees, students, patients, potential clients - the nature of the fear experienced is the same everywhere.

Few representatives of the sales profession can boast of the absence of anxiety and excitement on the eve of a meeting with clients. In fact, according to research by psychologists who have studied the impact of fear on performance since the 1970s, sales professionals who experienced reluctance to meet with clients earned approximately $40,000 a year in commissions, while people who overcame this psychological barrier earned more than $200,000 a year. thousands of dollars, and representatives of both groups were largely equivalent in terms of ability, opportunity, motivation, intelligence, training and experience. Moreover, the “reluctant” group spent much more money on understanding what to do and on appropriate training. Their emotional attitudes did not allow them to fully realize all their potential.

However, you may be part of a group who have overcome their reluctance to meet or call clients. To do this, you need to learn how to make your worries work for you, and not against you. I assure you that those who earn huge amounts of money from sales also experience anxiety and worry. Their advantage lies in the ability to correctly direct their nervous energy. As they say, you will never get rid of goosebumps, but you can make them run in the right direction.

By the way, if you don't feel any anxiety about closing deals with clients, your chances of getting into sales aren't that great. A healthy and functioning body is equipped with an endocrine system that produces all the chemical components necessary for success in life. The anxiety experienced on the eve of communication with clients is a biological reaction to a stressful situation. At the same time, the pituitary gland releases adrenaline, which increases the mental and physical abilities of a person. Scientists have clearly proven that when adrenaline is produced as needed, we react to situations faster, more accurately and with more energy. Simply put, when you get your goosebumps running in the right direction, you also direct the adrenaline flow properly - it works for you, not against you. According to sales experts, 84% of all sales professionals experience fear of communicating with clients to one degree or another. This fear manifests itself 1001 in different ways, but the main indicator of the presence of this problem is procrastination and procrastination. If a sales specialist comes up with a lot of unimportant things that need to be done before meeting clients, then fear rules the roost!

The fear of being in front of an audience depends heavily on your self-image. If a sales professional feels fear or awe of a prospect, it will be extremely difficult for him to give an effective presentation. A professional who thinks, “Who am I to tell a client that my product, goods and services will make them happy?” is far from the level of enthusiasm, drive, focus and self-confidence required for success.

Until a professional salesman weanes himself from looking up or down at anyone, he will be a hostage to his own anxieties. When it comes to your service or product, you are the expert! In your field, you have significantly more knowledge, competence and experience than the potential client. Mediocrity will rule the roost until the salesperson becomes a sales professional, realizing that every person has their own strengths.

Develop confidence in everyone
One of the best ways to believe in yourself is to replay on your “mental video recorder” recordings of those moments when you were truly at your best. Return to any of your successful experiences: a major sale; good grades At school; your achievements in music or sports; successfully hitting the ball in tennis; a time when true harmony reigned in your family; events where you were set as an example to others. Pick one of these moments and try to remember the sights, smells and sensations that accompanied your success. And the next time you feel paralyzing fear approaching, “play” this life-affirming, positive recording for yourself again.

Then remind yourself that no matter how successful, wealthy, or powerful your prospect is, he is just as fallible as you and I. It is impossible to achieve one hundred percent success in life. My experience shows that the more success a person achieved, the more obstacles, mistakes and painful blows he faced. life path. Realizing that the potential buyer is an ordinary mortal will make it easier for you to cope with your fears.

Find out everything you can about your potential buyer. The more you know about him, the more respect he will have for you. In addition, your awareness translates into good customer feelings towards you and your business. Respect from the client will help you grow in your own eyes.

High self-esteem and proper self-respect are extremely important, since a sales professional with such qualities considers himself free in his work and acts more effectively. A self-respecting professional feels responsible for sales results and will never say: “I was just lucky.” He understands that the efforts made produce results if these efforts are made by a competent and confident specialist. Rarely, if ever, are those who sit idle lucky.

A professional with high self-esteem loves to sell and can't wait to meet a potential client face to face. What he thinks most about is how to become a buyer's assistant, he is deeply interested in meeting the needs of the client, realizing that simply “good intentions” are not enough in today's market. When you hit the bull's eye in meeting customer needs, you grow even more in your own eyes. As a result, your work becomes even more effective, which in turn improves your self-esteem.

