What is sales management? Definition, processes, & best practices

Behind every successful sales team is a strong sales management process: one that relies greatly upon effective managers and leaders. Implementing the right strategy and process can help a business ensure its health and drive further growth. Without solid sales management, though, rep performance, employee engagement and retention, customer satisfaction, and, ultimately, revenue all suffer.

And the stakes have never been higher: fewer than 50% of sales representatives have met their quotas annually since 2017, according to Harvard Business Review. The transformation is now permanent: Gartner's Future of Sales research projected that 80% of B2B sales interactions between suppliers and buyers would occur in digital channels by 2025, a threshold the industry has now reached. Sales managers must build processes designed for digital-first engagement rather than treating it as a temporary adjustment.

Here, we'll take a close look at effective sales management, including key benefits, what a successful process entails, and how the right sales management system can help leaders and managers overcome some common challenges.

What is sales management?

In order to get sales management right, you must first have a detailed understanding of what it actually is. Sales management is the process of building and training a sales team, defining and coordinating a sales operation, and leveraging specific sales techniques to meet (or even exceed) both sales targets and larger business objectives.

Managing the sales process is a vital part of operating any business, and a successful strategy not only helps a company reach its goals, but also maintain a competitive edge. This idea is two-fold: with a strong sales management process, an organization can better serve its customers and offer an employee experience that attracts and retains its top talent.

This has become an increasingly complex feat, though, as buyer and employee preferences and expectations have shifted in the last decade. Instead of acting on experience and instinct, sales leaders and managers now need to master their ability to consume, analyze, and act upon key data. They must also implement a management process that focuses on empathy and accountability in the face of our constantly evolving socio-political environment, while also fine-tuning their financial and operational skills.

Employee demographics are changing, as Gen Z has begun to enter the workforce, and many sales managers are new managers. Couple that with permanent shifts toward digital-first buying, and you'll start to see why so many sales organizations struggle to implement an effective management strategy.

Hybrid work environments are now the norm and likely won’t ever go back to the way they were. Many sellers who once spent time in the field or on the road must now adapt, and that shift requires both strong management and intelligent technology to optimize and scale managers’ onboarding and coaching efforts.

Firms are beginning to recognize the potential shortcomings (and opportunity for major growth) of their managers’ skill sets and management capabilities, and those who neglect to invest in up-skilling and re-skilling their leaders risk falling behind the competition.

Sales management can sometimes feel like a relatively broad, undefined concept, but getting a good grasp on the process (and how to improve it) starts with dissecting its most foundational role and key pillars:

What does a sales manager do?

Each individual within a sales team is crucial to an organization’s success, but it’s truly the sales manager who most directly shapes their outcomes. A sales manager delivers predictable, cross-team production, champions their reps’ career development, and uses data to inform their coaching efforts. 

Armed with the right skills and tools for support, sales managers can embrace sophisticated management strategies to effectively boost rep performance (and revenue) in a cost-effective manner. Above all, an effective sales manager hires and retains a diverse team that reflects the world around them, which enables them to ensure both customer and employee satisfaction.

• To do all of this properly, sales managers must:
• Set challenging (yet realistic) goals for the team
• Develop a sales management strategy to attain those goals
• Execute that strategy while also motivating and managing their team members
• Evaluate and report on their team’s results
• Continuously make data-driven improvements to their sales strategy

Types of sales management

Sales management approaches vary based on customer type, deal complexity, and sales cycle length. Understanding these distinctions helps organizations structure their teams effectively.

• B2B sales management focuses on selling products or services to other businesses. These sales typically involve longer cycles, multiple stakeholders, and relationship-driven approaches. Success requires deep product knowledge and consultative selling skills.
• Enterprise sales management targets large organizations with complex buying processes. Enterprise deals often involve cross-functional teams, extended evaluation periods, and customized solutions. Managers must coordinate multiple specialists while navigating procurement requirements.
• SaaS sales management centers on subscription-based software sales, emphasizing customer acquisition cost, lifetime value, and churn reduction. The recurring revenue model demands focus on both initial conversion and ongoing customer success.
• Account-based selling treats individual accounts as markets of one, coordinating personalized outreach across multiple stakeholders within target organizations. This approach requires tight alignment between sales, marketing, and customer success teams.

