One of the most overlooked responsibilities of sales leadership is not motivation, compensation, or even strategy. It is enablement.
A powerful question every sales manager should ask their team is simple:
What could I do or change that would make it easier for you to sell?
This question reframes sales management away from inspection and pressure and toward support, clarity, and speed. In today’s sales environment, where buyers are informed, cautious, and often slow to commit, the role of the sales manager is no longer just to manage results. It is to remove friction.
Sales Management Is Really About Sales Enablement
At its core, sales management is the business of enabling performance.
That means helping salespeople move faster, think more clearly, and focus on the right activities. High-performing sales managers understand that when deals stall, the issue is rarely effort alone. More often, it is caused by internal obstacles that make selling harder than it needs to be.
These obstacles often include unclear expectations, inconsistent processes, unnecessary approvals, poor coaching cadence, or a lack of accountability around buyer commitments.
When these barriers exist, even strong salespeople struggle to gain momentum.
Remove Roadblocks Instead of Adding Pressure
Many sales leaders respond to missed targets by pushing harder. More calls. More activity. More urgency.
While effort matters, pressure without clarity usually backfires.
Effective managers step back and ask where the process is breaking down. Are salespeople spending time on deals that should have been disqualified earlier? Are they unclear about what defines a qualified opportunity? Are internal systems slowing down proposals or approvals?
Removing just one major roadblock can often create more impact than introducing a new initiative.
Encourage and Hold Accountable at the Same Time
Enablement does not mean lowering standards.
Strong sales leadership balances encouragement with accountability. Salespeople need support, coaching, and confidence, but they also need clear expectations and follow-through.
Accountability creates momentum when it is tied to behaviors, not just outcomes. When managers consistently coach to defined selling behaviors and hold the team accountable to them, salespeople gain confidence and consistency.
That combination allows deals to move forward more predictably and with less friction.
Ask the Team, Then Listen
Perhaps the most important takeaway is this: the best answers often already exist within your sales team.
When leaders ask their salespeople what would make their jobs easier, they gain insight into blind spots they may not see themselves. More importantly, they signal trust and partnership.
Listening to those answers, and acting on them, strengthens engagement and performance at the same time.
Question: What is the most effective thing a sales manager can do to improve sales performance?
Answer: The most effective action a sales manager can take is to remove obstacles that slow the sales process while providing clear expectations and accountability. When managers focus on enablement instead of pressure, salespeople are able to sell more confidently, move deals forward faster, and close more consistently.
The Leadership Shift That Drives Results
Sales leaders who ask better questions create better outcomes.
By focusing on enablement, removing roadblocks, and listening to the team, managers create an environment where selling becomes easier and results follow naturally.
If your goal is to help your salespeople close more deals, the fastest path may start with changing how you lead.
If you want to strengthen your sales leadership approach and build a team that sells with confidence, clarity, and consistency, Sandler by Trustpoint LLC can help.
Our sales leadership and management training programs are designed to help managers enable performance, improve accountability, and remove the barriers that slow revenue growth.
Reach out today to start a conversation about building a stronger, more effective sales team.
