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Stay in the loop with our newsletter! Sales Managers Corner aim to provide guides, tips, tool and lots of stuff for free to Sales managers and Sales Directors all over the world.

 

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A few times every year we will conduct studies around Sales Management and topics on Leadership, Management, Sales and Corporate Culture. Always welcome, but never expected to, participate. And we would like to count on your voice there!

 

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Homepage – Sales Managers corner

World-class Sales Management builds competitive companies

Lead with impact! We help sales leaders focus – get things done and drive change that lasts …

B2B sales has changed enormously over the last 20 years, and in the post pandemic world the pace of change will be even higher. Only world-class Sales Management turns these challenges into advantages.

 

We provide end-to-end programs, training, coaching and support that help B2B Sales Managers and Sales Directors truly excel at what they do! 

 

The Sales Managers Corner offers experience, articles, facts, trends, and updates on sales management. You will find tools, methods, real-world cases and examples mixed with a wide experience base from subject experts, and your colleague sales directors in other companies and industries.

 

Core:

 

Manage

 

Structures that gives you and the team peace of mind

Management knows where you are going …

Managing means planning & organising and having an eagle’s eye on things

All managers need to plan and organise, liaise with internal stakeholders and represent the team, without exception.These processes includes setting the local strategy and creating the tactical plan for the team. Without this, you don’t have a map to navigate with, so it certainly is a fundamental and essential area for any sales manager to master.

Core:

 

Lead

 

Create success through your team – the way to scale and grow

… leadership and motivation gets you there …

Leadership, culture, and performance management takes the plans and turn team into reality. Your leadership qualities and your coaching skills are your tools to influence the team.

They help you install the motivation, drive, and energy that is needed to get things done and to work in the intended direction. Leading is about creating the vision and setting the direction. Coaching is about supporting and developing people to be the best they can be.

Core:

 

Develop

 

Success is a team concern, learning is crucial

… but only with team and leader trained for the task

Whether you actually reach the goals or not depends on how well your team Is skilled, prepared and motivated for the task. The sales manager’s job is to make sure every team member is skilled and prepared for the challenges ahead.

Some training can be managed by others or externalised, but most of the time competence development happens internally by the manager and other team members. We help and guide you to develop skills and competencies – to train and prepare your team.

What’s new

Some of our hottest articles, tips, tricks and tools right now. Check them out here:

Do you want to contribute to the Corner?

We are looking for your valuable experience—those interesting cases on selling value, team leadership, and motivation, and those success stories from the industry that, when you share them, they help others excel.

 

Perhaps you have a favourite planning tool or a smart calculator that you can tell us about and that we can help you implement. You may even be thinking about a future where you make  a living from your experiences as a coach and trainer.

 

Let's talk!

We are…

We Are…

.. sales managers like yourself, seasoned consultants and trusted advisors to our clients – growing sales organisations.

We share a passion for sales and sales management, and a belief that sound professional sales management is the key to sustainable growth.

 

Over the years, while talking to other sales managers, it often strikes us how much time is spent building and creating tools, templates, ways of working, and best practices. Most of the time we can’t help feeling that we are reinventing the wheel, again and again.  The Sales Managers Corner aims to create a space where sales managers can share experiences and find great tools and knowledge that help them excel in their teams and careers. Some of the materials and articles are free to use and be inspired by, while some tools you will need to pay for, as they were developed and are delivered by third parties.

 

When you browse through the materials, read and enjoy, and why not consider contributing with your own experiences? Share your favorite tools and templates! We also welcome partnering with relevant service and smart sales automation tool companies that provide value for sales managers around the globe.

 

Do you want help put all the pieces together? With our team of competences, we provide training programs and coaching on the 6 Pillars of Sales Management, techniques, and tools. Our programs provide a cost-efficient way of learning, and our continuous coaching helps you to implement the capabilities and to accelerate your sales managers’ success.

 

 

Talk to us today!

 

 

Meet the team:

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Senior Consultant and Partner

Niklas Lagerblad

Principal Consultant - Sales Management and leadership. 20 years of direct Sales Management experience

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Senior Digital Marketing & Business coach B2B

Tristán Elósegui Figueroa

Connecting Business strategy with Digital Marketing for more than 20 years, Tristán gives you an edge to deliver the right value proposition to the right customers at the right time, every time.