Sales managers with healthy self-esteem love themselves and get along with themselves. They are dedicated to their profession, their product, their company. And you can make your anxiety work for you, rather than against you, by focusing your attention on something that is within your control—you! By building self-confidence and self-esteem through a foundation of personal responsibility, you are taking the first step toward overcoming your reluctance to meet with potential clients.

The second step in overcoming your anxieties requires recognizing that selling is a transfer of feelings. As you learn to focus on yourself and thereby increase your self-esteem, you must understand that the most successful sales managers close deals by focusing their attention on the prospect.

Yes, it is clear that the only reason for entering into all transactions is to receive money. I don’t deny that money can serve as a motivating (and necessary) factor here. After all, if you don't make money, you won't be able to do this business. But if you trade solely for the sake of money, your performance will be very modest. There is a serious danger here. If you focus only on money or your financial situation forces you to make a sale, you will instinctively put too much pressure on the client or become obsessed with your needs, putting hidden pressure on yourself, creating self-doubt and anxiety.

Financial problems can bring down even the most resilient of us, so if you want to truly succeed in the field of professional sales, you need to learn how to manage your money. Money is a choice. With money, you have a lot to choose from. Without money, your choice is extremely limited. I might add that without money you have to live solely on hope. You hope that your car's tires won't fall apart on the road and the car itself won't get damaged; you hope that the children will not get sick, the suit will look decent for some time... We all need positive hopes, and negative hopes make life humiliating and significantly reduce your performance.

You'll literally be amazed at how much more relaxed you'll feel when your financial future isn't at stake and you can focus on the prospect rather than your own problems. Sales, in fact, is about conveying feelings. And if you simply “exude” the idea that you have to make a sale for your benefit, the chances of a successful transaction are significantly reduced. But if the prospect feels that you want to make the sale in their best interest, those chances increase exponentially.

Fear of the phone
A sales professional who is competent in using and understanding the benefits of the telephone and confident in his own competence, as a rule, is much more successful than his colleagues who are “afraid” of the telephone. One of the main reasons for fear of the telephone is the inability to clearly define the purpose of the call. Are you about to conduct a market survey, schedule an appointment, or make a sale? Until you have a clear idea about this, your willingness to dial a number with a smile is quite problematic. Please do not forget about this seemingly simple, but important rule. Make it clear to yourself why you are calling. First, ask yourself questions: “What am I going to say? Who should I ask to answer the phone? For what purpose am I calling? Do I have a clear plan for the conversation, regardless of who picks up the phone?

By clearly defining your purpose (you are calling to find a prospect, to obtain information, to set up an appointment, to make a sale), you will act with much more confidence.

Not a single successful professional can remember a time when he anticipated with a pleasant feeling what in our professional language is called a “cold reception.” Whether knocking on a door or dialing a phone number, any sales professional always experiences some fear and trepidation before communicating with a potential client for the first time. But I also know that once you get into the swing of things and have a few conversations or meetings, the moment to make the sale gets closer and closer. With this in mind, you should not think long about whether to call, but rather make a decision and immediately begin to implement it.

I strongly recommend that you do the same. After the third, fourth and fifth calls, you will find that you enjoy the process more and more. You know that every call will be rewarded, regardless of the results, because it brings you closer to making a sale.

Using the phone, you get the opportunity to have fun by calculating the profit from each call. At the end of your working week or month, divide the total sales volume in monetary terms by the total number of calls for this period, including cases when the line was busy, no one answered the phone, or the conversation was interrupted. The result will show you how much money you earn every time you dial a phone number.

By the way, when the interlocutor does not want to listen to you, and sometimes is rude to you, remember that in the telephone version such conflicts are less painful than in a face-to-face conversation. Ultimately, you may say to yourself, “If a potential buyer saw what a wonderful person I am, he would certainly invite me into his home or office.” Please understand that even if people are rude and reject you over the phone, they are not rejecting you in person. They simply refuse to listen to you. They would most likely refuse to talk to another person, so don't take their attitude personally. After all, someone who really knows you would never do that!

Those who want to become a sales manager must strive to learn and become a true professional - every year customers increase their demands on the level of training of the specialists who serve them. But a good manager easily makes the right impression - all thanks to the knowledge and experience acquired over the years successful work. However, do not despair, everyone has a chance to become a sales manager from scratch.

What is the “success” of a sales manager?

1. Improve the quality of service

Show the buyer how important he is to you, treat him in a special, attentive and friendly manner. Guarantee quality service to each. If today this person did not bring profit, tomorrow he will recommend you to friends and acquaintances who will buy something.

