The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

As a former sales manager and c-suite executive leader, and now working alongside sales managers to help them grow their teams, I know that a sales management career can really make an impact.

Sales managers are your frontline leaders. They work with their teams to focus on goals and objectives for the organization. Sales managers direct expectations, show people and instruct people in ways to achieve the company goals. Being a sales manager is extremely trackable and measurable. Their job is more about administering the work and ensuring the day-to-day activities are getting done as they should.

Accountability falls under two categories: the things we do and the things we do not do. We often discuss accountability related to what’s accomplished, but do you truly take the time to hold yourself accountable for what doesn’t get done?

As a leader, accountability begins with you. You set the example. So, do you hold yourself accountable as often as you hold your team accountable?

Here are three quick tips to “up” your internal accountability game.

When we think of leadership, we often think of qualities or characteristics such as courage, inspiration, or perseverance. These qualities or traits are actually one of several ingredients in a powerful recipe for success and winning. That recipe is mindset.

Unprecedented headwinds over the past few years have created immense challenges and uncertainty. Leaders of companies big and small have faced a global pandemic; supply chain issues; inflation; and talent shortages just to name a few.

An inspirational leader is someone who can motivate their team members. They can get things done by making others feel like part of the team. They can rally the team and keep them motivated and focused on the goal. They are not afraid to take charge and lead their team.

Here are some key characteristics of an inspiring leader.

Imagine you’re at the grocery store with your three-year-old son. He’s promised you he’ll behave, and you’re planning to surprise him with a treat at the checkout counter.

You’re roughly halfway through your grocery list when he starts to get antsy. He wants out of the cart and promptly begins pulling things off the shelves, so you put him back in the cart, and he begins throwing a temper tantrum. You look at your watch – it’s getting close to lunchtime, which is closely followed by naptime. It’s becoming apparent that you have a decision to make.

Do you choose to use empathy by giving him a big hug, telling him you love him, and letting him know you understand it can be tough to be patient—or do you choose to hold him accountable to his promise of good behavior? And which one is the right thing to do?

Are you tired of watching sales managers struggle and then resorting to a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) only to see little to no improvement? 

It's time to break that cycle and set your sales leaders up for success with a Sales Leader Success Plan.

As a sales leader, it’s your job to analyze the market and make decisions based on the data available. You must then pass your wisdom and experience to your sales team to develop their skills and motivate them toward success. 

Sales leaders must understand product fit, as well as the company vision, mission, and culture, to lead their teams to success. 

Here are nine tips to help lead your sales team to success in the coming year.

If you are like me, the idea of your sales team working remotely was beyond your imagination. Every once in a while, you might hear a rumor about a salesperson that worked from home a couple of days of the week, but they were more like myths than reality. Oh, sure, they are "working from home," and I saw "Big Foot" run across my backyard.

However, with the pandemic, the world changed seemingly overnight.  

You went from a team that worked 100% in the office to a team that worked 100% remotely, and now that COVID is "over," you have a team that works in a hybrid model. 

Have you changed your management style to match the new reality of a hybrid sales team?

Things you can control around you are countable within the parameters of a single digit.

Did that line stress you out?

It's true, though. In a perfect world, you're in charge of every action that affects your life. However, the reality is strikingly different. So what is your contingency plan when things are not mirroring that vision board you have built so passionately?

Continuous improvement is dependent on feedback, and in most situations, we feel confident in the feedback we are giving and receiving.

However, sometimes people will tell you what they think you want to hear, and the feedback is not very useful or effective. In order to garner authentic feedback from your employees, and return the favor, the stage needs to be set for open two-way communication.