Sales Hacker Conference London 2017 Tamara Schenk - Research Director, CSO Insights Visit SalesHacker.com for more actionable and educational sales content.

1. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Sales Managers, Overworked and Underdeveloped:
How to Develop your Sales Manager Effectively
@tamaraschenk | research director | September 12, 2017 | London

2. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Quick question…
How could a Sales 2.0
or a Sales 3.0
organization ever be
successfully led by
Sales 1.0 managers?

3. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Agenda
Tamara Schenk
Research Director
CSO Insights
• Sales managers have the hardest job in
sales
• The business case for sales manager
enablement
• Sales manager enablement requires more
than developing coaching skills
• Enabling effective sales coaching
Twitter: @tamaraschenk
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraschenk
Email: tamara.schenk@csoinsights.com

4. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Sales managers are always under pressure…
• Ongoing pressure during daily
“sales rush hours”
• Many competing first priorities
at the same time
• Numerous requests from many
departments

5. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
…but they are underdeveloped
Key role with huge leverage
factor
• Not properly defined
• Poorly developed and
enabled
• Lack of investment

6. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Navigating complexity with a triangle
Leadership
Performance Accountability
Customers
People Business
Sales Manager
Effectiveness
The sales manager triangle helps
to visualize the role’s:
• Complexity
• Challenges
• Interdependency
• Need to balance different
dimensions
The triangle helps to raise
awareness and consciousness
Source: CSO Insights Research Note
Sales Manager Triangle

7. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Imagine how you were driving...
...when you just got
your driving license?
And how are you
driving know?
Unconscious
competence!

8. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Do your sales managers have a “license”?
Probably not…
Most sales manager never
received any “drivers
education”
And “figuring things out” is
not the best of all
approaches…

9. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Investment patterns
Source: CSO Insights Research Note
Four Reasons to Invest in Sales Managers
• 18.6% don’t invest in sales
managers at all!
 But only 5.5% don’t
invest in salespeople!
• Investments > $2,500 and
> $5,000 are more balanced!

10. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Case for sales manager enablement
Those who have a
“driving license” deliver
much better results!
Figuring things out
is NOT a scalable
strategy!
Source: CSO Insights Research Note
Building a Case for Sales Manager Development

11. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Criteria for a great case…
Source: CSO Insights Research Note
Building a Case for Sales Manager Development
Data
Assessment
Context
Champions
• Use independent data that cover the business impact
• Leverage the data to calculate your expected business value
• Process maturity assessment and skill assessment
• Results make your case specific and allow a tailored
approach
• Map business strategy to current sales execution plan
• Identify related strengths, gaps, and weaknesses
• Build a cross-functional group of champions
• Leverage the champions to run a pilot

12. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Design your sales manager enablement program
Based on the triangle,
the maturity and the skill
assessment
Design your sales
manager enablement
program

13. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Design your sales manager enablement program
• Coaching is crucial,
but coaching alone is
NOT enough…
• Integrate knowledge and
skills for ALL three areas
in your sales manager
enablement program
Leadership
Performance Accountability
Customers
People Business
Sales Manager
Effectiveness
Coaching

14. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Sales coaching defined
Coaching is a leadership skill
to develop each salesperson's
full potential based on a
structured conversation

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Organization’s coaching approach
Source: CSO Insights 2016
Sales Enablement Optimization Study
• Almost 50% have a
random coaching
approach (coaching is
left up to managers):
 No performance impact!
Coaching has to be
formalized to be effective!

16. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Why coaching is key to performance
Source: CSO Insights 2016
Sales Enablement Optimization Study
Who can ignore win
rate
improvements* of
• 12.9 percentage
points or
• 27.9%
improvement
* Compared to average win rate of 46.2%
Average win rate: 46.2%

17. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Sales manager enablement: Take-aways
Sales manager’s
complex role
How to create a
business case
Why coaching
matters so much
• It’s always “sales rush hour”
• Sales manager triangle: 3 dimensions, always in competition
• Think about data, context, assessments, and champions
• Tell a compelling story for a holistic sales manager
enablement program; overcoming the usual “bias”
• Coaching has to be formalized to be effective
• Implement a coaching process, develop coaching skills
1
2
3

18. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
…continued
Going forward
• Pay attention to the corporate
weather, it may change quickly…
• Pilot your approach
• Initiate a sales manager community
• Communicate! It cannot be often
enough…
4

19. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
Download your report!
Tamara Schenk
Research Director
CSO Insights
Twitter: @tamaraschenk
LinkedIn:
http://www.linkedin.com/in/tamaraschenk
Email: tamara.schenk@csoinsights.com
https://www.csoinsights.com/sales-managers-overwhelmed-
underdeveloped/

20. © Copyright 2016, A Division of Miller Heiman Group
See you soon again!
https://topsalesworld.com/top-sales-events/tsw17-european-sales-enablement-summit/
 October 4th 2017
 Emirates Stadium,
London
 Promo Code to save
£200: TSW17/TS