Every sales team needs a great sales manager. The role of a sales manager is important to a business as they are directly involved in activities that generate revenue. Therefore it’s crucial to hire the right individual for this role to ensure high levels of performance across a sales team. When hiring for the role of a sales manager, the sales leadership of a company should look at a candidate’s past performance, key skills, attributes, and career goals before getting them on board.
The role of a sales manager
As a sales manager, you’re the leader of the sales team and it’s your responsibility to guide the team in all its operations to drive business and generate more profits. The success of a sales team depends on how effective you are at making sure the team is closing top deals, achieving sales targets while keeping each member of the team inspired and motivated to sell effectively.
You will need to coach sales reps, provide mentorship and training whenever necessary. A recent survey has revealed that 26% of sales reps think that their sales training has little to no effect.
You will also be working with the HR department in hiring the right talent to build your team. You are an ambassador of the company internally. You must focus on the business goals and make sure your team is aligned with them and moving in the right direction.
It’s no easy task being a sales manager but if you want to be successful at it, you must possess unmatched skills in:
- Being a consistent coach who enables the team to work to the best of their abilities
- Getting the right people on board the sales team
- Knowing when to step in and support a rep to close a deal
- Having a sharp and analytical mindset that’s driven by data. Effective sales leaders use the power of data to make strategic decisions and boost performance consistently
- Ensuring that you have your priorities in the right order. This way you are on top of your game and are better equipped to manage your team successfully
What are the KRAs for a sales manager?
It’s a common misconception that an individual with the highest sales record is best suited for the role of a sales manager. Nothing could be further from the truth than that.
Instead, your role as a sales manager will be more inclined towards leading, mentoring and motivating the sales team to achieve sales goals and targets. Companies value sales managers who are high performers themselves and who lead by example.
Going by the Pareto Principle, 80% of the outcomes are a result of 20% of causes or in other words inputs. This is why it is important to identify that 20% of your work that will help you achieve results and drive value for your organisation. This in turn will help you chalk out your KRAs correctly.
Let’s now delve into the top 7 KRAs for a sales manager:
1) Achieve sales quotas
Motivate and encourage your reps to hit the quotas set for each sales period. A quota is essential to make a rep feel motivated. Work to exceed them on a weekly, monthly, or quarterly basis.
2) Mentor and motivate sales reps
Work closely with each salesperson to provide mentorship, guidance, feedback and motivation. Develop your team through timely performance management reviews, counselling and product knowledge training which will boost their performance.
3) Hire the right people into the team
You will be responsible for setting up your team and will have to work alongside the HR team to select, recruit and train new joiners to become seasoned salespeople.
4) Generate sales forecasts
Create realistic sales forecasts after taking into consideration past data, the market conditions which are changing and the business goals. Accurate forecasting is vital for establishing sales goals that power business growth.
5) Analyse sales performance metrics
Monitor and track key performance metrics to evaluate the performance of your team members. The analysis will help you make informed decisions and offer effective training to your teams to improve sales.
6) Create and execute a sales strategy
Design and implement a sales strategy that provides strategic direction to the organisation. You should have the ability to clearly communicate this strategy to all stakeholders.
7) Improve the sales process set
Ensure the sales process set is adhered to. Take feedback from the members of your team if any process is redundant and strive to create a flexible process that accommodates change.
What are the KPIs for sales managers?
Sales reps are often measured on a lot of different factors and performance metrics. However, sales managers are measured only on the end results- achievement of monthly/quarterly sales goals.
Great sales managers play a key role in their teams’ productivity and yet many of them aren’t held accountable to sales KPIs. According to Hubspot, sales managers lack control over 83% of the metrics they are held accountable to.
There are many sales KPIs to consider and track. Here are a few KPIs for sales managers that can be used to hold a sales manager accountable.
a) Ride-alongs
This is in an activity that applies to both fields or inside sales where you observe and listen in to sales calls or join reps on their meetings with a client. Most sales reps dread the thought of having their manager ride along on a client call or meeting. Sales managers use ride-along as a measure of last resort, to understand why a rep is lagging behind when compared to other members of the team. This will help you understand if a rep is handling their call confidently and speaking with clarity. Ride-along is a technique that is essential for effective sales monitoring.
b) Pre-briefing calls
If a company establishes a KPI around this activity, it is sure to see success in sales. In this activity, you hold an ‘X’ number of calls each week with your team to make sure your reps are all set for the actual sales call. This way each sales rep will be clear of what they have to accomplish and are well prepared for the meeting.
c) De-briefing calls
This is the post-meeting review held soon after the meeting or calls with the client has ended. The conversation with your reps will help you understand what went well or did not go well in the meeting and it will help you identify the areas that need improvement.
d) Sales promotion
This is an important metric to determine how well you fuel promotions within the company. Are there opportunities for your reps to get promoted? Are you helping people succeed in the company? Are you allowing and creating opportunities for growth and development in your team? Great sales managers are focused on developing their people and are happy to see them advance in their careers.
e) Sales turnover
A successful sales leader will have low turnover rates. This KPI of a sales manager measures how efficient you are at recruiting, onboarding and retaining top-performing salespeople in your team. Successful sales managers not only hire great talent but retain them.
Your turn
As sales managers, you have a huge impact on the success of an organisation. That’s why it’s important to define KRAs and measure your KPIs to consistently achieve your goals and add value to your business. As marketing guru Peter Drucker said-“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.”
A gamification platform like Unomok could go a long way in helping you and your sales teams to track and achieve KPIs like pros – get started with Unomok today.
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