Compliance with these rules guarantees a novice sales manager that from scratch he will become the most successful and productive employee of the department. But experience does not come immediately, so study and work tirelessly.

How to become a sales manager without sales experience

It is better to start a career in trading in retail or wholesale - this will allow you to understand whether you are capable of sales at all. If your employer regularly conducts training in this area, try to attend them and apply the acquired knowledge in practice. This way you will understand that the sales process is comparable to art.

When changing jobs, an experienced salesperson is always in great demand - recruiters are “chasing” for such specialists. If a person knows how to sell phones, he will be able to realize himself in B2B trading or real estate business - the direction of work can be any, the main thing is the skill that he possesses.

The vacancy for sales manager is perhaps the most common one found in the lists of advertisements from employers. The explanation for this fact is very simple - all companies need to distribute and sell goods. It doesn’t matter whether the business is related to production or the provision of any services, the main thing is that the product quickly “gets into the hands” of the consumer. The latter should not be hampered by either increased cost or insufficiently high quality of the product. A skilled seller will competently avoid the negative aspects and provide clear arguments about the benefits and uniqueness of their products.

For the most part, managerial vacancies attract young, ambitious people. Those who do not have work experience may be interested in it. Absence will not be an obstacle higher education. Good salespeople are made from those applicants who are confident in their own abilities, patient, persistent and not afraid of difficulties. If you have also decided to change your profession and are wondering how to become a sales manager from scratch, read the article below.

Benefits of being a sales manager

Before taking a new job, it’s a good idea to consider the benefits future profession. The following points will be excellent motivation for employees:

1. High income. The main thing that a sales specialist counts on is a decent wage. Moreover, bets should be placed not on the salary part, but on bonuses from completed transactions. A beginning manager receives at least 15,000 rubles. After the probationary period expires and the employee gains experience, the employee’s income increases significantly. It’s important to note that you won’t be able to sit out on a simple salary. An employee who shows equally disastrous results for 2-3 months will be asked to change sales tactics or make room.
2. Career growth. If you are successful in your professional field, you won’t have to spend too much time with recruiters. Sooner or later, your help will be needed in training and mentoring new, inexperienced employees. The prospect of obtaining a position as a coach or head of a department opens up. Working in a large, reputable organization, you can expect offers to supervise several facilities or stores. Former salespeople are confidently rising to the level of commercial directors and managers. The accumulated knowledge in the field of marketing and sales helps you confidently open your own business.
3. Making useful contacts. The ability to build the right connections with the people you meet allows you to achieve success in other matters. By attracting some clients, you create the ground for their partners and acquaintances to contact you. By selling a product or service, you present yourself and show how much you can be trusted. Your business card with contacts will be passed from hand to hand, speaking of you as a reliable and knowledgeable specialist. The “echo” effect will definitely affect the bonus part of your earnings. Dating often results in the dragging of a valuable employee. A sales manager has every chance of finding a better job.
4. Development of personal interests and skills. Once you overcome your fears of cold calls and meetings, you will emerge victorious from every controversial situation. Daily communication with customers adds confidence, determination and strength of character. With such qualities it is easy to go through life and achieve your goals. Skill business communication, the ability to work with modern computer programs and a client base, the ability to maintain documentation, perceive information flows, and find alternative solutions - this is an incomplete list of a manager’s knowledge and skills.

The list of obvious advantages covers all the disadvantages of the profession. It will be difficult to cope with the functions of a salesperson only for those who do not know how to find contact and do not like to communicate with people. If there is awkwardness and constraint in your speech and actions, you cannot explain yourself, overcome objections and respond to customer complaints, it is better to look for another place of work.

An employee involved in attracting new clients must be prepared for an incredible number of refusals and rude responses. Not all managers communicate politely and sensitively. Due to the abundance of various offers regularly received on their phones, company representatives interrupt the conversation within the first minute. Unsuccessful attempts turn into serious psychological problems for sales specialists.

How to start working as a sales manager from scratch

Having adjusted to the hasty rhythm of work, newcomers and trainees begin to enjoy their work. The first victories, even in the form of small transactions, push you to greater achievements, stimulate and give confidence.

The main mistake of novice managers is inconsistency in actions. “Floating” and experimenting in calls and meetings, it is difficult to get consent from the client. When talking to potential customer use scripts correctly. Having 2-3 template texts in stock, previously tested in practice by experienced colleagues, makes it easier to get interest from your interlocutors.

