I've been a manager for 4 months now, I'd love sales peoples' input on the worst thing a manager can do, and the best thing a manager can do for you in particular. thanks! we're SMB SaaS (martech) if that helps
New manager here
10
Sunbunny31
Politicker
4
Sr Sales Executive 🐰
Congratulations! There are actually a lot of relevant posts about this exact subject if you search.
GingerBarbarian
Opinionated
3
Lead Sales
Ooff.. There is a lot to say. My biggest piece of advice is to know your primary job needs to be the development of salespeople. It is not to just track numbers and close deals. Your job is to train your people to do that for you so you can focus on developing their skills.
Resist being "Superman" and saving every deal. Instead take the time to train people on the techniques to do it themselves.
Likewise, know that people are most motivated by whatever gives them autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Autonomy is the freedom to work how they want, mastery is the feeling of constantly improving, and purpose is feeling they are doing good in the world. Avoiding micro managing will help give them freedom, training on a regular basis will give them mastery, and if you have a good product that helps people that will give them purpose.
Resist being "Superman" and saving every deal. Instead take the time to train people on the techniques to do it themselves.
Likewise, know that people are most motivated by whatever gives them autonomy, mastery, and purpose. Autonomy is the freedom to work how they want, mastery is the feeling of constantly improving, and purpose is feeling they are doing good in the world. Avoiding micro managing will help give them freedom, training on a regular basis will give them mastery, and if you have a good product that helps people that will give them purpose.
Diablo
Politicker
1
Sr. AE
Worst thing - personally I hate being micromanaged.
mpo
Good Citizen
0
Sales Director
What does that actually mean to you though?
GingerBarbarian
Opinionated
2
Lead Sales
I cannot speak to what Diablo meant exactly, but I tell the managers I work with that your job is not running a KPI factory. It is about helping your team feeling like they are improving all the time.
ZVRK
Politicker
1
Enterprise Account Executive
Some great points in the comments already, i agree with all said, here’s something from me too:
- try to keep a 1on1 cadence with your reports, maybe a bi-weekly one, where you’ll mainly focus on learning how ate things going for them beyond quota and deals and all that. Give them the stage to complain, ask advice, just check in on them on a personal level.
- try not to have more than one weekly pipeline call with the team, anything more than one call per week really feels like an overkill. Better to make the call a longer one than go over the same SQLs and MQLs 3 times a week 😀
- try to keep a 1on1 cadence with your reports, maybe a bi-weekly one, where you’ll mainly focus on learning how ate things going for them beyond quota and deals and all that. Give them the stage to complain, ask advice, just check in on them on a personal level.
- try not to have more than one weekly pipeline call with the team, anything more than one call per week really feels like an overkill. Better to make the call a longer one than go over the same SQLs and MQLs 3 times a week 😀
CuriousFox
WR Officer
1
🦊
Congrats!
ThatNewAE
Big Shot
1
Account Executive - Mid enterprise
Ooooo. I have got a few things to say:
- Skip the obvious. "Please update this in CRM". Sales folks will update it. Chill.
- "Why didn't you close it, you did forecast it?" I tried, Karen. I need money too, but it didn't close. It might next month, breathe.
- "A quick huddle?" and then talk about how my numbers are low for the month. I know. I am panicking too. I need money too, again.
- "I know you are out sick, but can you tell me what happened in this deal?" READ THE CRM NOTES, KAREN! If they are not updated (my bad, I am a human) - WINGMAN!
- "You should close this deal this way!" While I appreciate ideas and feedback, there's something called 'sales instinct'. Unless and until it's not absolutely berserk, it should be okay for me to drive the deal my way.
- "You hadn't kept your camera on, I was going through ONE wingman recording"! Yes. My light went off. I usually keep it on. I feel absolutely ridiculously watched and annoyed when someone does this, just randomly.
- "Why weren't you online yesterday at 4:45PM ET? I had some really urgent work! Now I forgot!" If it were that important, you'd have remembered. This too reeks of micromanagement, I do not like.
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT -
- Focus on skill management and development. There's nothing better for a sales leader, I am sure, to actually see sales folks grow under their watch.
- Find a healthy balance of how to manage. You can't have one shoe fits all rule for your team. Every team member would be different and operates differently. Spend few weeks studying them and understand how they would like to be managed.
- It should be about KRAs, yes. But not just about it.
- Skip the obvious. "Please update this in CRM". Sales folks will update it. Chill.
- "Why didn't you close it, you did forecast it?" I tried, Karen. I need money too, but it didn't close. It might next month, breathe.
- "A quick huddle?" and then talk about how my numbers are low for the month. I know. I am panicking too. I need money too, again.
- "I know you are out sick, but can you tell me what happened in this deal?" READ THE CRM NOTES, KAREN! If they are not updated (my bad, I am a human) - WINGMAN!
- "You should close this deal this way!" While I appreciate ideas and feedback, there's something called 'sales instinct'. Unless and until it's not absolutely berserk, it should be okay for me to drive the deal my way.
- "You hadn't kept your camera on, I was going through ONE wingman recording"! Yes. My light went off. I usually keep it on. I feel absolutely ridiculously watched and annoyed when someone does this, just randomly.
- "Why weren't you online yesterday at 4:45PM ET? I had some really urgent work! Now I forgot!" If it were that important, you'd have remembered. This too reeks of micromanagement, I do not like.
WHAT YOU CAN DO RIGHT -
- Focus on skill management and development. There's nothing better for a sales leader, I am sure, to actually see sales folks grow under their watch.
- Find a healthy balance of how to manage. You can't have one shoe fits all rule for your team. Every team member would be different and operates differently. Spend few weeks studying them and understand how they would like to be managed.
- It should be about KRAs, yes. But not just about it.
J.J.McLure
Politicker
0
Owner at *redacted*
Best-
Realize that every person you manage is different and most likely not like you. The way you need to handle one person and give them feedback may be completely different than how you do it with another or how you would like to be treated. For instance, I always tell my managers to be super blunt with me and not to worry about hurting my feelings. If something needs to be said, just say it, even if it's a potentially difficult conversation. This same approach might be the exact opposite of what another person needs. I'm a big fan of personality tests, there are some good ones out there that would apply to this.
Worst-
Sit back, collect the numbers and don't offer any guidance. The worst advice I've ever heard from a manager when I'm trying to improve is "just keep doing what you're doing"
Realize that every person you manage is different and most likely not like you. The way you need to handle one person and give them feedback may be completely different than how you do it with another or how you would like to be treated. For instance, I always tell my managers to be super blunt with me and not to worry about hurting my feelings. If something needs to be said, just say it, even if it's a potentially difficult conversation. This same approach might be the exact opposite of what another person needs. I'm a big fan of personality tests, there are some good ones out there that would apply to this.
Worst-
Sit back, collect the numbers and don't offer any guidance. The worst advice I've ever heard from a manager when I'm trying to improve is "just keep doing what you're doing"
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