Unlike other sales manager training programs that focus primarily on sales coaching, it is important for sales managers to develop a wide range of competencies in order to be successful.
Here is a list of some that should be taken into consideration:
Developing a leadership mindset
An untrained sales manager’s perspective is that of an “über salesperson.” They pursue deals. They jump in and take over because they know they can do a better job than most sales reps.
An effective sales manager understands how leading a sales team requires a completely different mindset from selling. They are more focused on developing their team.
Managing time and priorities
Most sales managers tell us they would like to do more coaching but they just can’t find the time. That happens when they become buried in work that feels urgent but is not really important. These managers do not know how to identify their true priorities or how to manage their time so they can work on the all-important priority of developing people.
Effective coaching
Sales managers often say they already do coaching, but what they really mean is that they do performance reviews once or twice a year where they call a salesperson into their office and discuss past achievements and numbers.
The best sales managers also incorporate (a) developmental coaching, where they help salespeople improve their skills and motivation, and (b) deal coaching, where they help salespeople prepare for specific meetings with customers and prospects at different points in the sales process. Focusing on developmental and deal coaching allows sales managers to develop salespeople who can sell value solutions, not just products or services.
To become good at these coaching skills, sales managers must understand their company’s sales process, know how to help reps demonstrate value to the company’s customers, put themselves in a position to observe reps, be able to diagnose sales performance problems, know how to evaluate sales rep skills and attitudes, and have strategies for solving common problems.
Increasing motivation and engagement
New salespeople often have problems linking their personal and professional goals to their work. Experienced salespeople can lose interest in the job if it is not challenging.
Salespeople who want to rise in the organization can become discouraged if not given the opportunity for job growth. One sales rep with a bad attitude can ruin the atmosphere of a whole team. Being able to deal with these and many other motivation and engagement issue is a critical competency for effective sales managers.
Planning and pipeline management
Managers who lack experience or training often have a hard time looking beyond today’s problems. They either fail to develop plans or don’t understand what they need to do every day to implement their plans. They will often pay attention to deals only when the rep is nearing the “close” step, which is too late for them to help the rep sell value.
Successful sales managers have plans that address both sales goals and development of their salespeople. They link their pipeline and CRM systems to their company’s sales process so they can provide more timely, effective coaching and help sales reps move deals forward past each milestone.
Hiring and Onboarding
Every experienced sales manager has hired someone who later turned out to not be a good fit for the job. Or perhaps they were once hired for a job but never given any guidance or training on how to be successful in that sales position.
Learning how to evaluate candidates helps sales managers make sure they are bringing people onboard who are a good fit for the job and the team.
To improve their teams, however, sales managers also need to think through the kinds of support that new hires need to learn all the skills required to succeed in the position.
