Defining Effective Sales Management

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1. Use them. Many firms roll the dice on salespeople and sales managers when there are quantitative, validated, and reliable evaluations available that are accurate predictors of success. Don’t assume that because an individual is a strong seller they’ll be able to manage other sellers. It just doesn’t work like that. And when you do find a good manager, make sure they have the right sales management training for the greatest success in their role. 2. Expecting Sales Managers to Sell When sales managers also sell, they’re often too busy working their own leads to focus on what it takes to be a Top-Performing Sales Manager. This can also set up a level of conflict with their team. Great managers know that their primary responsibility is to place those they manage in the best possible position to succeed. This means coaching and developing their team, in addition to taking on the other management roles played by Top-Performing Sales Managers—not focusing on their own selling. Solution: If you need your sales manager to sell, it’s possible that you’re not ready to have a dedicated sales manager. In this case, the CEO, vice president, or general manager should take on the sales management role (if this is the case, be sure to read the next mistake).The responsibility of a sales manager is to play 10 key roles. Regardless of what you call them, someone needs to take responsibility for these roles. 3. Hope as a Sales Management Strategy There are two common scenarios at play whenever the sales management strategy is to “hope for the best:” Small firms: These companies usually have no more than a handful of sales professionals with a General Manager, Vice President, or CEO typically overseeing them. These management types have a wide range of responsibilities and often don’t have sales backgrounds. Because of this, they struggle to provide the necessary direction and often fail to help their sales professionals realize their full potential. “Leadership must set aside the necessary time to go over pipelines, assess actions, advise on next steps, and ensure that salespeople have what they need to be successful.” When a sales manager over-invests in their lowest-performing sellers, they sacrifice time that could be dedicated to improving their best sellers. Some managers even assume that, because a seller is performing well, they don’t need dedicated coaching or development. Even for Top Performers, consistent coaching is critical to maintain seller retention and drive results. Solution: Communication is key! If you’re taking the time to learn how your sellers work and sell, you’re already halfway there. This is why sales coaching is so important. When managers create bespoke coaching plans for each of their sellers and adapt their approach to seller preferences, they develop a better sense of their progress and what each seller needs to succeed. On an organizational level, managers should have processes to improve cohesion with their sellers starting with seller onboarding. Even if every sales coaching plan looks a bit different, coaching for sellers should be implemented consistently across a sales team. 5. Being Reactive Instead of Proactive If your sales managers spend all their time putting out fires, they won’t have the time to invest in the growth of their teams. Many sales managers take on the responsibilities of their sellers whenever something goes wrong. This creates a culture where managers aren’t doing enough management and sellers are relying on managers as a crutch without any real development. Solution: For managers, it helps to consider the bigger picture. What can you do to prevent the same issue from happening again? What skills can you build in your sellers so that they’re equipped to handle challenging situations? Ideally, managers should already be proactive about coaching so that it’s not necessary for them to step in. It’s unavoidable on occasion for managers to need to intervene, but skilled managers know when to do so. If a deal is on the line or a seller is less experienced, direct advice may be necessary.

   In Team and roles

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