A question we frequently hear at Vantage Point is: How do I know if my sales management team is effective in its role? Sales executives know their managers are the lynchpin of sales team performance, but few have any meaningful criteria for understanding whether their managers are having a positive impact. In nearly every company we encounter, the only benchmark for determining sales manager effectiveness is whether a manager’s team makes quota. Quota attainment implies a good manager; failure to attain quota implies an ineffective manager. This is a risky approach as the quota-attainment yardstick is both incomplete and misleading.
The way we see it, making the team goal consistently is a baseline expectation that, while important, doesn’t provide a complete picture of whether a sales manager is a good one exerting a positive impact on his or her team. For that, you need more consequential metrics that provide a fuller