As a Sales Manager, you’re constantly faced with the challenges of leading a team while answering to your management, keeping fresh ideas circulating through your team, and playing to the strengths of your salesforce. You get pulled in 100 different directions. It is part of the territory so here are some techniques you can employ to help you rise above the noise and drive great sales results.
Be Willing to Change
Some sales managers are so bogged down in day to day priorities that they forget how to make true, extraordinary changes happen in their own leadership and management styles.
Make sure to spend time each day reviewing your leadership style and success. Be open and be willing to make the changes necessary to represent yourself as a true leader to your team. In many cases, you’ll be surprised at how much your team and organization are willing to change with you.
Look Around
Do you know what your competitors are doing? Are you at the top of your game – not just copying fresh, new ideas you see out there, but inventing them?
The only way you can stay ahead of the curve is to do your research. This is about more than taking a look at blogs and current methodology of selling. Listen to your sales staff, and objectively evaluate what is and isn’t working with your current team. Sometimes even small changes to process and tactics can pay huge dividends.
Manage Dynamic Work Practices
If you’re willing to change, you’re willing to never stop changing. Once you resolve to yourself that you’re going to keep pushing the limits, trying new things, and preparing to excel, you can’t ever stop that process or you’ll lose momentum.
Being a dynamic, motivated leader is a huge part of being the kind of manager that your sales team respects and wants to follow. It isn’t necessarily about bending and breaking the rules – it’s about introducing new rules and strategies that ensure the results of the sale efforts are higher than ever before.
Be Willing to Listen
If your sales reps have great ideas, don’t squash them or take credit for them. Make your sales team an idea box. Your sales reps do work for you, and you can’t let them forget that – but you can allow them to take part in meaningful dialogue that will help you propel your sales team to record-breaking numbers.
If the chaos around you is getting in the way of performance, use the chaos to your advantage. Do this and you will be breaking sales records.
Image by: Nicolai Berntsen
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Eliot Burdett
Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.
He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.
Latest posts by Eliot Burdett (see all)
- 20 Of Our Favorite Books About Sales Management and Sales Leadership – October 20, 2023
- How To Make Progress On Your Sales Goal Without A Sales Leader – September 15, 2021
- Augment Your Recruiting Strategy During “The Great Resignation” – July 26, 2021
