Effective sales management requires a fundamentally different skill set than being an individual contributor. Yet many new sales managers find themselves thrust into leadership roles with little preparation for the transition.
The hunters and farmers who excelled at closing deals now face the complex challenge of motivating, sales coaching, and developing others to achieve those same results.
Without strong self-awareness and intentional skill development, however, even the most successful former salespeople can struggle to translate their individual success into team performance.
Focusing on the right activities will get you halfway there. It’s just as important to know what to avoid. Here are ten dos and don’ts for how to manage a sales team effectively.
How to Be an Effective Sales Manager: 10 Dos
1. Do invest in ongoing training and development programs.
Your team’s skills directly impact your bottom line, so treating sales training as an investment rather than an expense will pay dividends through improved performance and higher retention rates.
2. Do create and refine a standardized sales process.
A well-defined, straightforward sales process eliminates guesswork, ensures consistency across your team, and makes it easier to identify where deals are getting stuck so you can provide targeted coaching.
3. Do use data and analytics to inform decision-making.
Numbers don’t lie; they reveal patterns in your team’s sales performance that gut feelings might miss, allowing you to make strategic adjustments based on facts rather than assumptions.
4. Do be on the lookout for sales talent.
Even stable teams lose top performers. Keep your eyes open for candidates with the right skillset and use hiring assessments to gauge innate motivators and potential.
5. Do implement and optimize a CRM system for better lead management.
A properly utilized CRM transforms scattered information into actionable intelligence, preventing deals from falling through the cracks and enabling better forecasting accuracy.
6. Do regularly review and optimize your sales pipeline.
What gets measured gets managed. Consistent sales pipeline analysis helps you spot bottlenecks early and adjust your strategy before small problems become major revenue losses.
7. Do foster a culture of continuous improvement.
Teams that embrace constant learning and iteration will consistently outperform those that stick to “the way we’ve always done it,” especially in today’s rapidly changing sales environment.
8. Do encourage time management and prioritization skills.
Salespeople who master their schedules and focus on high-impact activities will naturally close more deals than those who stay busy without being productive.
9. Do provide the necessary tools and resources for your team to succeed.
Expecting results without proper resources is like asking someone to build a house without giving them a hammer. Set your team up for success, not frustration.
10. Do lead by example, demonstrating the behaviors you want to see.
Your actions speak louder than your words, and team members will mirror your work ethic, attitude, and professionalism more than they’ll follow your verbal instructions.
How to Be an Effective Sales Manager: 10 Don’ts
1. Don’t assume what worked in the past will always work in the future.
Markets evolve, buyer behaviors shift, and yesterday’s winning strategy can quickly become today’s roadblock to growth if you’re not willing to adapt.
2. Don’t focus solely on results without considering the process.
When you only celebrate wins without understanding how they happened, you miss opportunities to replicate success—and you risk your team developing bad habits that will hurt long-term performance.
3. Don’t micromanage your sales team; trust them to do their jobs.
Hovering over every detail destroys morale and prevents your salespeople from developing the independence and decision-making skills they need to handle complex deals effectively.
4. Don’t create a high-pressure environment that encourages unethical behavior.
Short-term gains from cutting corners will always be overshadowed by the long-term damage to your company’s reputation, customer relationships, and team culture when unethical practices inevitably backfire.
5. Don’t overlook the importance of proper onboarding for new sales hires.
A rushed or inadequate onboarding process can turn potentially great salespeople into early departures, wasting your investment in recruiting and training while damaging team morale.
6. Don’t focus on quantity of sales activities over quality of outcomes.
Making 100 poor-quality calls will never be as valuable as making 20 strategic, well-researched calls to qualified prospects who are likely to convert.
7. Don’t allow inconsistent messaging or positioning across the team.
Mixed messages confuse prospects and weaken your brand’s credibility, making it harder for any individual salesperson to build trust and close deals.
8. Don’t ignore the potential of technology to improve efficiency.
In today’s competitive landscape, teams that leverage sales technology effectively will consistently outperform those clinging to outdated manual processes.
9. Don’t pit team members against each other.
While healthy competition can motivate, toxic rivalries destroy collaboration and create an environment where individual success comes at the expense of overall team performance.
10. Don’t neglect your own professional development as a leader.
Your team’s growth is limited by your own growth. If you stop learning and improving as a manager, you’ll eventually become the ceiling that prevents your team from reaching their full potential.
Sales Effectiveness Starts at the Top
Understanding your natural leadership style, recognizing your blind spots, and continuously developing core management competencies isn’t just helpful—it’s essential for avoiding the common pitfalls that derail promising sales leaders.
The difference between managers who flame out and those who build high-performing teams often comes down to their willingness to honestly assess their strengths and weaknesses and then commit to growing beyond their comfort zone.
See how The Brooks Group sales leadership training can help you develop into a highly effective sales manager.