Each type requires different metrics, team structures, and technology stacks. The most effective sales managers understand which approach, or combination of approaches, fits their market and adapt their management style accordingly.

Sales management styles

Effective sales managers adapt their leadership approach based on team composition, market conditions, and organizational culture. Research suggests four primary styles.

• Directive management emphasizes clear expectations, defined processes, and close monitoring of activities. This style works well for new teams, complex products, or turnaround situations requiring rapid alignment.
• Coaching management focuses on individual development, using one-on-ones and deal reviews to build rep capabilities over time. Coaching managers invest heavily in understanding each rep's strengths and development areas.
• Supportive management prioritizes accessibility and encouragement, creating psychological safety for reps to take risks and ask questions. This style excels in high-pressure environments where rep confidence drives results.
• Participative management involves the team in goal-setting and strategy decisions, building buy-in and leveraging collective intelligence. This approach works best with experienced teams capable of self-direction.

Most successful managers blend these styles based on situation and individual rep needs. A new hire might need directive clarity, while a veteran rep benefits from participative involvement in territory planning.

Sales operations: Building and managing your team

The first of the three most essential pillars of sales management is sales operations, which includes building the team, managing that team, and retaining talent. Sales managers, of course, seek to hire the most talented reps for their team, but keeping those reps engaged, motivated, and satisfied requires more than just a strong onboarding process.

Whether their reps are totally green or have years of deep experience, managers must equip them with the right tools and resources to progress their careers in a meaningful, measurable way. Reps should always feel as though they're a valued part of the team and the broader organization and that their efforts impact the company’s collective success. To nurture a highly collaborative, connected sales operation, managers should take the time to:

• Identify individual and team-wide targets
• Assign territories
• Set goals, quotas, and rewards

Once a manager has outlined these parameters, it’s also his or her job to actually manage the process. This means tracking progress, intervening when necessary, and providing extra motivation to those who need it. An effective sales team management strategy is paramount here, since a structured, well-thought-out approach ensures nothing (and no one) will fall through the cracks.

Sales strategy: Turning process into revenue

While your sales team is the glue that holds everything together, your sales process is what actually translates into revenue. Regardless of industry, selling is a complex process that requires a well-established, strongly executed sales strategy for success. Depending on your company size, industry, product, competitors, and more, your process will have a varying number of stages within the sales cycle, but the goal remains the same: to conduct a set of tasks that help an organization’s product reach its intended audience.

To get it right, you need a sales pipeline that visually represents all the sales activities your team needs to complete in order to close a deal.

A pipeline helps managers and reps organize and track their progress, better understand what works (and what doesn’t), and identify what’s needed to meet quota or revenue targets. Pipeline stages often include:

• Prospecting
• Qualification
• Contact
• Relationship building
• Meeting, demo, sales call
• Deal closing

By developing the right sales pipeline, managers can empower their teams to become more efficient, productive, and effective. Successful managers also use tools that improve pipeline transparency, offer real-time activity tracking, and determine how each activity influences the pipeline and impacts attribution.

Sales analysis: Measuring what matters

It’s not enough for managers to execute their sales strategy and call it a day. They must also use reporting to determine how that strategy impacts the business, where and how the team can improve, and which workflows and processes should be tweaked to optimize operations.

Accurate reporting relies on sales metrics that align with specific goals, objectives, and targets. For sales managers, it’s a lot to keep track of, especially on top of all their other responsibilities. Since simply measuring these metrics isn’t enough to ensure meaningful improvement, sales managers need sophisticated tools that help them use those data-driven insights to adjust their strategy. Yet few organizations report that their managers have fully mastered this skill.

The challenge extends beyond measurement. According to Harvard Business Review, "managers need to focus on fewer metrics, ideally leading indicators which allow reps to adjust their behavior on the fly and improve future outcomes." Many executives are surprised at how narrow their metrics are and how little they actually know about what's happening in their revenue pipeline.

