It’s easy to go on autopilot once your reps have been trained. But what if the training has been solid and you’re still seeing mismatched hires, coaching at the Little League level, and messy pipelines?
When you’re getting these results, there’s a chance the problem lies with management. If this is the case for you, your business might benefit from some training in sales management.
When you train managers, several things happen. Besides your reps being on the same page (even if they sell differently), your sales system becomes primed for positive results. And when the results are positive, the numbers follow suit.
That said, we get it if you’re on the fence about schooling your sales managers. There are some common misconceptions and skepticism about whether or not you need training in sales management, so we’re here to help.
Below, we’re giving you the top five reasons to invest in sales consulting services, specifically training in sales management. Time to dig in.
Reason 1 — Training in Sales Management Creates a Repeatable Hiring System
You can’t expect much out of your team if it doesn’t have the right people. When it comes to hiring, your approach needs to be deliberate, intentional, and purposeful.
Unfortunately, too many sales managers are still hiring “on instinct.” This is why hiring the right candidates goes South.
So, when your sales hiring track record shows significant gaps in expectations vs. reality, training in sales management can help. And before we get into how training in sales management can impact your revenue and sales, let’s first address how your sales managers should go about hiring sales candidates.
How Training Changes the Hiring Process
Sales hiring training programs like Metahire teach managers what a successful, skilled sales hire actually looks like.
Instead of vague traits like “good communicator” or “team player,” your managers will identify specific behaviors that make the ideal sales candidate. And once that hiring framework is in place, the recruiting, vetting, and interviewing process becomes more reliable.
Investing in sales management training teaches sales managers to ask behavior-based questions that test for real-world problem-solving rather than surface-level confidence. Real, tangible results. You know…the good stuff.
Why Structured Hiring Improves Your Pipeline
When the right people are brought in, the top of the funnel becomes cleaner and more predictable.
Why?
Your new hires ramp faster because they fit the role they were hired for. Deals move more smoothly because managers can focus on coaching strategy instead of fixing hiring mistakes.
*This is a sample breakdown of attribute distribution. Yours might look different than this!
Tools Your Managers Can Develop in Training
Training for sales management gives your managers a sales hiring framework, but where the magic lies is in the tools your managers walk away with, like:
- Role scorecards built around your ideal customer profile and selling motion (we love and use DiSC, but there are plenty of other options to choose from if those don’t resonate)
- Behavior-based interview banks that test for practical decision-making
- Panel interviews with various team members to test for preparation/sales skills under pressure
- Role practice simulations that evaluate how candidates handle real sales challenges
These are just a few examples. What works for your business might look different than this, but you get the point. If you’ve made it this far, you’re probably realizing your sales hiring process could (and should) look a little different. Let’s keep it moving.
Reason 2 — Trained Managers Coach Behaviors, Not Just Numbers
Good managers don’t rely on reports to understand performance. For them, numbers are the result of daily actions and not the other way around. And when managers receive training in sales management, they learn how to observe and shape those actions directly.
With training, coaching will be structured and routine. Each week includes a focused one-on-one that covers the pipeline, skill development, and call reviews.
Instead of correcting deals after they’re lost, your managers will address the habits that caused them to stall. They’ll be able to spot gaps in discovery, follow-up, and commitment, then guide their reps through specific improvements.
Reason 3 — Training in Sales Management Aligns Ops, Process, and Reality
If you’ve ever let a CRM rule your sales operations, you’ll agree:
There’s this idea that the CRM gives a clear picture of reality in the sales process. Hardly is this ever the case. In fact, despite how well numbers and processes are laid out, what’s in the CRM may not always reflect what goes down on the sales floor.
And when your managers take CRM insights as law, your sales ops become victims of poor forecasts, a lack of clarity on where buyers are in their customer journeys, and “data noise.”
With training in sales management, however, your managers will be better able to bridge the gap between process and practice.
Training in Sales Management Teaches Managers to Turn Your CRM Into a Source of Clarity
When managers understand how to define and enforce consistent process standards, the CRM will no longer be a record of guesses (and let’s be honest…probably some mismatched and sloppy customer notes). Sales leadership coaching teaches your sales managers to set clear exit criteria for every pipeline stage and to make next steps part of the standard workflow.
With CRM-related insights from B2B sales training, forecasts become more reliable, and terms like “commit” and “best case” get a shared meaning. Your managers will also be able to review your pipeline and see where each deal stands.
But none of this happens without implementing systems, sticking to them, and improving them over time. Miracles can happen, but not in CRM optimization. You’ve got to put in the work.
Training Helps Build a Feedback Loop With Operations
Sales ops and sales managers need to be in sync.
Beyond CRM training, training in sales management encourages managers to collaborate with revenue operations teams rather than treating them as data gatekeepers. Working in tandem, they’ll refine fields, eliminate redundant inputs, and create systems that capture the actual flow of selling conversations.
