Uncover the 5 Benefits of Implementing a Sales Management Training Program

How a Management Training Program can Boost Your Company's Growth, By Tim Ledwein

Sales Management is one of the most challenging jobs in any organization.

As a sales manager, you are often stuck between the goals and expectations of leadership and how to deliver them through your team. Sandler's newest program for managers, the Sales Leader Growth Series, has been designed to meet these challenges.

Why Management Training is Important

Sales managers play a critical role in the success of a sales team. They are responsible for:

• Supervising
• Coaching
• Mentoring
• Training
• And motivating their sales team

In addition to all of this, they need to set sales goals and monitor overall performance. Without the proper systems in place, sales managers get overwhelmed and struggle to effectively lead their teams while making strategic decisions that drive sales.

A recent study from the Sandler Research Center found that 40% of managers feel they lack the skills to effectively coach their teams.

But here's the catch, studies have also shown that over 70% of a team's engagement is influenced by their manager! That means there is a massive opportunity for organizations to invest in management training for their sales managers, and in turn, boost their company's growth.

Five Benefits of Implementing a Sales Management Training Program:

1. Help Sales Managers develop the necessary skills to lead and coach their teams more effectively

For most Sales Leaders, a large portion of their time is spent talking to their sales team regarding different accounts, deals, and roadblocks they face daily. Many managers are familiar with their sales reps calling to unload their issues in hopes that the sales manager will provide a solution to save the day. What if I told you this was one of the most ineffective things you can do as a sales leader?

If we continually fix our teams problems, they will continue to bring them to us.

And maybe you have plenty of time to listen to the issues and then create a solution. But being a true Sales Leader means coaching your team through the issues, so they learn how to identify and solve them on their own. Helping them become their own problem solver before they bring the issue to you. This is how you LEAD a sales team.

2. Provide tools and processes to help create a sales strategy, set goals, and track performance

In most organizations, the sales leader wears multiple hats.

In addition to supporting the sales function, there is:

• Forecasting
• Setting company targets
• Hiring
• Retaining talent
• And much more

It's easy to get overwhelmed and bogged down in the daily tasks that cause sales leaders to REACT to the environment around them. The more processes and tools you have in place as a Sales Manager the easier it will be to automate necessary routine tasks so you can focus on what drives the business.

3. Improve the sales process

Wait…A Sales Management Training Program can also benefit our Sales Process? Yes! One of the key benefits of a management training program is it can help to shorten the sales cycle. When sales managers are properly trained, they can coach their team to identify potential roadblocks so they can address them quickly.

4. Hire more effectively while retaining top talent

One of the greatest challenges an organization faces today is a lack of qualified talent. Many businesses have watched as their top performers have unexpectedly left their organizations for better pay or other reasons. What would you say if I told you the way in which we manage our company has a DIRECT impact on our retention rates?

When polling salespeople who recently changed jobs, a large factor was a lack of or poor leadership.

Are you willing to take an honest inventory of your company to understand if or how the management process of your organization could be playing a role in retention (or lack thereof)?

5. Grow your company's overall revenue and profitability

If your company was able to improve the first four areas mentioned, it should be clear why overall revenue and profitability grow after implementing a sales management program. When sales managers are properly trained, they are better equipped to lead their teams and make pro-active strategic decisions that drive sales. Many of the tools and processes are put into place to streamline the routine tasks related to sales management. This frees up sales leaders to focus on increasing productivity, improving sales results, and driving revenue and profitability.

In Sandler’s 50 plus years of partnering with businesses from around the world, we are convinced a management training program is an essential aspect for any company looking to achieve exponential growth. It has helped our clients develop sales managers' skills, provided useful tools to streamline management functions, improved their sales process, shortened their sales cycles, and helped grow their company's overall revenue and profitability.

Is it time to take your sales to the next level and make the most of your sales managers' potential?

Find out how Sandler's Sales Leader Growth Series - Sandler's Management Training Program can enhance your team's game plan!