Your Sales Team Isn’t the Problem

Hiring a salesperson was supposed to free you from the grind. Instead, it added one more hat to wear: sales manager.

If no one’s managing sales effectively—whether it’s you or someone else—it’s costing you time, money, and missed opportunities.

And here’s the hard truth: skipping essential sales management responsibilities doesn’t make them go away. It just means you’re paying the price in underperformance, disengaged salespeople, and wasted resources.

Sales Management Isn’t Optional

Managing sales doesn’t mean micromanaging. It means leading.

There are core responsibilities every sales manager has to own if they want the team to succeed:

• Keeping goals clear, aligned, and top of mind

• Coaching for skill development

• Reviewing deals to unblock obstacles

• Connecting to inspire and motivate

When these don’t get done, here’s what happens:

• Sales teams underperform

• Revenue goals get missed

• Salespeople burn out or disengage

• Time, money, and energy are wasted

Sound familiar? Trust me—I’ve been there.

My Story

Even with 15+ years of sales management experience, I made this mistake.

When I hired my first full-time salesperson, I gave him a playbook and onboarding. Then, I left him to fend for himself.

My thought process? “He’s smart and experienced—he’ll figure it out.”

But that’s not what happened.

Despite his talent, we missed aggressive targets. And not because he wasn’t good, but because I didn’t provide the structure, feedback, and support he needed to succeed.

I see this same scenario play out all the time. Founders hire a salesperson, skip the sales management fundamentals, and wonder why results fall short.

Here’s the worst part, though: it’s a lose/lose situation. You’re not hitting your goals, and the salesperson isn’t earning what they could if you were leading effectively.

A Simple Sales Leadership Framework

High-performing sales teams don’t happen by accident. They need leadership.

But I know what you may thinking: “I don’t have time for this.”

That’s why I created a simple framework that helps founders like you manage sales effectively without overloading your schedule.

Here’s how it works:

1: Weekly Sales Meetings

Set goals, review performance, address gaps, and celebrate wins. These meetings keep your team focused and accountable.

2: Call Reviews and Coaching

Listen to a few sales calls each month. Offer specific feedback to help your salesperson close more deals and build confidence.

3: Monthly Pipeline Reviews

Collaborate on deals, identify next steps, and remove obstacles. Together, you can uncover creative solutions to move deals forward.

Want a step-by-step guide for running pipeline reviews? I’ve got a video for that on my YouTube channel here.

4: One-on-One Meetings

These aren’t about deals or KPIs—they’re about connection. Learn what motivates your salesperson, uncover challenges, and leverage their insights to refine your strategy.

But I Don’t Have Time...

I get it—you’re juggling a million things.

But here’s the truth: these responsibilities don’t depend on how much time you think you have. They just need to get done.

And skipping them will cost you more in the long run—missed deals, wasted resources, and stressed-out salespeople.

Get Started With a Lean Management System

I recently created a lean, monthly schedule for a $9MM IT business scaling to $30MM. It’s designed to help founders like you get maximum performance from their sales teams.

This framework includes:

• Weekly sales meetings

• Call reviews and coaching

• Pipeline reviews

• One-on-ones

And it comes with detailed agendas for running each session.

Want me to send it over? Just reply to this email and say “Send it!”

Closing Thought

Hiring a salesperson doesn’t take you out of sales—it promotes you to leadership.

With the right framework, you can maximize your team’s potential, drive growth, and get back the time you need to focus on scaling your business.

Don’t let your sales team’s performance go untapped.

Hasta la vista,

Ray

P.S. — In January, I’m opening up 3 spots to execute these essentials for you. If you’re a $5MM+ B2B business and want to learn more, reply and ask for my calendar link to schedule a call.