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:

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’.

 
Last week, I joined a dozen or so sellers in a #SalesInsiders chat on “Closing more business by year-end.” I wanted to share some of the great ideas that came out of that conversation.

More business - less discounting

• Upsell the deals you were going to close anyway. If you have a great relationship and you know the deal is going to close, ask if there is any budget they need to spend by year-end. Before you ask, make sure you have a product/solution in mind for them to spend it on.
• Use your Executives to call prospect Execs to get a deeper sense of the deal and what can be done to close it by year-end. That is what your executive management team is there for. They are a resource for you - use them. (h/t to Jonathan London on these)

 
Last month a Sales Manager who had recently downloaded our Inside Sales research report sent me this note: 

 
If you’ve read this blog for any period of time, you know my thoughts on Sales Reps using email as the primary vehicle for communicating with buyers.