5 Signs of a Great Sales Manager
Did you know that sales teams with bad sales managers make on average 20% less than those with good ones?
TWENTY PERCENT!
As a manager, can you afford to make only 80% of what you should be? I’m sure you and everyone on your team would like your paychecks to be as big as they can.
Even if you have a bunch of stellar sales rep and use all the best technology (like Spiro’s AI-Powered CRM), if you’re a bad manager, you and everyone on your team is going to make less.
On the brighter side of things, if you’re a great sales manager, you can help increase everyone’s take home pay!
So what are you? A bad one or great one?
Here are 5 signs to look for that point to the makings of a great sales manager:
1. A great sales manager treats reps like an investment
It takes most sales departments 6 to 10 months to get a new hire up to speed. A great manager not only shows their dedicate and respect to the process of onboarding ramp time, but also continues to make each and every salesperson feel like they are a worthwhile asset. Whether it be a refresher course on technology you use, allowing reps to attend a business development conference, or just sitting down and being available for personal growth questions, a great sales manager treats reps like an investment.
2. A great sales manager respects salespeople’s time
Great managers should use everyone’s time wisely, which means not only knowing how to efficiently run a weekly one-on-one meeting with their reps, but they should also respect the reps’ time and never cancel these meetings. Always show up! A rep’s time is just as important as the managers, and a great sales manager respects the fact.
3. A great sales manager keeps their selling skills sharp
Some people would argue that managers should focus on managing and reps focus on selling. But, I disagree to a certain extent. I think a manager should always keep their sales skills current and sharp. You have to be able to jump in when necessary and still have “it” to be able to close a deal. Reps look to managers to help coach them, and if you are out of touch with actually selling, then your advice will just be a bunch of hot air.
4. A great sales manager incorporates technology
I used to work with a few sales managers who refused to embrace the latest technology in fear that computers would make their jobs obsolete. I actually think it was they were afraid of being exposed as not adding much value to the team. But anyways, the best sales managers use technology and artificial intelligent software to help their team prospect more effectively and close deals more efficiently. There are lots of great solutions out there that can help teams hit your numbers. Spiro, for instance, is a AI-Powered CRM that uses artificial-intelligence to recommend which prospects reps should call next so they will have the highest likelihood of turning it into a closed deal.
5. A great sales manager plays interference
The best sales managers know when they need to step in and block their reps from outside departments. Since salespeople are typically great “people” people, and they know how to build relationships, they sometimes have a hard time saying no. A great manager will play interference when another department is hijacking rep’s time. If someone from marketing keeps approaching a rep to collaborate on a project, although it may be time-worthy, it can also be valuable time taken away from actually selling. Great managers know when to step in and say no on behalf of their reps.
