LEADERSHIP SERIES: Research suggests that Sales Leadership is the difference maker between good performance and superior performance. And how sales leaders embrace five essential roles is critical to the success of their teams. We hope you find this series of short informal discussions around sales leadership useful and thought-provoking.
Introduction
According to research conducted by the HR Chally Group, the number one reason why customers buy is the competence of the salesperson – more influential than price, quality of offering, or your total solution. Couple that with relentless competition, abundant supply and challenging economic times and it’s no wonder that companies are focusing on sales effectiveness and beefing up the skills of their sales forces.
And yet, when it comes to investing, one of the most critical links to sales success is frequently overlooked: The Sales Manager. The person who is responsible for ensuring the team achieves revenues and leads to higher performance. The person who is responsible for developing strategies to accomplish corporate goals. The key influencer and motivator for a company’s most important face to the customer – the sales force.
Reasons vary as to why this critical role has been overlooked. The most common that resonate include:
- “Priorities have been placed elsewhere.”
- “Other than revenue achievement, we don’t really know what success looks like in the Sales Manager role.”
- “Our managers are so time constrained, they hardly have time for anything else.”
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