In achieving the fastest high results The following tools will help:

• Product knowledge. Selling a product without knowing it distinctive features, characteristics and advantages, is impossible. Ideally, an employee should try the product, touch and feel it from all sides. Buyers tend to ask non-standard, tricky questions. In negotiations, it is important to prevent the occurrence of awkward pauses and phrases. The manager must be competent and developed in his field.
• Company awareness. The one who presents the product is automatically associated with the company itself. Knowing at least a little about the company you work for, you can defend your position and overcome objections. An employee who speaks with historical facts, figures, and analytical data deserves greater respect and trust among clients.
• Following sales techniques. Anyone who decides to try their hand at trading must know the stages of sales. From cold contact to closing, completing every step is critical. Sales technology does not only need to be studied, it must be introduced into daily practice.
• Self-learning and development. Books also help you gain some experience. Manuals and specialized publications written by eminent managers will help you get around sharp corners, don’t stumble and conquer your fears. Trainings and courses are a good help. In such classes, students learn to take initiative, work through risks, and learn new sales tools.
• Neatness and cleanliness. Irreproachable appearance - business card salesman A friendly smile, well-groomed hairstyle and neat clothes are mandatory for a manager. A visit to managers and dignitaries requires adherence to basic etiquette. The key to success is punctuality and beautiful, clear speech.
• Adopting the experience of colleagues. Don’t be shy to ask questions and ask for help from department employees. You can partially learn from their example. Experienced colleagues will tell you where to look for profitable customers, reveal the secrets of interacting with top clients, and teach you how to build an effective sales funnel.

An active position, dedication and perseverance will bring the desired results. Management likes to encourage outstanding salespeople with valuable gifts and certificates, send them to developmental courses and seminars, and set an example for all other specialists.

How to become a better sales manager

Not every manager can realistically achieve exceeding the plan on a monthly basis. If this is successful, the employee is clearly awarded the title of best. A specialist who has weight and respect in the team will be able to take a leading position. You can stay ahead of everyone using simple tools:

1. Set clear, achievable goals with a deadline for their completion. When solving a specific problem, it is important to identify intermediate and final control points and follow them.
2. Create a voluminous sales funnel. How more companies call then larger number managers will agree to a meeting with you. It should be noted that out of 10 calls made, only 2-3 contacts will be loyal to the manager.
3. Answer telephone calls and respond in a timely manner. There is no need to keep customers waiting. Managers are issued corporate SIM cards; employees must always be in touch during working hours. It is important to quickly get ready for a trip or prepare for an unplanned meeting.
4. A good salesperson has up-to-date commercial offers and supporting materials. Negotiations are always accompanied by a presentation of goods. It is easier to talk about a product when the listener imagines it visually. The main points are written down on the company paper: advantages, prices and benefits for the buyer.
5. Respond to complaints and requests from customers. Attracting a “hot” client is a long, painstaking journey. The manager does not receive bonuses for consulting and service. Be prepared to solve customer problems for free, for a salary.

By constantly improving your skills, you can achieve record sales figures. By increasing the company's revenue, you replenish your personal wallet. The experience gained in trading is valuable and useful. In addition to broadening your horizons, making new acquaintances, developing the ability to advertise and speak, a successful start in your business career is created.

There is a lot of advice for those thinking about becoming a project manager. But, perhaps, in any list of such advice, the majority will relate not to the projects themselves, but to people, their tasks and load distribution. Because it is these moments that hide both the keys to the success of the project and risk factors. Therefore, any instruction for a project manager will include many points on managing a project team.

If your employees are overworked beyond their capabilities or if they are confused about tasks and responsibilities, then their productivity will drop sharply, and they themselves will become dissatisfied and resentful. To avoid overdrafts in the work of personnel caused by really high work intensity and conflicting tasks, which in turn reduce the moral climate in the team, workload management must be organized. And it cannot exist without proper distribution of resources and identification of those problems, the solution of which will allow optimizing the management of resources and their load.

Load management? As easy as pie!

Resource Allocation

One popular definition of the term “resource allocation” (“PMO and Project Management Dictionary” by PM Hut) is as scheduling work and assigning the resources needed to complete each job within the resource availability constraints and time frame of the project.

