Sales managers live at the crossroads of pressure and performance. Not only are they tasked with hitting ambitious targets, but they must also coach their teams, navigate office politics and so much more. Research shows that sales managers often burn out faster than many other leaders, and their average tenure is less than 2 years.
David Jacoby, the managing director of sales training at SBI Growth Advisory, says it’s important to understand the unique challenges a sales manager faces. This, he says, is the key to building stronger teams and achieving sustainable success. In this issue of PromoPro Daily, we share Jacoby’s thoughts on some of the most common challenges sales managers face along with how to overcome them.
Challenge No. 1: Revenue is first and foremost. Few metrics are as visible or important as revenue. Miss your number once, Jacoby says, and you may have a problem. Miss it twice and you may be out of a job.
What to do: According to Jacoby, sales managers must adopt a no-excuses management style emphasizing transparency and accountability. He suggests regularly reviewing and analyzing sales data to identify improvement areas and take proactive measures to address performance gaps.
Challenge No. 2: Coaching takes time. Jacoby points out research that reveals that sales managers who devote more than 3 hours of monthly coaching to each team member achieve 107% of their team quota. Teams that receive no coaching only meet 82% of their quota. Coaching is necessary but takes time.
What to do: Efficient time management is critical to overcoming this challenge, Jacoby says. While there are many ways to coach a sales rep, the most effective sales coaching generally involves observing your sales reps on sales calls and giving coaching feedback.
Challenge No. 3: Sales managers must manage specific behaviors. In addition to results, sales managers need to manage the behaviors that produced the results. These could include prospecting activities, meetings, the number of new opportunities added to the pipeline and others.
What to do: Jacoby recommends limiting the number of sales behaviors you track and focusing on those few that have the most impact on sales performance. He says you should also track key sales metrics and establish a culture of accountability and transparency where sales reps understand the importance of these behaviors in achieving their sales goals.
Challenge No. 4: It’s difficult to hire great reps. It can be tough to hire for any role, but hiring great sales reps presents unique challenges. Jacoby says there’s often a low correlation between a good interview and future sales results.
What to do: Look for candidates with the core competencies and skills required for success in your sales environment rather than solely relying on their experience. He says you might consider using competency-based interviewing techniques to assess someone’s ability to handle real-world sales scenarios and potential challenges.
Sales managers shouldn’t just get by. Instead, make sure your organization has the right systems in place. This means providing focused coaching, setting clear priorities and embracing smarter hiring practices.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: David Jacoby is the managing director of sales training at SBI Growth Advisory, a management consulting firm.
