Alex Cramer’s Post

The best sales managers and sales leaders all do these 5 things at the end of the month... 👇 1) They work ALONGSIDE their sales team, they don't hide behind their desks or computers they get their hands dirty 2) They make calls, send emails, send messages, they do whatever they can to help their sales team close more deals 3) They provide COACHING, as much as their sales teams need 4) They remove pressure, not put pressure on, to ensure their teams are motivated and feel secure in their jobs 5) They do everything they can to support everyone in their team be the most successful they can be When you find a manager like this, you're lucky They're the ones leading teams to success They're the ones growing the best teams They're the ones people love working for 🔥

As a Fractional Sales Leader, it's disheartening to hear Sales Teams express that their company is "anti-sales". What does anti-sales look like? It can take on many forms, including a CEO who micro-manages daily activities instead of focusing on results, or one who constantly second-guesses the Sales Team on deals. Additionally, commission plans that are subject to non-sales actions for payment or publicly belittling the Sales Team can contribute to an anti-sales culture. As a Fractional Sales Leader, my role is to not only improve the Sales process but also to address issues that affect the mindset of the Sales Team. Let's work together to create a positive Sales environment where everyone can thrive. #salesleadership #positiveworkculture #teamwork

I think one of my greatest professional achievements—once upon a time—was walking into a sales organization and creating appreciation for and alignment between the sales and ops/support teams. Surprise, surprise….building that appreciation and alignment improved sales! It may have just saved the company. These days, I get very annoyed by and am impatient with sales people who undervalue and have no appreciation for ops and sales support. Sales leaders WAY too often perpetuate the idea that sales = creative/entrepreneurial/etc. And, if I am being fair, ops leaders often perpetuate the idea that sales = selfish/short-sighted/etc. They are both wrong. It take a village. And a little appreciation can go a long way.

Sales management is not about getting to a number it’s about increasing the tenure of your team. If you can increase the tenure of your team then goals will become easy, but the only way to increase the tenure of your team is to get your team to buy into the vision of the long term within the organization. Sometimes to hit a number in the short term you overfeed certain reps or you cut corners in certain areas to hit the number and you turn over too many people to make that happen. You need to build a culture where people want to be a part of something and they see the same vision that you see and therefore want to follow you on that journey. That’s being a true leader and that will increase the tenure of the people on your team and that will ultimately lead to long-term success for both you and the team. #sales

As an business owner who doesn’t have a sales director, would you rather hire an experienced sales director with her own ways of working or an upcoming Jr sales director that would implement a sales methodology the current leadership believes and understands? #sales #purplelakes

This is a special sales team. Yesterday, we had our on-site Quarterly Business Review. What's a Sales QBR?  It's a full day where sales leadership, account executives, solutions, and rev ops all come together to extract the learnings from the previous quarter, to apply in the upcoming one. Each Leader and Account Executive prepared an individual 30-minute presentation for the group showcasing Q1 self-reflections, an analysis of areas to be optimized, and a game plan for how each is going to achieve success going forward. This comes after absolutely nailing an ambitious Q1 target.  Many teams might take the week celebrating. But for us… all we are thinking about is how we can do BETTER. While the quarter was strong… There is always room for improvement.  There are more merchants we can serve. There are ways we can serve them even better. Coming out of yesterday, I have more clarity than ever of this sales team's trajectory. And I can't help but be incredibly impressed by the hunger, desire, love, and effort that I see. 🙌

Most likely your first VP of Sales (or Head of Sales) will be gone within 12 months! If that isn’t a gut punch, you probably aren’t understanding the gravity of that hire. Here are a few questions to ask yourself to identify if you are ready to bring on a sales leader: - What am I expecting from this sales leader? - Am I looking for someone to help me build strategically or do I need someone selling and/or building pipeline exclusively? - Am I ready to give up some control of the vision/direction of the sales org - Have we proven the market fit thru selling ourselves? This is the most important sales hire that you will make - and the odds are against you that it will work out. Making sure that you are in the right place for a sales leader is crucial. ⏩ starting to explore bringing on your first sales leader? Let’s chat to make sure you are ready. ⏩ being considered for your first sales leadership role? Let’s chat to make sure you are ready and walking in to a good situation for you.

Sales Managers never keep a good man (or woman) down. On more than one occasion, I was looked over for promotion because I was good at my job. I hit targets, excelled in a lot of cases, and for that reason never made the jump into management back in the early days of sales. I actually asked one of my managers outright "have I been looked over because of my performance?" They responded with "well how does it make sense to move you when you're the top performer?" Another occasion of acute deflation. Not being selected for promotion because I made the current team leader look good was poor. Piss poor, some might say. What do they call it in the corporate world? Having your wings clipped? My performance declined a bit, and I left for another organisation. If you have a top hitter, it's your duty to ensure they keep on hitting and then present opportunities when they arise. For the business, surely it's better to scale their knowledge and efforts than demotivate them? Have you ever been held back for similar reasons?

Is your sales team missing targets due to unclear roles? Defining key accountabilities can be a game-changer. This article reveals strategies to harness the power of accountability and achieve sales excellence. https://lnkd.in/eZsYrdve #accountability #salesexcellence