Sales Managers: Are you making these 3 BIG mistakes?

You’ve done it. 

You worked your butt off and you’ve been promoted to sales manager. It’s the biggest move you’ve made in your career and it’s nothing but smooth sailing from here on out. 

Right?

Wrong!

Great news (not really?) All the things you learned as an SDR or AE or Financial Advisor aren’t enough to prepare you for this role.

There are a set of new and untapped skill sets that you need to master in order to ace this new challenge. What’s more, it’s not just your success that’s hanging in the balance. But the success of your little army of sellers. 

Let’s start with things you need to avoid doing as a sales manager to develop stronger teams.

You’re Confusing Skill Sets

The first and biggest mistake to address is confusing the skill sets required for being a good manager with the same skills that got you promoted. An easy mistake to make (for a new manager) but a detrimental one.

The easiest way to make this distinction is this: Being a high-performer in sales is not the same as managing a team of high-performing sellers. These concepts are unique to each other and will require a different approach if you want to be successful.

The first step is to recognize that difference.

You’re Oversharing With Your Team

Salespeople are not created equal. And even if they did somehow possess the same skills and habits, they sure as heck wouldn’t be identical. That said, not every team member requires the same information as others. 

There are cases where sharing too much information with certain team members might affect morale and overall performance.

Some sellers require a certain amount of information or context to perform at their best. There are others (who are more risk-averse) who may be deterred and demotivated if copied on certain emails that will make them worry or become anxious as opposed to performing well.

Know your team. 

Act accordingly.

Your Communication is a Natural Disaster

Poor communication is the destroyer of sales teams (and teams in general). Seriously, it’s bad for business. Yet there are many skilled managers out there who completely ignore the value of good communication.

Some folks fall into this trap due to power tripping and choosing an “I’m the manager what I say goes even if I didn’t actually say anything” approach.

Others may genuinely not realize that they’re simply not giving their team enough. In some cases, the team literally has to go without a sales process.

We’ve seen cases of realtors and other salespeople who suffer due to management simply not caring enough to help their team refine a process and perform at the top level.

In some cases, management will offer as much as up to 70% commission to a rep but leave them to their own devices even when starting right out the gate. While the commission is substantial and the every man or woman for themselves model can be empowering, a sales process is still essential for a team to be truly successful.

What’s the point in having a 70% commission when you aren’t closing anything but the office door after a long day of cold calling that went nowhere? And what’s the point in having a manager and team you can’t believe in?

Talk to your team. Be mindful. Create as powerful a sales process as possible. Then watch yours and their bank accounts flourish 🤑

Learn more about the mistakes you should avoid if you have any plans of being a decent sales manager.

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