biggest surprises - AE >>> Sales Manager

I'm considering making the jump to a new company as a Sales Manager. I've seen what my manager has to deal with from sharing accurate forecasts, staying on top of us reps, supporting overlapping departments. However, this is just one scenario... what were the biggest surprises for reps moving on to management?

๐ŸŽˆ Mentorship
13
DwightsEgo
Politicker
2
BDR Manager
there is a lot more babysitting then there should be......sometimes.ย 
exec
Acclaimed Answer
0
Account Executive
ha! true.. we've all been there in one part of our lifetime or anotherย 
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
2
Account Executive
It depends. I've only made that jump going from one organization to another and I can tell you that one of the challenges with stepping into a team leader role is getting up to speed quickly so you can be a valuable resource for your team and earn their trust because, starting off, they know more about the product than you do so don't be too eager to correct the way they are doing things.
exec
Acclaimed Answer
1
Account Executive
yeah that's one thing I'm worried about here... any advice on how to come off as reliable when you were still ramping up and learning an entirely new product offering, positioning, use cases, etc. ?

CadenceCombat
Tycoon
3
Account Executive
Yes. Leave your ego at the door and be humble.ย 

I'd say the best way to earn trust is to demonstrate you're not above them or the work and if you're overseeing a team that is expected to prospect, for example, pick up the phone and do some cold calls right next to them to show them you're looking to understand their role firsthand so you can advocate for them.

If you have any feedback to deliver that you can't exemplify, you will not be truly embraced as a leader.
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
1
Account Executive
Also, don't be afraid to call yourself out for mistakes you make along the road. If you can't acknowledge your own mistakes but calling out everyone else's, it's a little hypocritical.
exec
Acclaimed Answer
1
Account Executive
thanks for this @CadenceCombatย !
CadenceCombat
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
Happy to help!
CuriousFox
WR Officer
0
๐ŸฆŠ
Did ya leap?
SalesArmyKnife
Good Citizen
0
Sales Manager
Moving from AE to Sales Manager is a big move, I had been told before but I didn't realize how different it can be before jumping into it.

The focus completely shifts from being deal-centric as an AE to being people-centric as a Sales Manager.

I've had the good fortune of being promoted internally so I didn't have to learn about the product, the sales playbook, and already had the internal connections and knowledge of the processes. And maybe even more important, having been successful as an AE in the company I had the legitimacy for the people that were to be in my team.

And even with all that I'm still struggling and learning big time every day.

The hardest (and most interesting) part for me was to realize that each individual thinks differently so I should not assume that because something feels like basic / common sense to me it is the same for everyone.
MR.StretchISR
Politicker
0
ISR
Honestly, people love Teeshirts. I just tell them I'm sending them some company swag and they usually dig it. After a deal closes say I say, "I'd normally take you out to dinner here so how about I uber eats something for you?". People aren't so difficult about home addresses lately.
Error32
Politicker
0
ISR
Honestly, people love Teeshirts. I just tell them I'm sending them some company swag and they usually dig it. After a deal closes say I say, "I'd normally take you out to dinner here so how about I uber eats something for you?".
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