Front line sales manager sales impact?

Recently, a big study on frontline sales manager impact was made available. The study was conducted in different sales organizations ranging from FMCG to professional services, pharmaceuticals, and technology, with 1,000 or more participants. In a nutshell, sales representatives who reported a top-performing frontline sales manager averaged a 72% closing rate versus a 47% average. So let's do the math for a virtual company: imagine you have a team of 50 sales representatives, with 10 daily visits, 5 days a week, with an average sales invoice of 100 EUR. In case this organization is led by a top-performing frontline sales manager, revenue* (not considering vacation, sick leave, etc.) would be: 50 x 10 x 5 x 52 weeks x 100 EUR x 72% closing rate = 9,360,000 EUR. In case your frontline managers are mediocre ones, your comparable revenue (with the same input, excluding closing rate which is different) would stand at 6,110,000 EUR. A potential difference of 3 million EUR in one year!

It's a "no-brainer" – good frontline sales managers are making a huge difference. But the truth on the other side is that there are a lot of companies that are not making sure they have the right people in these positions. So, there are a lot of related questions to these topics, but I found out that there are a few which are the most important ones:

• What is the role of the frontline sales manager?
• How do I make sure that my frontline sales managers are the top ones?
• How do I integrate this in a process, make sure that the process lives on, adapts, and provides consistency.

I will focus in this article on the question "What is the role of the frontline sales manager"?

There are two main roles: a) Coaching b) Managing.

On Coaching, there are different areas where frontline sales managers need to focus: Motivation, Activity planning and time management, Productivity, Quality in execution, Advising, Development. My suggestion is that your internal work processes integrate each and every one of these areas, making sure that field sales managers and their teams are measured and rewarded for progress made in these. Having external help or an internal team that focuses on coaching-led improvements would be beneficial.

On Managing, there are also different areas to focus on: Ongoing performance management, Forecasting (accuracy and pipelines), Territory planning, Talent Management. But if you want to summarize three things that define success with front line managers, these are:

Roles, Rhythm, and Conversations!

The likelihood of having a regular coaching cadence with their subordinates is 51% higher for top performers compared to other sales managers. This regular coaching focuses on addressing specific areas of improvement based on the strengths and weaknesses of each individual.

Many managers mistakenly associate coaching with discussing outcomes, which is a reactive approach. They provide ad-hoc coaching, dealing with problems after they occur, and switch between topics without a clear focus. This approach confuses the recipients of feedback and goes against an important learning principle: to enhance behavioral skills, individuals need to identify specific areas for improvement in advance and then practice those skills with targeted feedback. Top-performing managers take a proactive approach, understanding that consistent follow-up on an issue is crucial for behavioral change.

Additionally, there is evidence that top performers are qualitatively superior coaches. While all managers in the study provided coaching on deals at similar frequencies, top-performing salespeople are 63% more likely to report that their managers excel at deal coaching that leads to successful outcomes.

Effective leaders recognize this impact and invest in developing their managers' coaching abilities. Their approach involved supporting sales managers through targeted coaching to prioritize activities that have the greatest impact. Managers developed specific action plans for their teams, gained commitment from sellers, and established a robust accountability system to ensure consistency. The results were highly encouraging, with a 15% improvement over the previous year and a growth of over 20% in connections.

Transitioning from a salesperson to a manager involves a shift in professional identity. Successful salespeople acquire knowledge about customers, products, and tasks while taking care of their own responsibilities. In contrast, top-performing managers learn to take care of others, assuming responsibility for collective behaviors and results. They excel in areas such as territory planning, organizing pipelines, and leading meetings that sellers perceive as valuable rather than distracting from their prospecting and closing activities.

In essence, top-performing managers effectively manage their teams. This may seem obvious, but many leadership approaches boil down to "hire the best people." While talent is important, sales effectiveness also hinges on executing the tasks aligned with the company's strategy and building internal relationships, in addition to external selling skills.

Top-performing managers accelerate the crucial process of socialization. Achieving a return on talent requires more than just accepting a job offer. It entails developing and allocating talent, and effective sales managers achieve this through territory assignments, forecasting, and other inherent aspects of their roles.

In any organization, influence is both earned and bestowed. It requires expertise, delivering results, and being recognized by others as a valuable contributor. Sales managers are no exception. Top-performing managers not only meet their targets but are also seen as effective by their sellers, who value their interactions. Consequently, top-performing sellers dedicate more time to coaching sessions with these managers.

Conversations play a vital role in building trust, guiding sellers towards the right actions, and facilitating learning and improvement. Top-performing sales managers excel in leading discussions about identifying opportunities, growing accounts, managing customer interactions, and increasing the sales pipeline. These conversations help sellers develop skills, drive results, and stay motivated. Sellers rate top-performing managers as 71% more effective at motivation, largely due to the quality of their collective conversations.

It's important to note that this text doesn’t imply that top-performing managers excel in every activity mentioned. Sales organizations are filled with deadlines, crises, and various demands, often pulling managers in multiple directions. While it's beneficial to engage in coaching, training, and motivational speeches, without an effective framework, managers may become average performers, reasonably competent in many areas but not outstanding in the ones that truly matter in their specific context.