Two friends used to go duck hunting together. Since they didn't have a bird-dog of their own, they went to the same location every year because they were able to rent a dog from the person who owned the property. After a while they found a dog that gave them particularly good results, so they requested him every time. They discovered the dog's name was Salesman and they used him for the next few years. On one of their annual trips, they asked for Salesman and found out that he wasn't available. They went to the owner and asked, “What happened to Salesman?” The owner replied, “You don't want to use him anymore because he got promoted to sales manager. The only thing he does now is lay around the office and bark at everyone.”

Why We Wrote This Book

You've got this book in your hand, and you may be asking yourself, why did these guys write this book? We wrote this book because it takes a lot more than a barking sales manager to improve the performance of your sales team.

We wrote this book because we believe…

• Sales managers are pivotal. Sustained development of a sales team rides on the shoulders of the sales management team.
• Selling is a noble profession and we want to help the people who do it. Salespeople help buyers navigate purchase decisions, around the world, every minute, every day.
• It's important to share what we know best-in-class sales managers do with those who aspire to improve. Winning is fun! Helping others win even more so.
• An ineffective sales manager can have a neutral impact or negative impact because they fail to help their sales team grow out of their comfort zones and develop the habits and disciplines that generate success.
• An effective sales manager can have a dramatic impact on a salesperson's career and life. They help their sales team grow their skill set and develop the discipline, rigor, and proper habits to ultimately maximize their potential.
• Sales managers need to know how their team perceives the support they receive from them. According to Gallup, the best way to determine if you have a high-development culture is to ask your team to what degree they agree with the statement: “There is someone at work who encourages my development” (Clifton and Harter 2019, 6).

You deserve a practical playbook. It would be awesome if you worked for the greatest sales manager in the world, who could foster your development by setting a great example every day. Unfortunately, most of us don't have that. That's why we think sales managers deserve a practical playbook. We've been fortunate to code the DNA of what great sales managers do and we're going to share it with you.

Sales enablement technology can empower coaching, but sales managers must still possess the right attitudes and perform the right activities consistently to develop their team. While sales enablement technologies continue to evolve and get more powerful (for example, analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning) it still, always, boils down to how well a sales manager coaches their sales team.

Who This Book is For

This book is for people who possess the right mindset, are motivated, want to get better, and want to help others get better.

Enterprise Rent-a-Car is one of the most successful car rental companies in the world, and one of the best sales organizations we've ever worked with. One of the keys to their success is that they have a very dynamic approach to sales coaching with the goal of growing the company while, at the same time, delivering great customer service. They believe their major priority is to develop their people. When they develop their people, they become more competitive and gain market share. Therefore, everyone in the company is genuinely invested in developing their people. If you have that sort of mindset, this book is for you.

In terms of job function, our intended audience includes:

• Senior sales executives.
• Line managers in sales and customer service.
• Aspiring sales or customer service managers.
• Contact center managers, leads, coaches, and quality assurance managers.
• Customer experience executives.
• Customer loyalty executives.
• Small business owners.
• Anyone in a leadership position at a law/accounting/consulting firm.

Who We Are

We have been successful salespeople, sales managers, business owners, and consultants. We started The Next Level Sales Consulting because, by working with other sales organizations, we found we could have a bigger impact, gain more experience and exposure, and (honestly) make more money. Together, we have over 50 years' experience in the trenches, training and coaching salespeople, sales managers, and sales executives.

Triple-Distilled Sales Coaching Model

If you should ever have the opportunity to visit the Jameson Whiskey distillery in Dublin, Ireland, you will discover that Jameson Whiskey is triple distilled. The whiskey is purified, refined, and improved. Through that process they have developed a great-tasting whiskey – especially if you are a whiskey drinker. We have gone through a similar process to develop this book. We have worked with some of the best sales organizations in the country, gathered the best practices of their best sales leaders, distilled what we have learned, and refined it to make it better. Think of this book as the “triple-distilled” sales coaching process and methodology.