Just making the move from individual contributor to Sales Manager/People Leader - any advice or things to avoid from those who have made the jump before?
Advice for new Sales Managers
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"You are not responsible for the job, you're responsible for the PEOPLE responsible for the job."
Don't get caught up in metrics and discipline as much as making sure you're people are fed and happy.
Read Tribes by Seth Godin.
Don't get caught up in metrics and discipline as much as making sure you're people are fed and happy.
Read Tribes by Seth Godin.
Learn from them as much as they learn from you. Have open and honest converssations. Everyone has a different sales style and stengths, find them and harness them, core competencies are there and working in their actionable skill set is key.
be proactive, lead by example, support your reps as much as possible.
Coming from someone who has been managed by several "new" managers I would say that micro-management can kill a relationship.
Being a manager means you are no longer the captain of the deal and no longer get to steer it wherever you want. that's the AE and you get to give them tips and tricks or tell them how you would do it.
Being a manager means you are no longer the captain of the deal and no longer get to steer it wherever you want. that's the AE and you get to give them tips and tricks or tell them how you would do it.
Definitely listen to your team. Don't act like you are 'above' them. You all have the same goals, just different roles. And what I've found is it helps to take what you learned as an individual contributor and apply it. If you had managers who did certain things you hated - don't do it. And things that helped you, keep it going for your team.
It's a hard transition and accept that you will make mistakes. You will need to learn to let them fail, if you come in and save the deal every time they won't learn. It's hard to do, but it is necessary. Good luck!
How's it going for ya?
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