It’s not unusual—sales managers are constantly bombarded with urgent requests and problems. One rep is at risk of missing their quota, another is dealing with an upset customer, and a third is struggling to close a deal. 

It's a never-ending cycle of putting out fires, reacting to crises, and trying to keep up with the whirlwind of individual rep performance. The manager is stressed, the team is feeling the pressure, and results are suffering. This is the reality of the reactive sales manager, often caught in a cycle of micromanaging reps to hit short-term numbers.

On the flip side you have another sales manager who anticipates challenges, proactively addresses potential issues, and focuses on coaching and developing their team. This proactive manager has a clear vision, a well-defined strategy, and a structured approach to managing their sales reps. 

In this article, we'll explore four strategies on how to transition from a reactive to a proactive management style. 

Pillars of Proactive Sales Management

Proactive management isn't just a set of best practices—it's built on non-negotiable fundamental principles. These pillars guide every decision and action a manager takes. They include:

Knowing Your Numbers

Your grasp of performance metrics directly impacts your team's revenue generation. Understanding these numbers allows you to predict challenges, capitalize on opportunities, and guide your reps. This is a key aspect of reactive vs proactive management.

First, focus on these quality metrics:

• Activity ratios (e.g., calls made, emails sent, meetings scheduled)
• Pipeline health (e.g., deal velocity, stage-to-stage conversion rates)
• Conversion rates (e.g., lead-to-opportunity, opportunity-to-close)
• Average deal size and sales cycle length
• Win rates and reasons for lost deals

Learn to spot early warning signs to preemptively address issues before they escalate into major setbacks. For example, when your top performer's call volume drops by 10% over two weeks, it's time to investigate. 

At the same time, you don't need to be a data scientist to decipher these metrics. 

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Modern sales tools, like Saleboat, can automate data analysis and provide you with real-time insights. These tools even send you alerts when specific metrics fall below a certain threshold. You get a head start on addressing issues before they impact your bottom line.

Then, use the data to create targeted plans. For a struggling rep, this might mean shadowing top performers or role-playing tough objections. For a high-performing rep, it might mean identifying their strengths and tailoring coaching to help them excel even further.

Coaching for Growth, Not Just Performance

Instead of just trying to fix problems, focus on helping everyone improve– yes,even your top sellers.

When someone on your team closes a big deal, discuss what they did well and how they can use those skills in future sales. Similarly, if someone misses a target, talk about what they learned and how to do better next time. 

This way, everyone is always learning and getting better.

Also: every person on your sales team is different. They all have their own strengths and weaknesses. Your job is to figure out what these are for each person. Do this by regularly checking their skills and talking to them about their work. 

Conduct one-on-one meetings where you focus on their growth, not just their sales numbers. It's easier to help someone improve when you understand what makes them tick.

Then, work with each team member to make a plan for their growth. Find ways for them to learn new skills, like watching top sellers work or going to sales training. Check in regularly to see how they're doing and change the plan if needed. 

For example, if someone is having trouble handling customer objections, they might set a goal to learn three new ways to deal with this in the next three months. Some people already doing well might focus on leadership skills to become managers.

This personal approach has a twofold effect: it shows each person you care about their success, making them more likely to stick with your company and helps you build up future leaders in your team. 

Building a Culture of Proactive Communication

Strong sales teams talk openly and often. As a manager, you can make this happen by how you act and the habits you create.

Encourage a culture where reps feel empowered to speak up, not just when things go wrong but proactively throughout the sales process. Create an environment where sharing ideas and feedback is the norm. This fosters a sense of ownership and collaboration among your team, leading to innovative solutions and improved performance.

When challenges inevitably arise, view them as opportunities for learning and growth. Encourage reps to share their problems openly, without fear of repercussions. Ask, "What can we all learn from this?" 

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Of course, building this kind of culture takes time. Keep at it, and you'll see your team become more open, more proactive, and better at solving problems together.

Continuous Improvement and Adaptability

Proactive sales management requires ongoing learning and adaptation. 

Why? Because new technologies emerge, customer expectations shift, and competitors rise and fall constantly.

Five tips on keeping up with the developments:

• Gather customer feedback through surveys, interviews, and social media monitoring. Use this feedback to refine your sales processes and tailor your offerings to better meet customer needs.
• Provide ongoing training and development opportunities for your team to enhance their knowledge and skills. This could include workshops on negotiation, presentation skills, or emerging sales technologies.
• Build relationships with other sales professionals, both within and outside your industry. Share insights, exchange ideas, and learn from their experiences to gain a broader perspective.
• Invest in modern CRM systems, sales automation tools, and communication platforms. Ensure your team is proficient in using these technologies through continuous training. 
• Make it a habit to regularly consume industry news, blogs, podcasts, and attend relevant webinars or conferences. This ensures you're always aware of the latest trends, techniques, and technologies impacting sales.

Putting Proactive Management into Practice: Your 30-60-90 Day Plan

Transitioning to proactive sales management doesn’t happen overnight. Start by implementing a tool like Saleboat to automate data analysis and set up alerts for key metrics. 

In the first 30 days, focus on revamping your one-on-ones and conducting skills assessments. By day 60, create personalized coaching plans and establish a daily data review habit. Use Saleboat's insights to guide these efforts. In the final 30 days, conduct proactive pipeline reviews and launch team-wide improvement initiatives. 

Throughout this process, use Saleboat's insights and communication tools to support your efforts. As a proactive manager, you'll find these tools invaluable in your transition from reactive to proactive management. 

Try Saleboat out now and get ahead of managing your rep’s effort, activities, and performance.

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