{"id":16648,"date":"2023-05-03T14:34:43","date_gmt":"2023-05-03T14:34:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/?p=16648"},"modified":"2023-05-03T14:34:43","modified_gmt":"2023-05-03T14:34:43","slug":"retain-sales-management-talent-engage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/retain-sales-management-talent-engage\/","title":{"rendered":"To Retain Sales Management Talent\u2026 Engage!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Suppose you&#8217;re the Chief Revenue Officer of a large enterprise. And suppose that you learn one morning that a number of your top team leaders, people you had hoped to hold on to for years to come, have left unexpectedly \u2013 and signed on with your competition.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you keep that from happening?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The best way to answer this question, I think, may be to pose a related question, one that often goes unasked: <strong>How do we make sure that the people who are leading our sales teams are not just reporting to us, but <em>engaging <\/em>with us?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Here are three proven strategies effective senior leaders use to make sure sales managers don\u2019t end up migrating to the competition \u2013 and taking tribal knowledge, relationships, and revenue opportunities with them.<\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_79_2 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/retain-sales-management-talent-engage\/#Strategy_1_Set_up_clear_guardrails\" >Strategy #1: Set up clear guardrails.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/retain-sales-management-talent-engage\/#Strategy_2_Lead_by_example_%E2%80%93_by_leading_minds_not_just_metrics\" >Strategy #2: Lead by example \u2013 by leading minds, not just metrics.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sandler.com\/blog\/retain-sales-management-talent-engage\/#Strategy_3_Take_%E2%80%9CI_like_to_do_it_my_way%E2%80%9D_out_of_the_equation%E2%80%A6_without_alienating_anyone\" >Strategy #3: Take \u201cI like to do it my way\u201d out of the equation\u2026 without alienating anyone.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Strategy_1_Set_up_clear_guardrails\"><\/span><strong>Strategy #1: Set up clear guardrails. <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Give front-line sales leaders explicit permission to fail within clearly defined areas\u2026 and when they do fail, don\u2019t make them feel bad about failing. Ask them what they\u2019ve learned from the experience. Ask them what they would do differently next time. Move on. Once the guardrails are in place, let them do the driving! There are three essential concepts effective leaders keep in mind when it comes to setting and reinforcing guardrails: <em>knowledge, skills<\/em>, and <em>application<\/em>. Knowledge connects to teaching them what they need to know; skills means making sure they know what to do with that knowledge. An equally critical component, and one that sometimes gets overlooked, is <em>application, <\/em>which is giving people a chance to apply both knowledge and skill in the real-world context of their position. When you set people up to apply what they\u2019ve learned without fear of being ambushed over an initial failure, you set them up for success.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Strategy_2_Lead_by_example_%E2%80%93_by_leading_minds_not_just_metrics\"><\/span><strong>Strategy #2: Lead by example \u2013 by leading minds, not just metrics. <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>One of the big challenges mid-level sales leaders face is that, very often, they don\u2019t see themselves as the connector between senior management and the field. They tend to fixate on the metrics \u2013 and they may overlook the human equation. You can help people get past this common obstacle by setting a better leadership example. That means, for one thing, setting a personalized growth and development plan for <em>your <\/em>direct reports\u2026 so they are inspired to invest the time and effort to do the same for <em>their <\/em>direct reports. Another challenge is helping front-line sales leaders learn to look beyond the numbers. It\u2019s not that the numbers aren\u2019t important \u2013 they certainly are \u2013 but they don\u2019t exist in a vacuum. So don\u2019t <em>just <\/em>focus on the metrics. Make room in your weekly check-ins for meaningful discussions about goals (both personal and organizational), the organization\u2019s mission and vision, and the values that drive both team and individual success. The managers who report to you shouldn\u2019t just understand what\u2019s moving through the pipeline and how fast it\u2019s moving; they should also understand how pipeline optimization connects to what you\u2019re trying to accomplish and why you\u2019re trying to accomplish it\u2026 so they can communicate that to the members of the sales team.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Strategy_3_Take_%E2%80%9CI_like_to_do_it_my_way%E2%80%9D_out_of_the_equation%E2%80%A6_without_alienating_anyone\"><\/span><strong>Strategy #3: Take \u201cI like to do it my way\u201d out of the equation\u2026 without alienating anyone. <\/strong><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The key to pulling this off lies in a single, powerful word: <em>brand. <\/em>To give just one example of how you might do this, let\u2019s say you have a problem with a specific team leader who isn\u2019t buying into the sales process that your entire organization is supposed to be following. Instead of launching into lecture mode and holding forth about the importance of things like standardization, teamwork, and compliance \u2013 lectures that are likely to turn off your direct report \u2013 focus on the brand. Have a real discussion about the importance of understanding and supporting the company\u2019s brand \u2013 which is something your direct report is unlikely to challenge. Then look for an opportunity to tactfully present the issue of following a clearly defined sales process as a simple matter of brand integrity. The sales process is there, after all, to create a consistent brand experience for prospects and customers! Ask for your direct report\u2019s help in building and expanding the company brand in the marketplace\u2026 by supporting the expression of that brand that the sales team is most likely to affect: the sales process.<\/p>\n<p>For more on engaging effectively with sales leaders, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandler.com\/leadership-training\/\"><strong>connect with us about the Sales Leader Growth Series<\/strong><\/a>, a customizable program with nine different courses and three customized learning paths to select from\u2013all designed to help you grow your people, grow your business, and grow yourself.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here are three proven strategies effective senior leaders use to make sure sales managers don\u2019t end up migrating to the competition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":16649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1120],"tags":[1457,1413],"class_list":["post-16648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-employee-retention","tag-organizational-leadership"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>To Retain Sales Management Talent\u2026 Engage! 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