What makes an effective sales manager?

March 25th, 2018

Alignment of company culture with marketing, customer communications and sales methods
Creation of individual salesperson business plans
Identifying unique elements of the company’s offerings
Forming a strategic selling plan – what is sold and to whom it is sold
Identifying customer values drivers and forming the power statement
Prospecting and lead generation strategies/tactics
Evaluating and refining the sales processes
Developing selling skills among the sales team – questioning skills, trial closing techniques, objection handling, closing, etc.

Conducting weekly one-on-one meetings with each member of the sales team
Using a good sales assessment tool to understand strengths and areas of development, and using the information to improve performance
Teaching salespeople how to effectively qualify prospects to avoid pursuing unqualified leads
Identifying the appropriate sales training resources and bringing them to the sales team
Creating and implementing Individual coaching and development plans
Doing ride-alongs in the field with salespeople to observe and coach

Developing and implementing a routine for uplifting sales meetings
Analysis & development of sales culture
Developing attainable sales goals and breaking them down into their components
Evaluating how well the larger company supports the sales department
Creating and aligning incentive comp plans that drive and reward the right behaviors
Managing individual performance and making hard decisions about people when appropriate
Identifying weekly lead sales behaviors that fill the funnel with qualified prospects

Analysis and development of sales tools
Effective utilization of pipeline and funnel reports
Proper use of the CRM
Developing and implementing proper reporting within the department and for the company