Why Sales Managers Are Stuck in The Middle

Sales managers are the unsung heroes of the business world, often feeling like they are caught, well, as the song goes: "Stuck in the Middle with You."?

Balancing the demands of senior management with the realities faced by their sales teams, sales managers play a critical role in driving success. Yet, without proper support and development, they increasingly risk burnout, high turnover, and underperformance. In this article, we'll explore why sales managers are stuck in the middle, the essential skills and disciplines they need, and the risks organisations face if they fail to support their sales leaders. Let's unpack the vital role of sales managers and why investing in their development is crucial for business growth.

The Skills Successful Sales Managers Need

Successful sales managers are hard to find – and even harder to retain. Those with the right skill set are at the forefront of their field. Sales manager development means you can enhance employee retention and train salespeople to become successful sales managers.

Here are some of the most important skills for a sales manager:

• Communication Skills: From the ability to share a vision, coach improvement and build relationships with their team.
• Boardroom Presence: Enabling them to engage with senior stakeholders and clearly communicate their sales strategy and plan. A sales manager often finds themselves as the translator, expected to provide a snapshot look at the issues without getting lost in the details.
• Leadership Skills: To motivate their team to drive productivity and impact results. Sales managers must know how to adapt their approach in different situations and with different individuals in their team.
• Performance Assessment: Regularly assessing performance, from highlighting what went well to identifying gaps in strategy, planning or execution.
• Recruitment Skills: The sales team of any business will have higher financial consequences for inappropriate hires than arguably, any other team.?

Critical Sales Management Disciplines

In addition to these skills, sales managers need to master 9-12 critical and specific sales management disciplines, something you cannot learn on a general management or leadership course. These disciplines include:

• Prioritising Your Impact: Knowing exactly where to focus effort to achieve the greatest results.
• Simplifying Strategic Execution: Ensuring effective execution aligned to strategy.
• Building Strong Accountability: Holding the team accountable for their performance using both lead and lag metrics.
• Nurturing Pipeline Health: Coaching the team to maintain robust, balanced pipelines of potential sales opportunities.
• Driving Deal Success: Focusing on coaching the right opportunities so salespeople win more of the key deals that drive significant revenue.
• Recruitment and Motivation: Attracting top talent and keeping the team motivated in constantly changing times.
• Planning the Number: Doing proper territory management, setting realistic yet challenging sales targets, and then planning exactly where the numbers will come from.
• Coaching and Developing Sales Performers: Continuously improving the skills and performance of the sales team through team and individual development.
• Maximising Account Yield: Enabling salespeople to protect and grow existing accounts in a way is not writing account plans that aren’t read.

Why Sales Manager Development Matters

These skills and disciplines do not appear overnight. Sales managers must be allowed to grow, develop, and nurture these capabilities. Many sales managers find themselves stuck in the middle as they’ve not received the development training or coaching to make them feel confident in their role.

The Harvard Business Review spotlights high employee turnover as a reason why sales departments struggle, in part due to poor management and lack of development training. Sales have an employee turnover that is double the average of other departments (ThoughtExchange). Additionally, high turnover can disrupt customer relationships, lead to lost revenue, and lower team morale.? Sales Managers and those in leadership roles have a massive impact on their salespeople.

Another reason why sales managers find themselves stuck in the middle is that they’re expected to play many roles. They’re responsible for maximising sales and revenue growth while developing a pipeline to support future scaling. A sales manager needs to be able to understand data and gain actionable insights while also having the communication skills to close deals and build valuable relationships.?

If sales managers find themselves stuck in the middle and lacking the skills to carve out a position for themselves, evidence shows that many will move on to other positions, or other organisations.?

The Risks of Not Supporting Sales Managers

Organisations that fail to support their sales managers face several significant risks:

• High Turnover: Without proper development and support, sales managers may leave the company, leading to high turnover rates which can disrupt the continuity and performance of the sales teams. This can have severe financial implications, with the cost of replacing a sales manager being substantial, including lost sales and the time required to train new hires (HubSpot Blog).
• Decreased Morale: Sales teams often take cues from their managers. If sales managers feel unsupported and stressed, this sentiment spreads, leading to decreased morale and motivation within the team.
• Underperformance: Sales managers play a critical role in driving sales performance. Without adequate training and support, they may struggle to meet targets, resulting in underperformance at team or regional levels.
• Poor Customer Relationships: Sales managers are often the link between the organisation and key customers. If they are not well-supported, it can lead to poor management of customer relationships, affecting customer satisfaction and retention.
• Missed Opportunities: A well-trained and supported sales manager can identify and capitalise on market opportunities. Without this support, companies miss out on potential growth opportunities.

Stuck in the Middle with You

Sales managers often feel like they’re “Stuck in the Middle with You,” juggling the expectations of senior management and the realities faced by their sales teams. Just like in the Stealers Wheel song, they might feel caught between “clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right.” But with the right support, they can move from feeling stuck to being strategic leaders who drive business success.

Call-to-Action

What do you think? Are sales managers in your organisation receiving the support they need? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. If you found this article helpful, please like and share it with your network. Let’s start a conversation about how we can better support our sales leaders!