Critical New Sales Manager Skills to Master [Checklist]
Critical New Sales Manager Skills to Master
[Checklist]
Sales Managers
4 Time-Saving Tips for Sales Managers
I’m writing this blog at 9 am tucked into bed with the flu. I started to write it at 7:15 am, but decided on OJ and an episode of American Housewife instead.
In the 45 minutes I procrastinated, I received 74 emails. WHAT?!
Please be clear that I counted the new emails, scanned briefly, and then shut Outlook. Why? Because if I didn’t this article wouldn’t get written this morning – probably not even by end of day. And because if someone really needed me there are at least 3 faster ways they can get a hold of me.
Email is the new snail mail. It’s where un-urgent requests, FYIs, and sales pitches belong, and if you aren’t treating it that way you and your organization could be wasting precious time. Yes, you get enough emails to keep you busy 4-6 hours/day, and if you ignore them all the time they will pile up (you make good points my dear sweet email lover). Alternatively, answering other people’s requests is probably not the most important part of your job, is it?
Our completely normal instinct to deal with something simple that’s in our line of sight is prioritizing other people’s to-do lists over our own.
Here are a few best practices and time-saving tips to take back your day:
- Get rid of email alerts. Immediately. If we can agree that email is NOT where urgent items live (read: it has an imminent deadline), then quit interrupting your current screen with them. Every time the pop-up happens, a part of your brain goes down the rabbit hole until it finally just can’t resist a quick alt-tab to email to take care of it. It only takes a minute, right? Sure! Until you see the next one and the next one…it’s like trying to eat just one handful of popcorn at the movies. Impossible. If we could resist we wouldn’t be in our inbox right now. Kill the alerts. Be present in your current task instead.
- Designate a time for email. There, that may feel better to my GMail addicted friends. 🙂 I do email once a day at the end of the day. True, my assistant cleans it out for me in the morning, so I’m cheating just a little bit. Carve out two hours/day, put it on your calendar, and be strong. It only hurts for a couple of days. You’re not ignoring. You’re prioritizing. You were hired to coach, strategize, lead…not to type.
- Set communication expectations with your team. Have a conversation about what you consider urgent and important tasks and requests. Agree on what task/topic requires an instant message, text, phone, call, drop by, or email. Help team members know when you want to be CC’ed and when you don’t (there’s 50 less per day for you) and help them understand that if they email, they can expect a reply in 2-3 business days. If you choose to reprimand them for “bumping their email to the top” and sending you emails about their emails, that one is up to you. It may also be a great time to let them know when you’ll be doing meetings, coaching, and other activities that may not be interrupted with a minor customer issue or system question.
- Assess in a week. Getting more done? Finding times where you wonder what you should be doing? Getting more rep coaching done? These are good signs. If you find you’ve chewed off your nails and you’re staying at work late to do all the email, your addiction is more serious and I’m sorry for recommending this cold turkey. Try some of these gentler adjustments instead:
- Start the day by cleaning out emails – just book your first meeting within an hour so it doesn’t go long
- Try an email cleaner like Unroll.me that will aggregate your junk mail
- Consider delegating – if you’re on email alerts, groups, etc. for leads or training, perhaps someone on your team could monitor these and bring hot topics to a team meeting
- Eat lunch at your desk once or twice a week and take the extra hour to respond during that time
- Find one email/day your can unsubscribe or junk
I cordially invite you to try several of these time-saving tips and join me in the sweet, sweet freedom of being released from email jail. Looking for more ways to get sales management tasks done in less time? This was one of over twenty hacks in our top-rated sales manager course “Own Your Day”, which is now available on-demand at The Sales Bar.
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Do I Have A Coaching Culture?
Last week, I got an email from an old friend and colleague. Together we launched the inside sales team in EMEA for SAP, and we’ve stayed in touch and had a few beers when I’m overseas – you know the drill.
He emailed and asked, “How will I know when I have a true coaching culture?”
Love this question. Wish more leaders would ask it! Well, I instantly started forming a little “Cosmo quiz” in my head. Take it for me and let me know how you scored – even better, see if you can add a question!
If you’re not making the top half, click here to get a replay of my recent webinar with the Sales Management Association.
Do I have a Coaching Culture?
- I see managers prioritizing coaching sessions over other tasks and meetings
- I see reps asking for more coaching
- Managers can recite skills trends, like what newbies struggle with most
- Training opportunities are offered abundantly at all levels
- I see new strategies being implemented smoothly and quickly (e.g. we all need to do XYZ on calls)
- We have libraries of different kinds of recorded calls available
- Reps feel comfortable having a third person in the room/call observing coaching
- Everyone shares the same understanding of what “good” looks like on calls
- Leaders regularly talk about coaching, rep development, and manager skills
- Managers coach after the call, not during
Scoring
(you know I’m making this up, right?)