Resources usually include personnel, tools and equipment, technology and machinery, real estate, natural and financial resources. The purpose of resource allocation is to select those options for their use that ensure maximum efficiency and achievement of the goals of a specific project and the company as a whole. It is impossible to find the answer to the question “How to become a project manager?” without familiarization with the basics of resource allocation.

For the purposes of this article, resources mostly refer to people, and workload management refers to the proper distribution of tasks among them to achieve optimal project results.

What does a project manager do before committing resources? It must answer three critical questions in the following areas:

1. Expected results

What problems or challenges does the client have? What does the client expect to receive upon completion of the project? By answering these questions, you will be able to determine the scope of the project and the scope of work, which is the starting point for starting to formulate a project plan. A person who knows how to become a project manager primarily focuses on the needs and requirements of clients, taking into account the opinions of all stakeholders.

1. Deadlines

By what date does the client expect the project to be completed? Clearly setting deadlines helps to outline the time boundaries within which the project must be completed, which subsequently determines the maximum duration of each stage of the project.

1. Workload

How many people will be needed to implement the project? Which specialist is best suited to perform each specific task? Is it possible to attract them right now? If not now, then when? How much work can be entrusted to each specific specialist? Determining which employees can be included in the project team and how much each of them can be loaded with project tasks without compromising quality and within the agreed time frame is important for subsequent planning. You can then begin to create a people-task mapping matrix to maximize productivity and resource efficiency.

Gary Chin, in his presentation “The Accidental Project Manager,” lists three things needed to create a work schedule: task list, duration, and sequence. To properly distribute resources, you will need to decide on them:

• Objectives refer to the work that needs to be done to achieve or create the required results;
• Prioritization determines the sequence of tasks. For each task, you need to find an answer to the question “what tasks need to be completed before starting this one?”, which will allow you to plan which tasks should be performed sequentially, and what can be “parallelized” and, as a result, reduce the project completion time ;
• The completion duration is the specific date on the calendar when the work must be completed.

Once you have decided on all this (for example, I will need a group of 10 people, divided into 2 subgroups of 5 employees each, to work respectively on the development of the external interface and the administration system of the Internet portal, so that the work is completed in 3 months, which corresponds to the wishes customer) and conveyed this information to your team, you can begin to allocate resources in the following order:

1. Delegation

Delegation is perhaps the most important thing a project manager does. First, you need to determine which specialists will best handle a particular job, then check their availability and get them on your team as soon as possible. This is a critical step to understanding how to become a project manager.

1. Documentation

Maintaining documents such as schedules, schedules, progress and status reports, etc. is an important part common system document flow of the organization. It is important to have project documentation in an up-to-date, presentable form so that all members of the project team can use it effectively for the purposes of the project. This not only reduces the likelihood of confusion, but also creates the conditions for better analysis of the entire project and individual processes. If you have your own project manager instructions, but do not have this item, then it is worth adding it there.

1. Cross Validation

Successfully navigating the waters involves using cross-checking as one of the techniques to improve workload management. It is necessary to constantly compare the planned and actual time spent on critical tasks. You need to continually review, re-evaluate, and update plans based on actual effort as the project progresses. It is especially important to follow this principle in large teams, where the norm may be long overtime for some employees while other team members are underworked, as well as periods of stressful activity with several deadlines at the same time.

How to become a project manager faster? Use Comindware Project!

Using dedicated project management software such as , you can provide transparency in the allocation of resources between and within projects. This way, you can avoid problems with all project participants understanding their role. Comindware Project's workload management functionality allows you to clearly monitor the workload of each team and avoid “conflicts” when using resources. You can easily determine which resources are available at a particular time with one click. And once a resource is assigned to one task, it automatically becomes unavailable for assignment to other tasks. At the same time, you can take advantage of forecasting capabilities that let you see how your decisions affect other projects. At the same time, you always have access to general list resources, which makes it easier to maneuver in conditions of uncertainty.

Instead of a conclusion

Effective project management involves efficient allocation of resources. But once resources are tied to specific tasks, your responsibility shifts to workload management. It is important to have a good strategy and tools at your disposal to avoid conflicts and complications and to ensure that the project is carried out without overburdened employees at maximum productivity.

Olga Zavyalova, an expert in the IT industry, has 10 years of experience as a project manager and project coordinator of international projects. Certified Project Manager (CSPM) and Business Analyst (CSBA) for software projects. Author of two textbooks and a specialized course on project and process management.