The First-Time Sales Manager Priorities

My learnings after managing people for almost 10 years

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Since the early days of my career, I’ve wanted to be a manager.

My goal was to be known for my leadership and to help people. I’ve always enjoyed being there for others and leading by example.

In fact, as a teenager, I used to organise pizza nights and events for my group of friends.

I used to be the one who between indecisions would take the stand and get it done.

I was never afraid to take a stand, even if it meant facing criticism.

I think I inherited this trait from my mother. Although she’s not a people manager, everyone in her little office, from the top boss to the interns, follows her.

In mid-2012, I was lucky enough to land my first managerial position.

I applied for a sales and marketing manager position with Ryanair in Dublin, even though I was based in Italy and had no management experience.

Surprisingly, I got the job, I packed my bags and moved to Ireland.

Unfortunately, my time at Ryanair was the worst management experience I’ve ever had.

I was completely unprepared for the harsh, ruthless yet competitive environment, and it showed. I failed as a first-time manager and was eventually fired. Luckily enough, I found another managerial job. This time in tech.

Although I spent two years there and accomplished some good things, I still wasn’t a great manager. I made some mistakes along the way.

I fired somebody who didn’t expect that outcome, I was too nice to others or did not coach my team effectively.

Then, while on holiday, I began to think about going back to an individual contributor role at a top company that could teach me management skills. I went to management too fast and needed to step back.

After more than 10 interviews, I landed a job at LinkedIn.

The Linkedin Way

LinkedIn can be thought of as a university for leaders, a Luna park for those aspiring to become managers.

The company’s performance system was based on three pillars: Leadership, Leverage, and Results, with Leadership being the first.

Working at LinkedIn, I was surrounded by incredible leaders, including our CEO at the time, Jeff Weiner, and the rest of the leadership team in Europe.

In 2017, I achieved my sales goals and received a few awards.

At the beginning of 2018, I was selected to participate in the second edition of a global program called EmergIn.

This program was only available to 10% of the global sales team and required excellence in results, leadership, and leverage.

Thanks to my performance the previous year, I was able to access the program, which lasted 3/4 months and provided a full immersion on how to become great leaders, from coaching to hiring and managing performance.

Linkedin sponsored that programme to grow managers within the organisation and reposition these individuals in the coming hiring rounds.

During the program, I developed my managerial personality and learned how to be a great manager.

Several concepts stood out, including Radical Candor - challenging directly while caring personally, focusing on the strengths rather than the weaknesses of team members (The Strengths Finder), and understanding your priorities as a first-time manager.

All of the top leaders at LinkedIn gave sessions on leadership, teaching a group of young leaders how to excel at management. This included the COO and VPs.

The program was mind-blowing and I believe it changed my life and career forever. The lessons I learned are like scars on my skin; they cannot be removed and will live with me forever.

Since then, I have managed dozens of people across multiple organisations.

As a Fractional VP of Sales, I recently managed multiple sales teams simultaneously.

Through my experience, I have witnessed the highs and lows of management, including moments of happiness, tears, anger, promotions, and firings. I have seen it all.

The First-time Sales Manager Priorities

Here are 5 first-time manager priorities I wish I knew 10 years ago.

1) Hiring

Hiring should be your first priority. At LinkedIn, hiring managers set aside 2 hours/day to reach out to future candidates and take coffee with those people. They make hiring their priority.

The only way to lead people successfully is to have the best people. It is your responsibility to recruit them. Spend time on hiring, and you will be highly successful.

2) Coaching

In the book The Sales Acceleration Formula, Mark Roberge said, “At HubSpot, I wanted to change the title of our sales managers. Instead, we should have called them sales coaches.”

Great managers must be great coaches. Have a system in place for coaching, as it is a relationship and a serious one. Invest in it.

3) Driving Team Performance

Managing performance is the hardest part.

Two moments are crucial:

• Having a system in place to promote your people.

• Having a system in place to let people go.

You should have a reward system (promotions) that allows the top performer to flourish and grow.

It is also crucial to have Performance Improvement Plans (PIPs) in place if somebody is struggling.

Bonus point: Fire fast. Do not keep a wrong fit around too long.

If you let somebody go, gather your team 15 minutes after and explain what happened and why.

4) Communication

Clarity is key. Communicate goals, metrics, KPIs, who does what, who is responsible for what, who made what decisions, and why.

Use Slack, email, or whatever works for you. Make it all available on your company’s repository for open access.

Own decisions, say sorry if you made a mistake, and move on.

5) Change Management

Great leaders help their organisations overcome challenges and change course.

But change is hard, and anyone managing a team needs a proven playbook to help them rally their employees as they acclimate to new ideas and initiatives.

You are constantly in changing mode. Embrace it and let your people do the same.

There is no going back. The world has changed. Resiliency, adaptability, and creativity are more important skills right now.

Install a culture of change within your teams before it’s too late.

If you are a first-time manager or a seasoned leader, I hope this helps you.

Managing people is serving others.

It’s not easy. However, the upside is huge.

I wish you well on your journey forward.