Why Sales Leadership Training is Worth the Investment
Because effective sales management is crucial to business success, effective sales leadership training is just as crucial. Unfortunately, many businesses – especially small and medium-sized businesses with smaller sales teams – ignore the importance and impact of training for their sales managers. In fact, a recent Sales Xceleration survey revealed that 96% of Sales Managers recognize the need, and stated they want sales leadership training. Sadly, only 1 in 5 organizations budget for this critical need. Let’s look at why effective sales leadership training is worth the investment:
Risks of NOT Providing Proper Sales Management Training
Maybe you think you’ve got this sales management thing set up for success. Maybe you promoted your top salesperson into the Sales Manager role. Or maybe you hired a proven salesperson from within your industry to step in and lead your sales team. So far so good, right? But the mistake many business owners make is thinking that being a great sales rep is all it takes to be a great Sales Manager. Wrong!
As I describe in this article, there are many essential traits and skills an effective Sales Manager needs to be positioned for success. From coaching to hiring to sales forecasting and more, effective sales management and leadership takes special skills to motivate and sustain top performance levels from sales team members. These skills are not the same ones that were needed to make the salesperson successful in their previous role.
But what if you decide your Sales Manager is probably equipped to lead your sales function? What will it cost your organization if you are wrong?
Sales
Often, poor organizational sales performance is overlooked because it is one level removed from sales management and sales leadership. This means that individual salespeople typically receive the initial blame for poor sales. Indeed, the impact of ineffective sales management may not be obvious until your entire sales team underperforms. By that point, the situation is dire.
Morale
A poorly managed and compensated sales team soon begins to crumble under the weight of its discord. When team morale suffers, sales reps lose their motivation to perform, let alone support a weak Sales Manager. Few things impact sales performance as significantly as a toxic sales department culture.
Sales Team Stability
Naturally, when sales team morale is in the dumpster, sales reps look for opportunities in more supportive and functional organizations. And when team members begin to jump ship, the entire sales organization must pick up the slack while new recruits are onboarded and integrated into the still unhealthy culture. This can become a costly vicious cycle of dysfunction.
Your Reputation
When a business owner rewards or continues to support ineffective sales leadership, the owner’s reputation suffers. Not only do sales team members lose respect for the underqualified Sales Manager, they also lose respect for the business owner and the business itself. This state of disunion often seeps out into the marketplace, too, tarnishing the corporate brand.
Your Business
If sales are weak, morale is bad, sales team members abandon ship, and your reputation is in ruins, how long will your business stay afloat?
The fix for all these things begins and ends with effective sales management and sales leadership – which begin with proper training.
Rewards of Effective Sales Leadership Training
Properly trained sales managers are well-equipped with essential skills and tools to manage their sales team to ensure goals and objectives are met. They can create a progressive and cohesive vision for the sales organization. They have the confidence and ability to develop and manage sales strategies and processes. And they can motivate, inspire, coach and lead sales team members to achieve the individual performance goals necessary for overall company success.
As significant as these rewards are for the organization, sales leadership training is too often an afterthought – and too often considered only after the damage is done.
The Bottom Line:
Being a superior salesperson often doesn’t lead to success as a Sales Manager or sales leader. Indeed, without the benefits of structured sales leadership training, many sales professionals fail to live up to their potential as sales leaders.
If you are unsure if you have gaps in your sales management skills, take our free Sales Leadership Assessment now.
Until now, however, the type of sales management training necessary for sales leadership success has been absent. At Sales Xceleration, we recognized this industry need and decided to do something about it. We developed Certified Sales Leader (CSL) training designed to help small and medium-sized businesses benefit from superior sales leadership to optimize revenue performance and business growth. Led by Sales Xceleration-licensed Advisors, CSL training is conducted in-person and focuses on specific company needs while also providing a comprehensive sales leadership curriculum. To learn more, click here, reach out to an Advisor, or contact us today at 844.874.7253.
