In many b-to-b organizations, executive and sales leaders assume that strong potential guarantees strong performance – that high-performing reps will naturally turn into effective managers. As a result, the vast majority of sales enablement energy is expended at the rep level, with far less focus on defining and supporting the competencies required to make successful managers.
The skills, knowledge and process expertise that enable strong first-line sales manager outcomes are very different from the competencies required by individual sellers. In this guide, we address the need for b-to-b sales leaders to emphasize sales enablement tactics that directly support first-line managers using data gathered from our 2018 Sales Talent Study, which surveyed sales reps and team-leading sales managers in North America.
The following specific topics are covered:
- Why sales manager enablement is important.
- Why traditional manager enablement is ineffective.
- The components of a manager enablement playbook.