- Yes = add 2 points
- Sometimes = add 1 point
- Heck no = subtract 2 points
20 Points: Seriously impressive. If you don’t already have conversational intelligence tools like Chorus, Gong, or ExecVision, your team is worth the investment! You may even be ready to integrate sales skill and coaching scores into balanced scorecards, rep and manager reward & compensation. Chances are, you have more than 55% of your floor hitting quota. Advertise your coaching culture in job postings and keep nurturing it with your leaders and managers.
12-19 Points: You, my friend, are middle of the pack. Chances are you come up average in floor quota attainment (about 55%), have some managers who are great at it, and plenty of reps who resist it. You may have great intent but be lacking in execution. There’s never really a coaching emergency, is there? Watch the webinar recording and pay special attention to strategy and process tips.
5-11 Points: In a sea of struggle, I’m sorry to say you’re rock bottom. I’m willing to bet there are more issues than coaching with the culture and you’re struggling with high turnover and “whack a mole” management. When we struggle to make the number, a focus on development never tops the priority list. Keep the resume updated, because it will be harder and harder to keep and attract talent.
So what IS a coaching culture? It’s hard to define, isn’t it?
Culture is how an organization feels when you visit it or are a part of it. It’s the company’s personality, right? I think culture is made up of pace (Factor 8 = super fast), formality (super informal), focus (results), attitude (an underdog with confidence) and language choice (you can probably guess, we’re not afraid of the F word at Factor 8).
Most leaders think culture is shaped by company values. To those leaders, I share the quote by Grunter and Whitaker:
“The culture of any organization is shaped by the worst behavior the leader is willing to tolerate.”
Think of your top rep, your worst manager, the lazy guy in the next department. They show what is acceptable – it’s the bottom of the grading curve that shows where the curve really is. This is impactful.
Yes, the top of the curve matters too! But I can cite too many examples of top performers bending rules or operating in ethical gray areas. Can you? Is that tolerated where you are? Encouraged? Maybe even accidentally celebrated?
The thing about a coaching culture is that it implies all the feel-good areas of human performance, not necessarily hard numbers. To me, a coaching culture implies:
- A focus on skill development (is training provided?)
- Improvement over perfection (is failure celebrated?)
- An openness to give and receive feedback (does this happen at all levels?)
- A prioritization of people and their career development (are career paths defined?)
Implementing a conversational intelligence tool does not a culture create. In fact, I’ve seen it make cultures worse. Leaders used technology meant to aid development for compliance over coaching and “caught” reps who didn’t say required phrases. Ouch.
Right now, this is more important than ever. The generations we’re hiring have three top priorities:
- Opportunities for development
- Opportunities for advancement
- Access to leadership
Coaching helps check all three of these boxes, and if your team’s boxes aren’t being checked there are plenty of revenue jobs available right now. Attract and keep great talent with a coaching culture.
Want more tips on creating a coaching culture?
Fill out the form below to watch the recording from
our recent session on“Creating a Coaching Culture”
Creating a Coaching Culture [Webinar Recording]
Creating a Coaching Culture
[Webinar Recording]
Should You Step Down from Sales Management?
Not sure you did the right thing pulling the trigger for the promotion? Miss your old customers? Not getting done working until dark? Losing your mind babysitting? Have you calculated what you make an hour now vs. when you sold for a living?
We get you. You aren’t alone!
In fact, over 50% of new sales managers don’t stay in their role. Some opt to take a step down from sales management, some are asked to leave due to poor performance. The sad part is that you LOVED selling, right?! Most awesome sellers are ambitious and competitive by nature like you. Of COURSE you investigated moving up! And yes, you probably should be a VP someday soon, but this interim gig of front-line sales supervision stinks.
Nobody cares as much as you do. Not a single week goes by with everyone actually showing up and working a full week. You’re saying the same things over and over. You spend your days fighting fires. It’s impossible to know where to spend your time. Useless meetings crowd your calendar. Remember the days where your own hard work determined your destiny and your paycheck? Where you could carry the number over the line AND win a great trip or bonus? Those were the days…
Now you’re thinking of leaving the company – throwing away all the product and service knowledge and years of experience…not to mention relationships and street cred! AHH!!
So, how do you know if you should stay or you should go (if you’re singing it in your head, you get it)? Only you have the ultimate answer, but in the meantime, I’ve created a fun little quiz to help.
Take the Quiz Below!
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Why Is Inside Sales Call Coaching Failing?
Call coaching has been ranked as sales managers’ #1 worst skill, according to the Sales Executive Council. Surprised? Me neither. Harsh, but fair.
According to data from Objective Management Group, only 7% of sales managers are capable of coaching their team. This is especially disappointing when you keep in mind that coaching salespeople at least 3 hours a month yields an average of 7% over the goal.
I struggle with inside sales call coaching myself. Why? Because it’s just so much easier to take over the call myself. Are you with me?
Here are some quick tips to help former sellers who are struggling to transition to a coaching role.