Leading indicators predict future outcomes and enable real-time behavioral adjustment. According to Gartner's sales performance framework, organizations often find value in focusing on fewer, more predictive metrics rather than comprehensive tracking:

• Pipeline coverage ratio (3-5x quota target for deal progression)
• Activity-to-opportunity conversion rates
• Deal velocity by stage
• Engagement quality scores

These metrics allow sales teams to adjust behavior on the fly and improve future outcomes, rather than relying solely on lagging indicators that reflect past performance.

Lagging indicators measure past performance but offer limited ability to course-correct:

• Quota attainment
• Win/loss rates
• Revenue closed
• Average deal size

The most effective sales managers build dashboards emphasizing leading indicators, using lagging metrics primarily for retrospective analysis and compensation calculations.

Effective sales managers use technology to automate and simplify the sales analysis process, with tools that help them collect and analyze key data. They then use that information to tighten up the sales pipeline, streamline the sales management process, and optimize their workflows. The result is a more efficient salesforce that’s ready to provide excellent, data-driven customer experiences.

How AI takes the guesswork out of sales management

The 2024-2025 AI landscape has shifted from experimental pilots to practical, integrated systems. According to MIT Sloan Management Review, 58% of data and AI leaders report their organizations have achieved exponential productivity or efficiency gains from AI. 

Yet sustained success remains elusive: while progress on data-driven culture has doubled in recent years, 92% of executives still cite cultural and change management challenges as the primary barrier to becoming truly data- and AI-driven.

For sales managers, AI delivers value across three critical areas:

1. Forecasting accuracy: AI-powered sales forecasting tools address what Gartner identifies as a core requirement: forecasts that are "accurate, actionable" and cut seller stress. Rather than relying on gut instinct or outdated pipeline snapshots, managers can access real-time deal insights that surface risks before deals stall, enabling sellers to adjust their approach and improve future outcomes.
2. Coaching at scale: Traditional coaching requires managers to review calls, analyze patterns, and deliver feedback individually. AI-powered conversation intelligence can detect key topics, sentiment shifts, and buying signals across all rep interactions, helping managers identify coaching opportunities without manually reviewing every call.
3. Operational efficiency: Sellers struggle with time management, with much of their day consumed by non-revenue-generating activities like prospect research, lead prioritization, and data entry. AI agents can reduce time spent on these administrative tasks, freeing sales representatives to focus on the buyer interactions that drive revenue.
   Outreach's Research Agent automates account and prospect research, while the Deal Agent surfaces deal risks and recommends next actions. The Revenue Agent provides managers with pipeline insights and forecast confidence. Research shows AI-powered tools can deliver up to 30% productivity gains by automating time-intensive preparation work.

The key distinction for 2026: successful AI implementations surface insights and recommendations for human review rather than executing autonomously. Sales managers remain in the loop, using AI to augment their judgment rather than replace it.

The 7-step sales management process

While the pillars discussed above are essential to your process, it's important to note that they act as umbrellas under which each part of the sales management process falls. The sales management process varies from one organization to the next, but typically includes:

1. Planning

Sales managers set goals, create strategy, and align sales and marketing to focus reps on viable prospects rather than chasing unqualified leads. This includes defining clear, measurable targets, assigning territories strategically, and developing lead generation tactics in coordination with marketing positioning. 

Managers should identify relevant metrics and tracking tools, such as CRM and sales engagement platforms, to measure progress. Planning is an ongoing process that managers should revisit as market conditions, products, and team composition evolve.

2. Recruitment

Every team member shapes a sales team's collective reputation, making thoughtful hiring essential. HubSpot research confirms that average sales rep turnover hovers around 35% – nearly three times the rate of other professions. Building a team where reps want to join, stay, and grow starts with prioritizing candidates who demonstrate curiosity, preparation, and coachability. 

Effective onboarding processes that create belonging, collaboration, and support from day one help combat early attrition, as half of sales leaders agree that excessive stress during onboarding increases the likelihood of new hires quitting. Equipping new hires with centralized platforms providing a single source of truth for sales resources reduces ramp time and prevents information silos.

3. Training

Traditional methods can't keep pace with today's hybrid selling environment. Sales leaders' top growth strategy for 2025 is improving sales enablement and training, and for good reason: companies that invest in training are 57% more effective at sales than their competitors.