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Senior Consultant - Measurement and Research

Juan Luis Coll

Juan Luis' experience and know-how on data analysis and research methods, brings science to Sales management and to our clients.

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Senior Consultant - B2B Partners & Channel management

Cristian Pi Martin

With 15 years solid experience of successful channel buildup and management, Cristian now helps our clients to true channel growth.

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B2B Social Selling Expert - LinkedIn Management

Elisabet Cañas

Our true LinkedIn Guru will help you understand LinkedIn. Together you create the best Social B2B Selling strategy to multiply the team's reach and growth.

Talk to us today!
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Senior Consultant - Leadership and motivation

Dolors Liria

Psychologist by profession, Dolors brings her vast experience into our Lead & Coach discipline. Her Sales Leadership program helps business leaders truly lead their teams to new heights.

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Senior Consultant - Sales Techniques

Christian Jönsson

Selling value for 15 years himself, sales methods specialist Christian help ensure your team will never give an unnecessary discount again!

Services and Programs

Our programs

… are designed to accelerate your learning experience and put the 6 pillars of Sales Management in practice, starting day 1

We offer a wide variety of programs, both in-company and adapted for your company, as well as in-house programs where you meet people from other companies and industries to exchange experiences with. On this page, you find the principal programs. Call us to discuss how we can help you and your team in the best way!

 

 

Services and Training programs

Our methods & services

 

Support Along Your Journey

 

 

Change and new ways of working are difficult to implement by yourself. In order for behaviours to change or for new processes to be used, conscious and committed change management is needed. It falls on us as sales managers to make this happen and to turn the teams around. Talk to us for tips, tricks, and concrete proposals to install proper sales management in your teams today!

 

 

Great Sales Management

Makes Great Things Happen

 

Sales management is the link between getting things implemented in the field and corporate’s strategy and vision. Is your sales management team up for the challenge?

 

 

 

The Core process families

 

The 3 core process areas and their key competencies are outlined below:

 

Plan & Organise: This is where you analyze, plan, and follow up sales execution in your market context, and transform global strategy in local execution. Objectives, budgeting, resource planning, and team design happens here. This is where the sales manager draws the navigation map for the journey ahead.

 

Lead & Coach: This reflects your actions and capabilities to transform the plan into execution though others as you motivate and give direction to your team.

 

Develop & Build: Here you work with your team and build the right competence and capabilities for the plan you have laid out. By excellent recruiting and onboarding, and a continuous attention to development needs, you accelerate growth.

 

The 3 support processes

In addition to the 3 core process families, there are 3 supporting process families around values, feedback systems, and the key competencies and skills of your sales team.

 

Feedback & Monitor: By setting clear objectives, research shows that organisations can increase their productivity by 10-15%. If solid feedback and monitoring is introduced, that effect is doubled. The feedback and monitor area introduces KPIs and suggests methods for measuring effectiveness in sales.

 

Values & Culture: How well you implement the 3 key process areas and which design choices you make along the journey will depend on your values and culture at the team level and the company level. Any management program needs to evaluate its values and cultural aspects.

 

Sales Method & Tools: This area often gets lots of attention and investment in organisations. We help sales managers understand their role in guaranteeing that these investments lead to sales excellence, accelerated growth, and profitability.

 

Consulting & Development Programs

 

Press the button for a complete listing of our open programs and services:

Our offerings ...

 

A selection of our most demanded programs:

 

Are your sales management skills up for the challenge?

What are your true strengths? Are the objectives motivating and clear? Does the team come with you over the top when it’s time to move? Does your crystal-clear analysis turn into crisp plans that everyone understands? Does your team use all cross-selling opportunities? Are your value-selling skills helping you avoid discounts and saving you margin points? Are your losses fewer and are you gaining more customers than competition?

 

Take our Sales Management Self-Assessment by following the link below.

 

 

Take the test

 

A project with us..

 

…means that you are in good hands. We assess your sales management capability and design tailored development and implementation programs revolving around the 6 competences of sales management.

  • SM³ – Sales Management Maturity Model™  Assessment
  • Sales Management Gap Analysis and Enhancement Proposal
  • Tailored training and implementation program
  • Periodical Coaching Support
  • Implementation Toolbox Subscription

 

 

Sales Method & Tools

Sales Method & Tools

Managing sales is about doing the right things in the right way. Here we discuss sales techniques, CRM tools, dashboards, sales planning, and processes.

