The Impact of Management Style

In addition to the three roles, we also discovered that salespeople attribute a certain style to managers they perceive as being more successful. Based on the responses of those interviewed, an “enabling” management style facilitates the sales manager’s ability to execute the three roles, thereby facilitating salesperson peak performance.

While the indicators that point to an enabling management style cannot be specifically linked to success, respondents perceive their importance in fulfilling the three key roles. Although the sales professionals we interviewed often characterized sales managers on a continuum between polar extremes, we noted that these descriptions were usually based on the relative success of the manager.

Those identified as having an enabling manager style were more successful meeting quotas, while those with an inhibiting style were reported to have turnover and revenue problems. Even though this style of management is not a requirement, it does make things much easier and contributes to the creation of more loyal staff committed to exceeding organizational goals. The key attributes of the Enabler are:

• Consistently considers different perspectives.

• Listens to the concerns of individuals with compassion and patience.

• Keeps promises and leads by example.

• Exhibits enthusiasm, confidence, commitment, and honesty.