Invest in sales managers to boost revenue

22nd April 2017 |   Journal Of Sales Transformation

Revenue attainment was 23 percent higher for organizations that invest over $5,000 in their sales managers compared with those which invest nothing. However, only 8% of participants make such a substantial investment in their managers. The findings are in a report from Miller Heiman Group’s research arm, CSO Insights, published recently.

The 2017 Sales Manager Enablement Report Sales Managers: Overwhelmed and Underdeveloped is the first of its kind that links sales managers with effective enablement initiatives, according to the firm.

“Our research shows sales managers are the biggest catalyst and biggest fail point,” Tamara Schenk, research director for CSO Insights tells the Journal.

Sales managers are in a unique position because they are likely the go-between among customers, sales professionals and the business. “World-class organizations, those who meet their quota attainment and revenue targets, have a plan in place to enable (or develop) their sales managers systematically. If you improve the performance of your sales managers, you will likely improve the performance of up to ten salespeople.”