Earn the three key attributes that can dramatically impact sales manager effectiveness, and how your organization may be missing the mark.

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A Guide for Protecting
Your Investment

2. TABLE OF CONTENTS
The Sales Manager “Double Jump” 3
Ill-Equipped Managers 4
The Cost of a Failed Sales Manager 5
The Impact of a Successful Sales Manager 6
How Organizations Miss the Manager Mark 7
Skills to Develop in Your Sales Managers 8
How to Develop Manager Skills 9
Seizing the Opportunity 10
Next Steps 11
Page
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3. Jump #1: From Seller to Manager
In most cases, sales managers are former top performing
sellers who have been promoted, leaving them with a large
proficiency gap in their new role. These former sellers
struggle to make this first jump from seller to manager
because they do not have the managerial skills needed to
successfully lead and coach their own team of sellers.
THE SALES MANAGER “DOUBLE JUMP”
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Jump #2: From Product Focused to Commercial
Insight Focused
These managers face the added challenge of leading in a
sales environment that is moving from selling product to
delivering Commercial Insight. Most companies don't invest
enough in their managers to address this “double jump.” As
a result, first line managers tend to direct or simply do the
seller’s job for them using the skills that made these
managers successful in the past.
First line managers often fail because most organizations promote star sellers to management – a transition that leads to a
large proficiency gap in critical managerial skills. Additionally, these managers are tasked with supporting their direct reports
in a sales environment that is more complex than the one that they themselves sold in.
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4. Source: (2012) SHL Talent Report, (2012) CEB Sales & Service data

5. Because sales managers have such direct influence over an organization’s revenue generation, the cost of a single failed
sales manager can be staggeringly expensive.
We have seen the cost of a single failed manager be as high as $4 million, calculating all the direct and indirect costs of:
Source: (2012) CEB Sales & Service data
1. LOST
PRODUCTIVITY
2. ATTRITION OR
POOR TEAM
ENGAGEMENT
3. LACKLUSTER
CUSTOMER
EXPERIENCE
4. RECRUITMENT,
SALARY, AND
TRAINING COSTS
Potential cost…$4 MILLION
THE COST OF A FAILED SALES MANAGER
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6. Revenue:
The coaching that sales managers provide has a dramatic impact on sales team performance. Managers who
provide effective coaching are able to better develop key sales skills in their direct reports and drive them to
higher levels of sales success. CEB research found that seller percentage to goal can be as much as 19% greater
when they have highly effective coaches.
Engagement:
A good manager can also positively impact team engagement. Sellers who are more engaged as a result of a
strong manager are also more likely to put in incremental effort. These sellers are more productive and more
willing to go the extra mile. First line managers effective at people management can improve their teams’
emotional commitment by 52%.
Retention:
Having strong managers in place can drive seller retention. Sellers reporting to managers with high coaching
effectiveness are less likely to leave the company, an important consideration for sales organizations who hope
to retain their high performers over the long term. First line managers effective at people management can
improve their teams' intent to stay by 40%.
Change Management:
The success of any change management initiative also hinges on having strong managers in place who can
reinforce organizational efforts. For example, combining seller training with coaching yields 4x the return of
training alone. However, without on the job reinforcement from manager coaching, sellers lose 87% of training
improvements within one month.
Source: (2012) CEB & SHL data
THE IMPACT OF A SUCCESSFUL SALES MANAGER
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When managers are properly developed, they can have a tremendous impact on the organization.
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4x

7. Despite the massive impact that sales managers have on business results, many organizations only focus development efforts on sellers,
neglecting to invest in their sales managers’ skills. Currently, new managers only receive roughly one third of the training time that new
sellers receive. And, that training is typically focused on products/technical training, process/compliance training, etc. rather than on
critical skill development.
Source: (2013) CEB Corporate Leadership Council “Succession Strategies for a New Work Environment”.
HOW ORGANIZATIONS MISS THE MANAGER MARK
Reliance on On-the-Job Coaching Instead of Formal Training
Too many organizations rely on on-the-job coaching by second line sales managers as the main mechanism for ensuring first
line sales managers’ success. Many managers receive little to no formal training.
Sales Management Training is Reserved for Senior Leadership
First line managers are often overlooked when it comes to training investments. Many organizations choose to focus on
sellers and/or senior leadership and neglect first line managers.
Training Neglects the Areas With Greatest Impact
Organizations that do see value in training first line sales managers often forego management skills in favor of
product/process training, which is unlikely to have the same impact.
Development Focuses Solely on Classroom Training
Organizations who do invest in manager skills training often simply do a classroom session and then expect true behavior
change. In order to truly build lasting skills, managers must be supported with post-training reinforcement activities and other
supporting elements of a comprehensive development program.
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8. Source: (2010) CEB Sales Leadership Council “Building Sales Managers for a Return to Growth”
SKILLS TO DEVELOP IN YOUR SALES MANAGERS
73% 27%
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Sales Management attributes can be taught and can have a dramatic impact on individual manager effectiveness. In
fact, they account for 73% of sales manager effectiveness.

9. A study across 73 companies and more than 14,000 sellers revealed that organizations rate managers as only slightly
above “somewhat effective” at selling, coaching, and innovation (lower than on resource allocation and management
fundamentals). The good news is that the vast majority of manager effectiveness is driven by skills (selling, coaching, and
innovation) that can actually be built through targeted development efforts. This represents a key opportunity and
competitive advantage for those companies that choose to invest in building these critical skills in their sales managers.
Source: (2013) CEB Corporate Leadership Council “Succession Strategies for a New Work Environment”,
HOW TO DEVELOP MANAGER SKILLS
How to make it work? A successful program includes:
 Advance awareness building
 Classroom experience using adult learning methods where skills are taught by a credible
facilitator with sales expertise
 Opportunities to practice and receive feedback
 Tools to support skill application
 Post-training reinforcement program
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10. Focus Your Development Efforts:
Equip managers with the selling, coaching, and sales innovation skills that have been proven to drive sales
manager effectiveness in today’s complex selling environment.
Build Skills Via a Comprehensive Development Program:
Invest in a comprehensive skill development program for your sales managers that includes a classroom
training experience as well as pre-training preparation work and post-training reinforcement and
application opportunities to ensure skills are both learned and applied.
SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITY
Now that you have a better understanding of the critical importance of first line sales
managers, you understand the need to invest in their development. Let CEB partner with
you to develop the key managerial skills your sales managers must have to drive success
in your organization.
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11. FOLLOW UP CONNECTLEARN MORE CONTACT
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