The thing to remember about sales management is the last word in the title—management. You’re there to help the salespeople do their jobs, not to do their jobs for them. But that’s a lot easier said than done. The reason there are so few great leaders is that not many people understand their role in the overall structure.

You can maximize your salesforce by focusing on some best practices of sales management that revolve around your leadership skills. Keep these things in mind: 

Coach More, Boss Less

Your salesforce operates a little differently than other departments in that they need a little more space. Assuming you’ve hired qualified, driven individuals, you should be able to take a fairly hands-off approach to management. But you also don’t want to neglect them, either.

The best way I know to describe managing a salesforce is to be a coach, not a boss. A boss doles out tasks, drives people to work using rewards and punishments, and isn’t always open to feedback from employees. On the other hand, a coach leads with trust in their people. They offer guidance and advice. They motivate with a positive affirmation. They manage or fix any breakdowns in the processes or people involved.

True leadership requires you to be an empathetic person able to take some leaps of faith, like letting your salesforce have the space they need to do their best work. 

Align with Culture

Strategy and processes are extremely important, but as anyone who has ever created a rewards program and watched it either tank or slowly fade in effectiveness over time—a strategy that isn’t aligned with culture is doomed to fail. 

Creating a sales strategy should begin with clarifying the values, mission, purpose, and vision of the organization. The strategy should emanate from the organization’s culture. In building a strategy that supports sales, make sure it also incorporates behaviors that empower the salesperson. Additionally, be sure that the messaging, sales tactics and business goals all allow the salesperson to act with integrity and purpose. The ultimate outcome is a sales force that is motivated to act because of the culture that is on display throughout the employee experience and driven to exceed their objectives because of their support and alignment in that sales strategy. 

Keep Your Finger on the Pulse (Pay Attention to the Leading indicators)

While you want to avoid micromanaging, you also want to keep your finger on the pulse of the sales organization by utilizing operations tools and support. It’s important to track KPIs and regularly check in with sales employees to make sure they are receiving all the support they need to achieve their goals. It’s also essential to make sure the day-to-day sales activities are leading—or have the potential to lead—to the big picture sales goals of the organizations.

Develop reporting and tracking measures that support the forward movement of goals. And always keep in mind the overall vision of the company. It is prudent to borrow some best practices from those that came before us, but it is also worthwhile to spend the time to question and validate assumptions on practices that have been in place at the organization. Craft your own strategies, processes, and goals that help take your organization to the next level. 

Stay in Your Lane

Unless you are training first-time salespeople, your lane is not helping a salesperson close a deal or giving the salesperson a step-by-step guide on how to talk to a particular client. Your lane is to hold the framework of the vision of the company and execute on delivering the sales objectives. As a leader, you are THE big picture person. You may see a problem happening at the “street level” of your operation and want to swoop in and fix it. In the long run, you’ll likely end up doing more damage than actually helping.

Managers who interfere too much often end up slowing something down or breaking it more. Because no matter how much you think you understand a problem, if you’ve been operating at a high level for a while, chances are you don’t have all the necessary details to solve it. Better to refer to the first point in this article and be a coach—teach your people to work out their own problems.

While there are many more things to consider as a sales manager, these four best practices are an important reminder of the traps to avoid. Giving your salesforce the tools and leadership they need to accomplish their goals is the most important thing you can do. Remember that empowering your sales employees to be independent, self-motivated, disciplined, and accountable are some of the most meaningful outcomes for a successful sales force.