If you want to know how to be a successful sales manager, you might first think about your experience and track record in sales. After all, if you’ve succeeded in sales, you’re all set to succeed leading your sales team, right? Well, it’s probably not that simple.
Why Sales Team Leadership Matters
Why is sales team leadership so important? If you think the singular benefit of increased sales is the answer, think again. Sales can increase in the short term by using a variety of strategies and tactics. Sales can increase due to external factors, too. And certainly, the general economic landscape plays a role in whether sales rise or fall. But none of these factors are reliable and sustainable. Truly effective sales leadership, on the other hand, can position your company for long-term sales growth, increasing market share, and sales team member satisfaction and loyalty. Achieving all these elements year after year depends not on trendy tactics but on excellence in sales team leadership.
Highly skilled and trained sales managers are well-equipped to manage their sales teams from a big-picture perspective. They know how to instill a progressive and actionable vision for the sales organization. They are confident and capable of developing and managing effective sales strategies and processes. Perhaps most important, they are equipped to motivate, inspire, and coach sales team members in ways that help them achieve individual performance goals that roll up into larger company success.
When we say these sales managers are “equipped” to do these things, we don’t mean they necessarily have innate leadership skills. Frankly, few people may be “born leaders.” Leadership takes work. It demands dedication. It depends on attitude as much as aptitude.
And leadership ability most certainly benefits from effective sales leadership training.
What Got You Here Won’t Necessarily Get You There
Many (perhaps most) sales managers attain their position by first being top sales performers. But while this recognition of past performance is commendable, the skills of a top salesperson aren’t enough to ensure success as a sales team leader. In other words, what got you here won’t be enough to get you there! Frankly, without the necessary leadership skills in place, promoting the sales leader to a team leadership role could backfire, as described in this article.
To turn leadership potential into real-world success as a sales team leader requires a new set of skills, strategic perspective, and training focused on developing leadership traits and behaviors.
Benefits of Sales Leadership Training
Effective sales management is crucial to business success, but it also demands preparation, from acquired skills, experience, and expertise to key sales leadership training. Unfortunately, many businesses – especially small and mid-sized businesses with smaller sales teams and smaller budgets – too often ignore this critical linchpin for company success. A recent Sales Xceleration survey revealed that while 96% of sales managers recognize and want sales leadership training, only 1 in 5 organizations budget for it.
But if you want to know how to be a successful sales manager and a true leader for your sales team, then sales leadership training must be prioritized. After all, a top-quality sales training certification course like our Certified Sales Leader® (CSL) program, brings sales training results that will prepare you with the analytical, tactical, and strategic sales management skills needed to drive revenue growth now and into the future.
The Bottom Line:
Sales team leadership depends on a broad skillset that comes in part from acquired sales knowledge and experience, but also from dedicated sales leadership training. A professionally trained sales manager is well-equipped to lead the sales team to achieve sales organization – and total company – success. To see how you can benefit from additional sales leadership training, take our free Sales Leadership Assessment here. To download the Top 10 Things Gained from Certified Sales Leader Training click here, or simply contact us at (844) 874-7253, extension 3.
