How much impact does a good sales manager/boss have?

G'day folks,

For those that have been following along at home ( https://bit.ly/3ectuYc), I had an interview with the VP EMEA of Builder.AI recently. Whilst there's still some outstanding questions and thoughts I'm expecting to have answered on Thursday on my call with the SVP, I have been pondering something since.

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting with my potential future manager and believe in his vision and approach to hitting his growth targets but I want to ensure I'm evaluating this opportunity objectively given my current disdain towards my CEO's management isn't clouding my judgement.

Obviously, there's criteria such as W/L balance, OTE attainment, product, culture etc. that do get factored into these decisions, however, I'm curious, how much of an impact does the relationship of your manager/boss have on your decision in joining/staying at a company.

@FatVeinyTip has a great thread on the anecdotes of a relatable manager - https://bit.ly/3eaBb11 - so I wanted to build on this as I believe it deserves a bit more discussion around.

Happy holiday legends!

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🧢 Sales Management

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poweredbycaffeine

WR Lieutenant

6

☕️

A good manager makes your life easier in all aspects. You can work with autonomy, get coaching and mentorship, and have someone who will go to bat with you when you need to tackle a tough conversation. Without these qualities, your life is a soul-sucking existence.

funcoupons

WR Officer

1

👑

Definitely. I currently work for the best manager I've ever had. He's not perfect by any stretch, but he actively works to make sure I (and the rest of the team) succeed. My job would suck if I had to work with a manager that didn't care, was selfish, or just didn't know how to do their job.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

5

🦊

Supportive, communicative, and not a micromanager.

funcoupons

WR Officer

5

👑

A lot. If you have to work for an asshole or an incompetent you will be miserable fast, even if the money is coming in. A manager does not have to (nor should they) be everyone's friend or favourite person, but they do need to be someone that puts the team above themselves, actually wants to be managing, has knowledge and the ability to mentor, can handle the ups and downs of sales with calmness and maturity etc. It's completely obvious in results when a team respects their leader vs when they don't.

Sunbunny31

Politicker

4

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

After years of having hands-off, passive managers, which I thought I'd prefer, I got a firecracker of a manager. It was the best thing that had happened to me. She knew sales, was driven to make her reps meet their number, and worked with me on partnership to establish a system for tracking down and closing deals. The back half of the year, when I first started working with her, was the best year I had had in a long time.

What made her great?: She let me work in my own style, but provided guidance and advice. She understood sales, and jumped into whatever role was needed to help close. Needed a SME? There she was. Needed a title? That was her on the phone, doing effective executive outreach. Need internal approvals? Getting a ghostwritten email from me to submit and defend as it worked through departments. A problem with quota? There she was, fixing it.

So, yeah, I'd say a great manager can make a huge impact.

SaaSguy

Tycoon

2

Account Executive

I think having a good manager is a good for morale. Having a team in high spirits helps them sell better and better navigate the ups and down of sales.

braintank

Politicker

2

Enterprise Account Executive

Proper boss can make a good AE great.

Cabbie

Good Citizen

1

AE (Account Executive)

Assuming we aren't talking about having a shit boss vs a good one, because obviously a shit boss is awful.

Having a good boss vs a great one makes a huge difference though, I reckon.

My current boss frequently goes to bat for us in the business, gets us involved in functions outside of Sales (Product, Marketing, Strategy etc.), and it's awesome.

Having gone from an organisation where the Sales dept. was just "make $x/month and otherwise don't bother me", it gives me a definite sense of growing with the business, and actually understanding where all this revenue we're making goes.

Totally different mindset to just revenue raising when I walk into work. Feels like we're actually building something - it's really cool.

Blackwargreymon

Politicker

1

MDR

A good manager makes your life easier in all aspects. You can work with autonomy, get coaching and mentorship, and have someone who will go to bat with you when you need to tackle a tough conversation. Without these qualities, your life is a soul-sucking existence.

Upper_Class_SaaS

Politicker

0

Account Executive

I think they can have a great impact either way, good or bad. Depends on how you take coaching but also depends on the type of manager they are as well. Hope you get lucky

godpull54

Praised Answer

0

PDR

They make or break the success of the company. Most importantly they set the culture for the team.

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