Continuous upskilling on data fluency and relationship-building skills is essential, as reps must transform CRM data into meaningful, conversation-ready insights. Sales enablement tools that facilitate real-time coaching during sales calls help managers identify issues at scale while keeping reps productive.

4. Directing

Sales management extends beyond formal training moments into daily guidance and feedback. Effective directing means providing individualized coaching during day-to-day operations, offering both positive reinforcement and constructive criticism. The key is creating a culture where valuable feedback flows early and often rather than waiting for quarterly reviews.

Managers should learn how each rep prefers to receive feedback, including format, frequency, and communication style. Tools that track metrics, provide transparency into deal progress, and align reps with short and long-term goals make this process scalable. The direct-report-centric one-on-one model, where reps do most of the talking and managers ask questions, proves more effective than manager-dominated status updates.

5. Evaluation

Your sales strategy should be treated as a living, breathing entity requiring continuous refinement. Managers must objectively evaluate their approach based on customer feedback, employee input, pipeline health, and KPI performance. Understanding what contributes to both team successes and failures enables meaningful improvement.

A good manager knows how to analyze data and convert insights into impactful changes. Buyer sentiment analysis provides visibility into prospect emotional responses to sales engagement, allowing managers to quickly repeat successful approaches or course-correct when engagement falls flat.

6. Assessment

Optimizing the sales process requires deep visibility into team performance to identify gaps and opportunities. Sales dashboards centralize and visually represent all sales data in a single, accessible platform. They help managers evaluate team performance and progress against goals in real time, enabling more accurate forecasting and informed coaching.

With the right tools, managers can build dashboards using up-to-date data for more targeted guidance on processes, tools, and individual deals. Robust technology eliminates the time otherwise spent on manual data entry, report creation, and account research.

7. Compensation

Most sales reps find motivation in tangible rewards beyond job satisfaction. Monetary incentives through sales incentive programs such as gift cards, bonuses, or prizes make a significant difference in motivating your team. Public recognition through team dinners, shout-outs, and appreciation events also drives engagement, as does extra time off.

Flexible rewards programs improve employee engagement, and a highly engaged workforce leads to 21% greater profitability. Managers should take time to discover what inspires each team member rather than applying one-size-fits-all incentive structures.

How to manage hybrid and remote sales teams effectively

Hybrid work has become the dominant model for sales organizations. According to Gartner research, 48% of employees work remotely at least part of the time, compared to 30% before the pandemic. For sales managers, this shift requires intentional adaptation rather than simply recreating in-office practices virtually.

Research shows hybrid teams are 28% more likely to outperform fully remote or fully in-person teams when managed effectively. The key differentiator is structured management approaches that maintain visibility without micromanagement.

Effective hybrid sales management requires:

• Documented playbooks: Remote reps cannot tap a colleague's shoulder for quick answers. Comprehensive, searchable playbooks ensure consistent execution regardless of location.
• Structured communication rhythms: Regular team syncs, pipeline reviews, and one-on-ones become non-negotiable anchor points that maintain alignment across distributed teams.
• Technology-enabled visibility: Managers need tools that provide real-time pipeline transparency and activity tracking without requiring constant check-ins.
• Clear performance expectations: When you cannot observe work directly, outcomes and leading indicators matter more than activity metrics.

Retention implications are substantial: according to recent analysis, 65% of employees report they are more likely to stay with companies offering remote or hybrid options. Sales managers who resist flexible arrangements risk losing top talent to competitors who have embraced the shift.

3 strategies for effective sales management

Now that we’ve nailed down the basics, let’s take a closer look at some winning strategies for implementing an effective sales management process.

1. Talent management and coaching

Finding reps with the right experience can be a time-consuming, frustrating, expensive challenge. But it’s well worth the cost to hire a talented salesperson who can represent your brand, build lasting customer relationships, and close those high-value deals. Make sure the candidates you hire are diverse, well-aligned with your organization’s values, and have the right soft skills (e.g. empathy, humility, and emotional intelligence).

