The Manager Is the Pivotal Skill#
According to detailed research, the sales manager’s job is the “pivotal skill” in any sales-driven organization. The healthier your management, the healthier and more profitable the entire company.
The relationship between you and each salesperson is the control valve on their performance. Open it, and water flows. Close it, and the field goes dry.
Why People Take a Sales Job#
When salespeople are interviewed about why they took a particular role, they almost always give the same answer:
“Because of the sales manager.”
A secondary reason is the promise of excellent training that will help them earn more — but even that confidence rests on how they feel about the sales manager in the first place.
Why People Stay (and Why They Leave)#
The same research surfaces a consistent pattern across three turning points in a sales career.
Why They Stay#
“I stayed at the job because of my sales manager. I liked him, trusted him, and felt comfortable in that company.”
It is quite common for salespeople to remain with one company for decades because of a single high-quality relationship with a sales manager.
Why They Leave#
When top performers move to a competitor, the answer is mirror-imaged:
“Because the sales manager was difficult to deal with, critical, and untrustworthy.”
Salespeople rarely leave companies. They leave managers.
The Moment of Truth#
Every interaction between manager and salesperson is what Brian Tracy calls a “moment of truth” — face-to-face, in meetings, on the phone, even by email.
It is the emotional nature of those points of contact that largely determines marketplace performance:
- A positive, supportive relationship → salespeople usually perform at the very best level they are capable of.
- A negative, critical relationship → performance can drop immediately, sometimes for several days, and sometimes for as long as the person works at the company.
A Simple Diagnostic#
The fact that you genuinely like your salespeople causes them to like themselves more — which makes them more persistent and determined in the field.
If you cannot honestly say you like the people who work for you, you have a problem larger than any tactic in this book can solve.
Create a Great Place to Work#
The annual “100 Best Companies to Work For” report (Great Place to Work Institute, in conjunction with Fortune) surveys thousands of employees. Across industries, the #1 ingredient of a great workplace is the same:
High trust.
Employees define high trust as:
- They can say whatever they want to say.
- They can make mistakes in their work.
- Without fear of being reprimanded, criticized, or losing their jobs.
The result: people are comfortable, happier, more relaxed, and more creative. They perform at much higher levels.
A Branch That Doubled Sales by Becoming the Place to Work#
A client of Brian Tracy’s had eighteen branches. One branch consistently produced the highest sales volume — both individually and collectively. Everyone knew why:
- The sales manager was a remarkable man.
- People applied — and crawled over each other — to transfer into that office.
- They knew that under his management, their sales would double or triple within months.
The best sales managers always have a steady stream of high-performing salespeople asking to join. They keep a file of potential candidates biding time, waiting for an opening.
When you create a great place to work, recruiting becomes nearly self-driving.
The Manager’s Personal Reputation#
Your reputation in the market — what salespeople say about you when they are talking among themselves at industry events — is the single most powerful recruiting tool you possess. Two questions force the issue into focus:
- “How exactly would I like to be described by people in my business and in my market?”
- “What words would I like people to use when describing me?”
Then, the operating question:
“What could I start doing immediately to ensure that people use those words?”
Reputation is not a wish. It is the cumulative residue of behavior.
Action Exercises#
- List the specific actions you can take to make your salespeople glad they work for you rather than someone else. Pick one and start this week.
- Write down the three or four words you want salespeople and competitors to use when describing you. Identify one daily behavior that would earn each word.