A Quick Checklist To Get Your Ops and Managers on the Same Page
Here’s what your sales managers and sales ops managers need to work in sync post-training:
- Buyer stage definitions: Every team member should be able to explain them in plain terms.
- Mandatory next steps: Whether it’s to nurture, convert, or abandon, your managers and ops must identify and agree on the next actions for each opportunity before it moves forward.
- Routine pipeline reviews: These must be focused on cleanup and verification. There’s nothing more disruptive to prospecting or follow-up than having to sift through nonsense in your CRM.
Reason 4 — Better Sales Manager Training Improves Culture, Retention, and Ramp
When managers receive minimal sales enablement support or training from internal trainers or B2B sales consultants, it’s no wonder culture drifts. You’ll even find that standards can take a nosedive, and pressure builds unevenly to the point where good reps leave while new ones struggle to find a footing.
With sales leadership coaching, your managers will be able to create structure and retain team members. We’ve talked about the cost of a bad sales hire dozens of times before, and we’ll keep talking about it moving forward. It’s a big deal that more business owners and managers should pay attention to. If you don’t know how much it costs you to hire and onboard a salesperson, you might be shocked to find out how expensive turnover really is.
Your managers will learn to conduct productive one-on-ones when properly trained. And by “productive,” we mean aimed at support and improvement instead of baseless and arbitrary correction. This way, your reps will be less hesitant about coaching and develop a growth mindset. As Ryan Serhant says it best: “Expansion. Always, in all ways.”
Your managers will also learn how to set fair and measurable expectations. Not only will compliance improve, but because the standards are clear and attainable, reps will easily develop habits that translate to success down the road.
And lastly, with training, your managers will be better equipped to tie new sales behaviors to every milestone. For instance, your managers can implement a 30-60-90-day plan so new hires know what to focus on at different points.
When culture and onboarding align, performance steadies:
- Fewer people leave.
- New hires contribute faster.
- Your managers spend less time managing burnout.
- Friendly, familiar faces = improved culture over time.
- Stability leads to greater productivity.
Reason 5 — Training in Sales Management Turns Objections Into Momentum
Take any of your disgruntled or struggling sales team members aside, and you’ll hear it over and over about your specific product or service: There’s nothing more annoying than having to deal with the same sales objections over and over.
But guess what?
Objections are as much a part of the sales game as bruised shins in soccer. They will happen, a lot. What matters most is how your sales manager handles them.
And training in sales management teaches your managers how to turn objections into lessons and opportunities for new or improved client connections.
When your managers go through sales management training, they learn to guide reps past that panic. Managers will be equipped to slow things down, identify the root cause of the issue, and help the rep regain control of the conversation.
Training also teaches managers to run deal reviews that focus on buyer truths, such as pain points, what matters to customers, and the proof buyers have seen. So, instead of talking around objections and playing the “discount card,” reps will be able to ask sharper questions and ease willing buyers into the next steps.
Once that habit takes hold, killed deals will either be insights or opportunities. They turn into checkpoints that strengthen the rep’s understanding of the buyer.
And before you know it, your teams start closing cleaner without the discounts and late-quarter scrambles.
How To Start: A 30-Day Plan for Training in Sales Management
It’s all about the right skill and behavior targets at the right time when you’re coaching up your managers. Here’s a sample 30-day plan to get you started on the right foot (this could look very different for you and your team, keep that in mind!):
- Week 1: Create the role scorecard and interview bank. The scorecard should define what a great hire looks like before the following interview is scheduled.
- Week 2: The next step is to make weekly one-on-ones a thing. Each meeting should include pipeline review, call feedback, and one development area. Open the conversation for two-way feedback and hold each other accountable.
- Week 3: Align with RevOps on stage definitions and next-step standards to make sure the CRM reflects how selling actually happens.
- Week 4: The last week is the best time to run a short coaching sprint on discovery and objection handling. Track one behavior per rep and discuss progress weekly.
Coach Your Managers Up, and Watch Your Sales Team Change
Yes, your reps are the backbone of your sales team, but what’s a team without a well-trained manager at the helm?
When leaders receive proper training in sales management, the sales hiring process becomes deliberate, coaching becomes consistent, and operations finally match reality.
So, go ahead. Look into how your managers audit, hire, coach, and forecast, and improve one every month.
And if your managers need professional training in sales management, you know what to do.
FAQs
How is training in sales management different from sales training?
Sales training sharpens what reps do day to day. Management training shapes how leaders hire, coach, and build the systems that make selling easier.
And without that layer, even your best reps will hit the same walls again and again.
How long does it take to see results?
Give it a few months. Once managers start hiring with structure and coaching with consistency, you’ll notice cleaner forecasts and a steadier team rhythm.
It’s not overnight, but results will happen when your people stay with the process.
What makes a good training program worth it?
Go for something practical. The best programs teach managers to run better interviews, one-on-ones, and deal reviews.
What matters is whether it changes how your team works the following Monday.
