It’s so easy to sit here and point out all the things that managers could and should do.
While I hope it’s been helpful for anyone learning to manage a sales team (or is experienced and trying to improve), it’s on those of us who have made it further up the leadership mountain to make the path clearer for them. I’d bet on anyone who has been there and tried their hardest to be an excellent manager admitting that it was inevitably made harder by something they had no control over.
If you’re that person who struggled against “if only…” and you’re now in a position to have an influence, don’t forget the pain you felt at the time. Your challenges and focus might have changed and it’s easy to think “having to fight for it / figure it out was what made me successful” but imagine how you could have channelled that effort into coaching your team instead.
Maybe there’s a report that managers have to create manually. Do they need to? Can it be automated?
Maybe there’s prospecting software that your managers can’t get budget for. Can you swing it for them?
Maybe there’s no templates for pipeline reviews or coaching session so your managers are having to build their own from scratch. Can you share something with them? *cough* ctrl.io * cough* 😉
If we want our managers to do the best they can, it’s also on us to create an environment to support it.