Inside Sales Experts Blog

Matt Bertuzzi

Matt bleeds blogs, business books and inside sales. He is never short an answer to the question, “Read or see anything interesting lately?” Matt works with Bridge Group clients on tools, roadmaps, and advice around inside sales. Internally for The Bridge Group, he works on technology, content, and other (fun!) projects.

Do This in 2013 & Boost Inside Sales Productivity

Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Wed, Dec 19, 2012

As we wind down 2012, I want to share a quick snippet from the single best article I read this year on what it means to be a Sales Manager.

Chris Snell, Inside Sales Manager at Care.com, wrote:

My reps time is really valuable to them, and it has to be even more valuable to me. Invites to internal meetings, issues of customer service that they’re not equipped to handle, and requests from colleagues that take them away from their sales efforts – all of these things are distractions, and it’s really my job to keep my reps free from them.

You’re in sales, you understand the necessity of hitting your goals, you know that any time off of the phone building relationships and prospecting affects you financially.

If I’m not able to help keep my reps from these types of diversions, they’re going to feel it, and ultimately, so will the business. You see, I don’t really think of myself as a sales manager, but rather a guardian. I need to guard my team’s time so that they can focus on their goals.

So how do you best guard their time?

One idea is to give them a place to share exactly the issues that are taking them off the phone and away from prospects.

Salesforce.com COO George Hu shared how they did exactly that: they created a chatter group for ‘Airing of Grievances’.

Making 'Call Coaching' Scale

Posted by Matt Bertuzzi on Tue, Dec 04, 2012