Imagine your sales team as a football team. Your running back is that high-performing sales rep who can grab the lead, break through the defensive walls of the buyer, and sprint through the sales process for that big score. Fantastic, right? But what if your head coach hasn’t updated their playbook since leather helmets were a thing? How many wins would your team get? That coach is your sales manager. And if they’re not up to speed on managing a remote team, leveraging the latest data and technology, and adjusting the game plan for the new rules of modern selling, your team is going to be at a big disadvantage.
Bad Coaches Can Cause Big Losses.
Sales training that doesn’t stick, lack of consistency across teams, and managers improvising their own game plans—these are all fumbled plays in the sales game. Short-term sales training is like going to training camp and then never practicing again for the rest of the season. Then, to compound the problem, you might have a defensive coach preaching one thing and an offensive coach reinforcing something completely different. Unfortunately, most organizations don’t hold sales managers accountable to a common language, sales methodology, and sales process, so most of them are making up a new game plan every week.
Most new sales coaches struggle to move from contributors to leaders. In football, they would be like a coach who's still trying to play the game himself, rather than directing his team. And what about experienced managers who spend too much time telling people how they did it back in the day—aren't they missing the chance to design new plans for the young talent on the team? Really bad sales managers waste time arguing with the referees and miss crucial plays. Hopefully, you don’t have any sales managers that argue with you about the rules or how you are keeping score.
The Stats Don’t Lie.
We all know stats can be as revealing as a slow-motion instant replay. Consider these:
One-third of managers resign or get fired within the first three years.
A stunning 40% of sales leaders don't have the proper coaching skills or training needed.
About 67.5% of sales leaders have no clue how to lead remote teams.
Great Coaches Turn Benchwarmers into MVPs.
Let’s talk about what great leadership looks like. Great coaches instill winning attitudes in the team. They reward and encourage the right behaviors, and they empower the team with powerful strategies and techniques for each situation. Just as a good coach would give pep talks and valuable insights during halftime, proactive strategic coaching and pre-briefing tactical coaching for specific calls can make all the difference. Most importantly, connecting the dots between a player’s individual stats and the organization winning the championship is the critical motivational management step that keeps everyone going strong all year long. Similarly, sales managers can tie bigger corporate goals to the individual goals of each member of the team.
The Game-Changing Strategy: Invest in Your Leadership First
How do you transform your sales team into champions? At Sandler, we start our sales transformation with coaching skills in the Sales Leader Growth Series. Sales managers can evolve from yelling generic slogans like "Just Do It!" to providing strategic insights that actually advance deals. It’s not just about pumping up your team but guiding with questions, accountability, and role playing with them on how to execute the perfect play.
Your Sales Manager Needs a Coach Too!
Just like many football coaches who, despite their love for the game, lead their teams to disastrous seasons, sales managers who are passionate about selling and the impact of your organization can learn how to win. Most sales leaders have never had any formal training on how to be a good coach. They just need training to help them learn how to lead a well-coordinated sales team.
