Even the most flourishing of sales managers will concede managing a sales team is generally never an easy task. While there are varying factors which can determine what makes successful sales managers, there are three key characteristics which that allocate them the ability to support a sales team in reaching its lofty targets.

Strong sales teams incorporate a combination of varying characters with different talents and practices, and an effective sales manager must not only oversee, but also educate, influence, and inspire this diverse team so that the desired results can be achieved.

While it’s true that a good sales manager should possess limitless patience, flexibility, and be actively involved with the happenings of their team, these are only the bare essentials. In order to ensure that their team reaches their goals, there are three non-negotiable traits every successful sales manager needs to have.

An unwavering sense of ethics

Integrity in sales is essential, and like a stream, flows downward from the top, so it is imperative that sales managers lead by example and make it clear that there is zero room or tolerance for it to be discarded.
To this end, integrity should also be a non-negotiable sales policy for successful sales managers. Customers that are given the most preeminent deals go on to become repeat customers, who build relationships on trust and business organizations can rely on for steady revenues. Integrity also makes for a more positive working environment – an objective that all successful sales managers strive towards.

Optimism is a key component to success

A positive outlook is a facet of the leadership by example that successful sales managers must exhibit. While being optimistic is generally welcome within all aspects of a business organization, in sales it is a prerequisite for sales success. A sales team of pessimists with poor demeanors won’t be achieving much success in their endeavors, as such since adverse mindsets thwart all phases of the sales cycle:

• Prospects can sense negativity from the get-go, abolishing any chances of a deal.
• Tenured clientele may be turned-off from sales people exhibiting negative or even neutral dispositions.
• Sales teams suffering from negative mind-sets are counter-productive, resulting in a negative feedback loop and dramatic sales declines.
• Successful sales managers are aware of all this and therefore not only remain unwaveringly positive but have identical expectation from their team. They quickly tackle any type of detrimental behaviors they observe and discreetly handle potential issues in a productive manner, ensuring their team’s continued success.

Be an unparalleled mentor

Effective sales managers have the realm of expertise and first-hand experience that are invaluable tutelage for their team to in order to garner their own success and there’s no better way to absorb all that there is to learn than via coaching. However, it is not sufficient to merely embrace a mentor role in sales meetings.

A good sales manager devotes the majority of their time to mentoring, and appoint coaching time to the areas where it will make the most helpful impact on generating and converting leads.

This is an area where many new sales managers stagger. Most sales managers use accustomed to having been top sales performers, and therefore may opt to spend their resources and time helping their own top reps further flourish as that’s what is most simple and in their comfort zone.

It is however, a mistake. While top sales reps still need encouragement and assistance, they are not in as much need of developmental assistance as the others. Successful sales managers recognize this, and divert the majority of their energy towards the core performers, those who are doing acceptably but could be great with adequate coaching.

These sales managers also spend appropriate time with those who are not performing, and know how to determine when coaching will result in improvement or when separation is the best option.