TopLine Leadership Sales Management Blog

The goal I am championing includes re purposing one-on-one reviews with sales team members so they become a consistent, reliable component of a sales management system. When used this way, a monthly 1-on-1 turns into a developmental coaching conversation.

A common complaint I hear from sales managers is that their sales reps are stuck selling to low-level decision makers: supervisors, purchasing agents, clerks. People at those levels are often concerned only about price. Coaching sales reps to reach higher-level decision makers will make closing the sale more attainable

Matt McDarby's new book,  "The Cadence of Excellence",  is an outstanding book that every sales manager – and those who manage sales managers – should read. The book includes many real-life examples of leading companies that have refocused their sales managers toward a new, early stage and value-creating operating system.

Successful sales managers do not tolerate mediocrity. They set clear performance standards for salespeople, and then effectively apply those standards to correct poor sales rep performance.

Becoming a better observer of sales rep performance is key to effective sales coaching. To correctly diagnosis sales rep performance issues, you need to observe a sales rep “in the field”— whatever that means for your organization.

One of the most challenging times in sales coaching is when sales reps have been on your team for a few months. They’re starting to get a handle on how your process works, how to connect with customers, and how to value-sell your offerings. Handling this phase correctly can determine the rep's achievements in the future.