Leading a sales team is both challenging and rewarding. You’ll inevitably experience ups and downs- but hopefully some strong highs as well. In this article, we highlight a few classic pitfalls you should avoid if you and your salespeople are to perform at a high level.
As a sales leader, you’re a key driver of the company’s growth—and someone everyone has their eyes on. Management expects strong results, while your employees—the sales team—often need close follow-up to perform at a high level.
“Sales rarely come pouring in on their own,” says Jostein Engen, CEO of Billity.
“One of the biggest challenges is getting salespeople to perform consistently well over time. We know there’s high turnover in the sales industry, which makes it critically important for leaders to focus on what makes work motivating and enjoyable. Otherwise, you risk losing your best performers. In fact, most people who leave their job say their manager is the reason.”
Leading a sales team is about far more than tracking numbers and keeping motivation high. It requires clarity, people skills, structure, and the ability to adapt to change. Unfortunately, many sales leaders fall into the same traps, again and again.
Here are some of the most common traps you as a sales leader needs to avoid:
1. You focus solely on results and forget the people
Numbers matter. But it’s people who deliver the numbers. If you focus only on measuring and pushing results without seeing the people behind them, you risk high turnover, declining motivation, and a poor work environment. Great leaders see the whole person, not just the budget.
2. Micro management
No one likes someone breathing down their neck. When leaders insist on approving every offer, monitoring every call, and controlling every detail, they suffocate trust, initiative, and creativity. Trust your team. Be available, but you don’t need to interfere in everything.
3. Insufficient coaching and development
When things get busy, it’s easy to neglect follow-up. Without regular feedback, sparring, and development conversations, salespeople stagnate, and results suffer. Great leaders make time to develop people, not just report on them.
4. Lack of clear goals and expectations
What are your goals for the day, the week, the month, or the year? Leadership is about ensuring everyone is working toward a shared objective. These goals can be both individual and collective. For example, a goal might be to make 25 phone calls in a day or close five new deals. If the team doesn’t know what’s expected, how can they deliver? Goals need to be concrete, clear, and achievable.
5. Poor hiring decisions
Hiring the wrong people is costly, especially in sales. Thorough recruitment processes are essential. The people you hire must have the right values and the skills needed to do the job well.
6. Poor handling of underperformance
Good leaders dare to have the difficult conversations. Remember, weak performance may also be your responsibility as a leader. Have employees received sufficient training? Do they have the tools they need to perform? Are expectations clear enough?
7. Not recognizing good performance
Many leaders expect salespeople to be self-driven and motivated, and many are. But everyone needs recognition, support, and appreciation for the work they put in. Never underestimate the value of a pat on the back or a kind, motivating comment ❤️
