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November 3, 2011
Are Your Sales Reps Promotable? New Insights From Sales Training Study
By: Matt Sharrers
Here are 3 of them: 17%, 1.7 and $27,204
17% — The percentage of first year front line Sales Managers that made their number
1.7 — The average number of A player sales reps that left for a different job when they got a new Sales Manager
$27,204 — The average reduction in pay the new Sales Manager was on pace for in 2011
Why is this happening? These ‘A’ player sales reps had become ‘C’ player sales managers. They were working hard. They were trying to do the things that sales managers were supposed to. Things like:
The answer: The definition of promotable was inconsistent. These newly appointed Sales Managers should never have been promoted.
The below graphic highlights some of the key indicators you will see in best in class companies. As you read the differences between the Leaders and Laggards, you will notice the differences in promotable sales reps vs. career sales reps. You need both. The key is identifying which bucket your reps fall into. The leaders base their sales training and succession planning around this criteria.
Call to Action
There are four things that need to happen to ensure you do not end up in the Laggard category:
You may find some good ideas here around developing future sales management talent. The key to ensuring you are not a Laggard is managerial courage. Please feel free to share your best practices in sales training as it relates to deciding who to promote; I would enjoy hearing your stories.
Matt Sharrers is the CEO of SBI, a management consulting firm specialized in sales and marketing that is dedicated to helping you Make Your Number. Forbes recognizes SBI as one of The Best Management Consulting Firms in 2017.
Over the course of nearly a decade at SBI, Matt Sharrers was an instrumental early partner guiding SBI as the Senior Partner. Matt’s functional responsibilities included acting as the head of sales where he led SBI’s double-digit revenue growth, and was responsible for the hiring function to build SBI’s team of revenue generation experts.
Prior joining SBI in 2009, Matt spent eleven years leading sales and marketing team teams as a Vice President of Sales. Matt has “lived in the field.” As a result, he is the foremost expert in the art of separating fact from fiction as it relates to revenue growth best practices. CEOs and Private equity investors turn to Matt’s team at SBI when they need to unlock trapped growth inside of their companies.
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