Once you’ve hired your dream team, invest in their success! Offer continuous training and support, give them the proper tools to do their jobs, encourage both their professional and personal development, and ask them how you can be a better manager. Reps want to feel like you have their backs, so show them you care by empowering them to grow.

• Recent research in Harvard Business Review argues that sales organizations traditionally focus on three dimensions: competencies (skills and knowledge), motivation (drivers), and results (achievements). However, the research emphasizes that salespeople at different career stages require different leadership approaches rather than one-size-fits-all models.
• Early-career reps need structured skill development, clear performance expectations, and frequent feedback. Focus on competency building and confidence.
• Mid-career reps often need help navigating organizational complexity, expanding their strategic influence, and avoiding stagnation. Focus on stretch assignments and cross-functional exposure.
• Senior reps may need renewed motivation, opportunities to mentor others, and recognition for institutional knowledge. Focus on legacy and leadership development.

Managers who adapt their coaching approach to each rep's career stage create stronger development paths and improve retention of top performers at all levels.

2. Feedback channels

One-on-one feedback is important in some situations, while public feedback can foster healthy competition among your team. Sharing feedback on internal social networks, Slack channels, and other tools can motivate reps to boost their performance. But gathering that data and condensing it is labor-intensive without the right technology.
An AI Revenue Workflow Platform makes it quick and easy to identify and share progress in real time, so team members can celebrate each other’s wins, offer guidance, and collaborate on tricky deals as they occur.

3. Intelligent use of data and forecasting

Many sales organizations still lack a well-defined or scientific approach to forecasting, leading to wasted time, inaccurate sales calls, and inefficiencies across sales, operations, marketing, and finance teams.

This leads to wasted time, underwhelming or inaccurate sales calls, and inefficiencies across sales, operations, marketing, and finance teams. Sales managers need the right tools that automatically capture and upload buyer and seller activities across the entire revenue cycle.

This visibility empowers them to understand which deals are most at risk and save them before it’s too late. Intelligent forecasting is paramount for delivering predictable and efficient revenue growth, understanding pipeline health, and getting back on track at a moment’s notice.

3 outcomes of effective sales management

By leveraging strategies for success, managers can ensure a more effective sales management process, which results in some key benefits:

1. Increased employee and customer satisfaction

A strong sales management process is all about optimizing operations by identifying issues and areas for improvement and acting on those insights. Managers lead teams, and are thus capable of building processes and workflows that boost their reps’ productivity, ensure their engagement, and set them up with everything they need to do what they do best: sell.

It’s no secret that all of this is grounded in robust data, which, when used correctly, can shed light on anything that might be hindering rep performance, contributing to their success, and supporting their efforts to deliver exceptional customer service. 

With modern tools that streamline data collection and analysis, managers can use those insights to tweak their processes, strategies, and training. The result is more prepared, confident sales reps who are ready and willing to go the extra mile for their customers.

2. Improved bottom line

Boosting revenue requires an in-depth understanding of pipeline health, which sales activities garner the best results, and how your customers are reacting to your sales engagement. With the right sales management process in place, these factors become part of a well-oiled machine, where managers and reps continuously observe, measure, and adjust their actions.
Teams are always equipped to pivot in the moment, rather than waiting for a deal to fall through before they realize where they went wrong. Maximizing revenue is about leveraging a strategic, efficient sales operation, and an effective sales management process (backed by powerful tools) helps organizations do just that.

3. More accurate forecasting

Selling is both a science and an art. Intuition alone won’t get you very far in today’s competitive, digitally-minded landscape. As volatility increases in today’s environment, managers need processes and tools that help them get their forecasts right. Truly effective sales management relies on tools that give them greater, more accurate visibility into real-time data around deals, pipeline health, and forecasts, so they can shift their strategies and close more deals.

What is a sales management system (and do you need one)?

At this point, you might be wondering how any sales manager can possibly implement a successful management process. With so many ever-changing factors, required data for support, and strategies to consider, it can seem overwhelming. Throw in the fact that reps are already toggling between so many disconnected systems and apps to complete their daily work, and leveraging an effective sales management process can feel like a pipe dream.

