CHAPTER

9

Managing Sales Development Professionals

Every successful manager, whether in sales or elsewhere, must possess a mix of strategic, operational, and leadership skills. However, the mix of required skills varies greatly as a function of the team’s objectives. Consider the differences between traditional sales managers (TSMs) and business development managers (BDMs). TSMs hold individuals accountable to monthly or quarterly goals while BDMs must be on top of daily activity. TSMs optimize and coach for success on farming while BDMs focus on hunting. TSMs tend to manage more experienced professionals than do BDMs. All of this means that TSMs tend to be more balanced across strategic, operational, and people leadership. BSMs, on the other ...

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