8 Unbelievable Things You Never Knew About Your Sales Manager

Sales managers usually have the difficult task of knowing his or her team, but rarely do many salespeople ever get to know their sales manager. If you’re curious and want to wander down this rabbit-hole, prepare to learn eight unbelievable things you never knew about your sales manager. And while this list may not be downright shocking at all, these are secrets you need to know about your sales manager, because it’s what makes them awesome and you want to learn from them.

1. They’re Actually Willing to Share Sales Wisdom You Don’t Have

Your sales manager is basically there to impart wisdom unto you. To essentially groom you into his or her replacement. Go ahead and pick their brains, but don’t be incessant and definitely don’t act like a tout savoir. .) Sales managers may look for overzealous young salespeople with a little too much to prove – they’re “hungry” -but they hate when a newbie know-it-all has an unwillingness to listen to the pros in the room. Don’t be that guy (or girl). Instead, follow their sales secrets to the grave if you want to be more successful. Oh, and don’t forget to thank your sales manager.

2. They Know the Backstage Password to Closing Deals

When it comes to closing deals, your sales manager probably knows  every trick in-the-book, every sales scenario, and every type of customer. Knowing how to close those deals is partially one’s natural instinct in reading people and knowing those “backstage passwords”. Ever hear the phrase “it’s who you know, not what you know”? Well, now you know. Your sales managers have spent their careers building a rapport with their customers, who, if the relationship is valuable on both sides, will continue to do business with each other for a long time. (HINT: If your new and get lucky enough to take over other sales accounts, you’re in like Flynn. You have the customer, you just need to build and maintain that rapport.)

3. They Lead with Strong Ethics and Values

Sales can sometimes be a dirty business if the people running sales are up to some shady business of their own. Most sales managers are simply trying to do the best job they can for their team and the company. They will painstakingly vet new prospects, and spend exhausting hours on the phone, online, and in-person. They also are some of the last people to leave at the end of the day, putting in those long hours so their salespeople can be armed with strong leads the following day. They also don’t try to get by with shortcuts that could undermine the company or the customer. And their actions and attitude are infectious to the rest of the team. Your sales manager may surprise you with the amount of work they put into the job.

4. They Recognize Talent When They See It

Sales managers have an uncanny knack for spotting the most talented salespeople, whether it’s their natural disposition or the way they interact with others. Knowing how to spot talented salespeople also means identifying any strengths and weaknesses of each salesperson. For instance, if Jimmy is better at making cold calls, but Lori was better at face-to-face prospecting, would you send Jimmy to hit the streets and stick Lori in a cubicle with a phone and list of numbers? Of course not. A good sales manager would identified this early on, then help to foster each sales rep accordingly so they can be more well-rounded with the overall sales process.

5. They Share Leads (and Clients) with the Team

In sales, your leads are like gold. When a sales manager has amassed enough leads and clients in their career that they need to start farming their workload out to the rest of the sales team, it’s a huge deal since the managers are the ones who’d put in the hard work and now the rest of the team benefits. Such is the symbiosis of a well-run sales team. Sales managers that are greedy over their leads and clients tend to suffer from more stress, whereas sales managers who work with their team, which in turn allows the manager to focus on other managerial tasks as the team takes care of business.

6. They Are Efficient Taskmasters

While this one may be more of an open-secret in the sales industry, a good sales manager will stress the importance of tasks. Sales, like many other jobs, is a process. There are many different tasks that make up that process, from prospecting to meeting to closing, and the sales manager knows how to best divvy up those tasks amongst the team. The better the sales manager knows his or her team, the more efficient they can be as a whole. A great sales manager also takes it to the next step and invests in tools, such as Spiro’s AI-Powered CRM,  that help their team manage their tasks and be efficient selling machines.

7. They Want to Be Your Cheerleader

If the thought of Bob, your regional sales manager from Kenosha, in a cheerleader outfit makes you shudder, rest assured, we only mean that they want to push you to do your best. Because if you’re thriving, then they’re thriving. Your sales manager wants to be your cheerleader because, again, it’s a great symbiosis within the sales department, as one feeds the other and vice versa. Motivating their team is something that most sales managers are great at. They’re on fire all week, from all the excellent pep talks on Monday mornings, to helping deals get closed on Fridays. They’ll be there to have your back, even if they don’t come right out and say it.

8. They Have to Remain Objective

If customers buy emotionally, then sales managers sell logically. Sales managers have to build an objectivity that always has a concern for the company and its bottom line as well as the customer and their satisfaction. The sales experience can be dizzying, but your sales manager can take an objective view and help guide you in the right direction when closing a sale. It’s not uncommon for sales managers to come off as cold with their team, when they may only be remaining objective to the task at hand.