Sales management systems can lighten the load, though, as they’re designed to simplify the process. These tools (sometimes referred to as CRM systems or sales management software) help reps manage their contacts, track deals, and automate the manual, time-consuming tasks that diminish their productivity.

Some sales teams still use traditional tools (like spreadsheets) for their management process, but sales management systems take everything a step further. They centralize, analyze, and update all information on prospects, leads, and customers. Some tools even help teams execute a simple sales process. 

Many sales organizations invest in sales management software in their efforts to, for example, improve collaboration throughout the sales process. Cloud-based CRMs can provide a clear view of a company’s sales funnel, so each rep can easily see available opportunities and future revenue. Most sales management systems offer a few core capabilities, including:

• Sales forecasting and reporting
• Integrations
• Customizations
• Data collection and synchronization
• Customer intel (e.g., purchase preferences and interaction history)
• Centralized data

However, technology alone does not guarantee results. According to a 2025 Bain & Company survey, 70% of companies struggle to integrate their sales plays into CRM and revenue technologies. The most significant change in 2024, according to Harvard Business Review, was that generative AI spurred greater interest in data quality because "great AI relies on great data."

Before investing in new sales management tools, teams often find value in assessing their data infrastructure:

• Is customer and deal data consistently captured across all touchpoints?
• Can sales activities flow automatically into your CRM without manual entry?
• Do you have a unified view of pipeline health accessible to all stakeholders?
• Are your systems integrated as part of a cohesive B2B sales tech stack, or do reps toggle between disconnected tools?

Organizations that address these foundational questions before adding new technology see significantly better adoption and ROI.

Benefits of a sales management system

While businesses that stick with traditional, outdated tools will likely struggle to optimize their sales management processes, those who invest in a sales management system can reap a variety of benefits. 

• Lead prioritization - Sales management software can help teams identify high-priority accounts and assign them to the right rep.
• Better forecasting - Some sales management solutions help teams evaluate their sales cycle and determine the effectiveness of their strategies and tools. They analyze traffic volumes and conversion ratios, for instance, to help managers assess performance and uncover opportunities for improvement.
• Data-driven customer insights - By centralizing customer interactions, each rep, marketing employee, and manager can better understand the customer journey. Using those insights, sales teams can adjust their engagement strategies for increased success.
• Automated workflows - Most modern sales management systems can identify essential information in calls and emails and track responses in real time. Then, they automatically create follow-up reminders and calendar tasks so details don’t get lost in the shuffle.

It's essential to note that, while traditional sales management systems (like your CRM) are essential to the health of your business, they are not enough to boost your competitive edge. Organizations pursuing platform consolidation see better adoption and reduced tool fatigue.

Today's revenue leaders need a powerful AI Revenue Workflow Platform Sales Execution Platform that combines automation, total visibility, and AI. Together, they unlock actionable customer intelligence that guides sellers and managers to execute at their full potential. Only then can they win more deals with less effort, forecast without guesswork, and deliver a better customer experience.

Sales management career paths and compensation

Sales management offers multiple career trajectories with competitive compensation. According to Glassdoor salary data, median total compensation in the United States for common sales management roles includes:

Entry to mid-level roles:

• Sales coordinator: $73,000
• Sales manager: $124,000
• Regional sales manager: $151,000

Senior leadership roles:

• Sales director: $242,000
• Vice president of sales: $335,000
• Chief revenue officer: $400,000+

Compensation typically includes base salary plus variable pay tied to team performance. Top-performing sales managers often earn 40 to 60 percent of total compensation through bonuses and commissions.

Career progression typically follows one of two paths: the individual contributor track (senior account executive to enterprise sales) or the management track (team lead to director to VP). Some organizations offer dual-track systems, allowing high performers to advance without moving into management.

The skills that drive advancement include coaching ability, strategic thinking, cross-functional collaboration, and data literacy. Managers who can translate pipeline data into actionable insights for their teams consistently outperform those relying on intuition alone.

Sales management software options

Modern sales teams rely on integrated platforms rather than point solutions. Key categories include:

The most effective approach combines these capabilities in a unified platform rather than managing separate tools. Outreach's AI Revenue Workflow Platform integrates sales engagement, conversation intelligence, deal management, and forecasting in a single solution, eliminating the context-switching and data silos that plague fragmented tech stacks.

