The skills that move team results: coaching, pipeline management, forecasting, hiring, and performance and deal strategy. Factor 8 measures every leader against a Sales Manager Competency Framework built on those five areas, plus the day-to-day systems that make them possible, like owning the calendar and running meetings and 1:1s that drive action.

Start with the shift from seller to leader. New managers need a weekly system for their time, meetings, and 1:1s, a coaching framework they use in every conversation, and practice applying it on real calls. Factor 8 pairs short Sales Bar e-learning with live, interactive workshops so new managers learn the why first, then apply it with feedback.

Leading a team takes a different skill set than selling, and most managers are promoted because they were great reps, not because anyone taught them to lead. Managers shape how fast reps ramp, whether they stay, and how many hit quota. When managers aren't trained, coaching is the first thing to go and rep training fades fast.

When you invest in your managers, you invest in every rep they lead. Great managers build great reps, and that shows up in revenue. After six months of customized manager training plus 1:1 mentoring, ZipRecruiter saw a 23% increase in sales conversion, a 21% increase in recurring revenue per lead, and an $18.7M projected annual return. Managers win too: they get time back, coach with a plan instead of reacting, and are more likely to stay. In Factor 8 research, 62% of sales managers say they’re burned out, and lack of training or growth is the top reason managers would leave.

Start with the basics: are they new, recently promoted, or have they never had formal management training? Then watch for managers who spend the day firefighting instead of coaching, who coach the loudest rep instead of the ones with the most upside, whose forecasts regularly miss, or whose teams ramp slowly, turn over, or show big gaps between top and bottom performers. Each one points to a skill gap that training can close.

Training that's practical, customized to your team, and built around a repeatable coaching system. Factor 8 assesses leaders against the Sales Manager Competency Framework, then builds the program from 15 manager courses. A typical pilot is 6 courses, sequenced so leaders come out with a coaching system, not just skills.

Give managers a plan and hold them to it. In Factor 8 programs, managers build a coaching plan by rep, set a weekly coaching cadence, and certify their coaching skills live with role play and feedback. Competency check-ins and ongoing calibration keep skills from fading after the workshop ends.