The sales team’s efforts is what creates the opportunity and closes the sales. Your job as the team’s manager is to help them be at their best and win the best business, every time.

 

There are many uncontrollable variables when we work with people in a complex ecosystem. Stakeholders’ behaviors and decisions are motivated by very various factors, which makes the buying cycles more difficult to control or even understand. This section is all about turning this into a predictable, forecastable revenue growth machine.

 

By applying structure into our ways of working and defining our sales processes well, we bring predictability into the process. What can be measured and predicted can be improved.

 

Solid performance management comes through a disciplined and structured approach, and it ensures that we work with the right customers and in the right way.

Value-based sales methods help us to stay focused on the value our company provides to the customer. This keeps margins healthy.

 

Using the right tools helps automate tasks; shortens time to get data, analyze and plan for customer visits; proposes the right solution; and wins the business. Modern tools can shave off more than 50% of admin time, which can now be used for customer facing, productive time.

 

Tools will include:

 

  • Customer relationship management (CRM)
  • Sales and market intelligence
  • Lead handling and prospecting
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Process and training
  • Automation and integrations

Doing the things right – sales skills and process

Feedback & Monitor

Feedback & Monitor

You can improve only what you can measure. Explore KPIs and leading indicators, and install feedback mechanisms to accelerate change and growth.

In this process area, you will find methods and tools for performance management, and systems for continuous feedback from your market, your customers, and your people. This is fundamental for change management and steering.

 

Without proper performance management, you are running your car with your eyes closed and without a steering wheel.

 

In B2B sales, people propose solutions to other people. When introducing human psychology and behaviors into the equation, sometimes forecasting and predictability become a challenge.

 

An efficient sales process, adequate sales skills, and optimizing customer base planning are the ingredients to successful sales.

If we know what we are doing, we can set objectives and find smart ways to monitor and feed.

 

It is important that we work hard, but real productivity happens when we boost conversion and hit rates by focus on quality and skills in every customer interaction. Larger deals come through ensuring enough opportunity to allow us to select the best prospects that perfectly fit our company and offering.

 

Smart objectives, intelligent dashboards, the right KPIs, and frequent feedback potentially can increase your sales productivity by 25% to 30%. Check out the articles below to find out more about setting smart objectives and feedback systems.

Ideas that will get you insights

Develop & Build

Develop & Build

Build and develop the team. Tips and tools that help recruit and retain talent, nurture their capabilities, and develop their skills and competencies.

Managing and leading is all about getting the best out of the team. Your performance management system tells you where your strengths and weaknesses are. Your business plan maps out where you are headed.

 

Whether you actually reach the goals or not depends on how well your team Is prepared and motivated for the task. It is the sales manager’s job to make sure every team member is prepared for the challenges ahead to reach the objectives. Some training will happen centrally, or it can be hired externally, but most of the time competence development happens internally by the manager and other team members.

This section is about how you as the manager can develop skills and competencies, and present tools and methods to train and prepare the team.

 

Knowledge around training and pedagogics, experiences from running workshops, and how to make the training truly stick are discussed here.

 

Stay tuned and check out this section for materials, checklists, tips, and tricks.

Build a world class team!

Lead & Coach

Lead & Coach

Guidance on leadership to successfully influence the team. Support and coach, direction and purpose, lead and inspire are key terms here.

The job of directors and managers is to create success through others. By setting up the best structures around the team, solid planning, and installing a performance management system, the groundwork is done. Leadership, culture, and performance management then take the plans and turn team into reality. Your leadership qualities and your coaching skills are your tools to influence the team.

 

They help you install the motivation, drive, and energy that is needed to get things done and to work in the intended direction. Leading is about creating the vision and setting the direction. Coaching is about supporting and developing people to be the best they can be.

 

A team and its members have different needs for leading and coaching in different periods of the team’s evolution. The initial focus is on setting the direction and on conveying the plan and vision to the team. Later, this moves to more of a supporting and coaching attitude, so people understand how to get there once they have bought into the vision.

 

In the sales team context, leading is closely related to setting clear objectives, and coaching is guiding the team members on the way to achieve them. Clear objectives and guidance are demonstrated success factors for motivation and team productivity.

 

The better you build the vision, lead, and coach, the less you need to manage details, and the happier and more successful the team is. The team feels empowered to achieve goals on their own.

 

In this section, we collect experiences, tools, and tricks on leadership and coaching for success.

Coaching and Leadership tips