When evaluating options, prioritize platforms that:

• Integrate natively with your CRM
• Provide real-time coaching capabilities
• Offer AI-powered insights without requiring data science resources
• Support both manager visibility and rep productivity

How Outreach powers effective sales management

A successful sales management process is just that: a process. It’s not a fixed, unchanging checklist or a magical template, but an evolving practice that requires consistent measurements and adjustments. To get it right, managers must develop, evaluate, and tweak engaging strategies rooted in deep data. It’s an essential (albeit complex) process that can result in better customer and employee satisfaction, a healthier business, and an improved bottom line. 

Outreach’s AI Revenue Workflow Platform eliminates the time-consuming, manual tasks often associated with sales management. With tools for total pipeline visibility, centralized sales process management, accurate forecasting and reporting, and real-time training and support, Outreach can help you go beyond an effective sales management process for a more efficient, productive, and profitable team.

FAQs

What is sales management in simple terms?

Sales management is the process of building, training, and leading a sales team to meet revenue targets. It encompasses hiring the right people, setting clear goals, developing effective sales strategies, coaching reps to improve performance, and using data to continuously optimize results.

What are the 3 pillars of sales management?

The three core pillars are: (1) sales operations, which includes team building, territory assignment, and quota setting; (2) sales strategy, which defines how your team approaches the market; and (3) sales analysis, which measures performance and identifies improvement opportunities. Sales coaching is woven throughout these pillars as a critical management practice rather than standing as a separate pillar.

What does a sales manager do day to day?

Daily activities typically include reviewing pipeline and deal progress, conducting one-on-ones with reps, coaching on specific deals or skills, analyzing performance metrics, collaborating with marketing and other teams, forecasting revenue, and addressing obstacles that prevent reps from selling effectively.

How is AI changing sales management?

AI helps sales managers by improving forecast accuracy through pattern recognition, surfacing coaching opportunities through conversation intelligence, automating administrative tasks that take time away from selling, and providing data-driven insights that inform strategy. However, AI augments rather than replaces human judgment in sales leadership.

What metrics should sales managers track?

Focus on leading indicators that predict future outcomes: pipeline coverage ratio (3-5x quota), activity-to-opportunity conversion rates, deal velocity by stage, and engagement quality. Use lagging indicators like quota attainment and win rates for retrospective analysis rather than real-time management. This approach aligns with Harvard Business Review research emphasizing that managers need to "focus on fewer metrics – ideally, leading indicators which allow reps to adjust their behavior on the fly and improve future outcomes" and Gartner's recommendation to "standardize the way your organization uses engagement metrics" to pinpoint activities driving performance improvement.

How do you manage a remote or hybrid sales team?

Effective hybrid management requires documented playbooks, structured communication rhythms (regular one-on-ones and team syncs), technology that provides pipeline visibility without micromanagement, and clear performance expectations focused on outcomes rather than activity metrics.

What is the difference between sales management and sales leadership?

Sales management focuses on processes, metrics, and operational execution: ensuring reps follow the playbook, hit their numbers, and receive timely coaching. Sales leadership emphasizes vision, culture, and strategic direction: inspiring teams, navigating organizational change, and building long-term competitive advantage. Effective sales managers demonstrate both capabilities.

How do you become a good sales manager?

Becoming an effective sales manager requires developing skills across multiple dimensions: coaching ability to develop rep performance, analytical skills to interpret pipeline data, communication skills to align teams around goals, and strategic thinking to optimize processes. Most successful sales managers build experience as top-performing reps first, then transition into leadership roles where they can apply their selling expertise to developing others. Ongoing development through mentorship, formal training, and staying current with sales methodologies and technologies accelerates growth in the role.

What software do sales managers need?

At minimum, sales managers need a CRM for customer data, a sales engagement platform for execution, and analytics tools for performance tracking. However, the trend is toward consolidated platforms that combine these capabilities. Look for solutions that integrate conversation intelligence, deal management, and forecasting to reduce tool sprawl and provide unified visibility.