Your Inside Sales Call Coaching Isn’t Working. Here’s Why:
Sales management is THE busiest job in the world.
The line at the desk, backlog of emails, and cacophony of instant messages are real. Our best-laid plans go by the wayside as we attack the latest fire, and we take a reluctant loss in the coaching arena.
That means missed sessions, rushed sessions, and I-never-bothered-to-schedule-it sessions. So before we even attempt to execute good coaching, we’re upside down because reps come into our sessions feeling neglected.
Don’t buy it? Check out the study by ExecVision and The Bridge Group that cited managers report nearly 2x the coaching time that reps do!
The majority of call coaching that is happening is informal.
Think about your company’s own processes for a minute.
- Do you have a call coaching guide?
- Do you have a call coaching framework that’s mapped to the customer’s journey?
- Do you have set call coaching appointments, and keep those promises?
- Do you have a trend analysis where you can see how people are improving their skills?
- Do you have clear, firm expectations about reps showing up and showing improvement?
According to the trends we’ve seen in the call coaching sphere, most likely the answer is “no.” Don’t sweat it. I’ve literally NEVER seen a team that answers “Yes” to all of the above. And yet it’s this level of rigor that is required to get the big, silver-bullet-level lift of sales results.
A best-in-class inside sales call coaching program can lead to a 10-60 percent increase in quota attainment (CSO Insights). Quite a swing in the results there. I unpack these stats a little bit more in an article for Selling Power.
All of the items above are components of a more formal coaching process that uses best practices. Accomplishing this in the real world will require support from a high-level sales leader:
- A strategy team
- Input from multiple support departments, like Customer Success, Quality, Training, and Marketing
- Process documentation
- External training resources
- Follow-up – lots of it!
We just never learned how to call coach.
Truth: Great sellers are crappy coaches. Unless you study coaching techniques, take some skills training, adopt a meeting methodology, and get regular feedback, you’re probably making at least one of the insanely common (but sadly soul-crushing) coaching boo-boos we see daily.
And because we’re not experts, most of us wind up DEAL coaching, not REP coaching. The result is that reps leave call coaching sessions feeling like crap or confused. Instead, they should walk out feeling like a freaking superhero. (You and I know that confidence sells.)
So now that we’ve convinced you that call coaching is a losing battle, please step back from that ledge. We should still try.
At Factor 8, we teach The COACHN℠ Model for sales coaching success.
Here’s what it looks like:
1. Clarify Expectations
This is as simple as starting the meeting by saying, “We’re going to start a formal call coaching program where we’ll listen to some calls and talk about it.” Or, kick-off meetings by recapping what you went over last time, and outlining what you want to get out of the session today.
2. Observe Behavior
This is the step where you actually give your opinion to the rep.
One simple formula to avoiding hurt feelings is saying, “I heard you did this on the call, and it seems like the outcome was this.” Keep it factual and nonpersonal.
3. Ask Questions
Ask at least five questions during the call coaching section.
The goal here is self-discovery for reps. The more they have time to answer questions the more the light bulb will go off and they’ll start learning things on their own. This doesn’t happen as readily when managers are simply telling reps what to do.
4. Commit
Wrap up the call with takeaways for your reps to work on before your next coaching session. Reference one of the questions they answered before, saying, “I really loved your suggestion; why don’t we work on that for next time?”
5. How Can I Help?
Offer your help! This can seem awkward at times, but there are some great ways to do it.
Try it by using one of these lines:
- “Why don’t we role-play right now?”
- “Do you want to give it a try?”
- “Would you like me to review some more calls?”
This lets reps know that you care and are dedicated to their success.
6. Next Steps?
Assign tasks for your reps to practice before the next meeting.
Be sure to set them up for success by telling them exactly what you’d like to see. Here’s an example: “Send me three calls during which you think you put this into practice really well, and we’ll review next time.”
Stick With It!
Following The COACHN℠ Model reminds me to do all the important parts. Most important among those is asking questions and getting commitments.
Please note: Nowhere in this model did we say, “Here’s how I used to do it” or “Use this script!” Call coaching is tough. I hope these tips were fun and easy to implement. We’ll keep talking about this and how we can improve our techniques. Smart sales managers don’t give up on-call coaching.
Make a goal to get better at this each year. Buy some books or check out some on-site or online training like The Sales Bar to help you get there.
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Entrepreneurial Selling and Branding Tips for Founders [Webinar Recording]
Entrepreneurial Selling and Branding Tips for Founders
[Webinar Recording]
10 Traits of Top Ranking Sales Managers [Guide]
10 Traits of Top Ranking Sales Managers
[Guide]
Leaders: Activities to Start & Stop Doing [Worksheet]
Leaders: Activities to Start & Stop Doing
[Worksheet]
Build Your Time Management Matrix [Worksheet]
Build Your Time Management Matrix
[Worksheet]