Advice Needed: Balancing the Workload as a Sales Manager

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TaylorFS

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Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on managing my workload as a sales manager. Lately, it feels like I’m being pulled in a million directions—leading the team, managing client relationships, hitting targets, and everything in between. I try to be everywhere, but it’s starting to feel unsustainable.
One challenge I’m facing is figuring out what responsibilities I should handle myself and what I can confidently delegate to my team. For example, I love being involved in the sales process, but I know I can’t (and shouldn’t) micromanage every deal. I’d love to hear how others have struck a balance.
Another thing I’m curious about is how you plan your sales process. Deals can be so unpredictable—one moment it feels like you’re close to closing, and then suddenly something shifts, and you’re back to square one. How do you stay focused and organized without letting the uncertainty derail your strategy?
I’ve been exploring tools and strategies to streamline things, and Automotivaters has been really helpful for some aspects of team management and sales training. But I’m looking for more practical advice on time management, delegation, and planning deals effectively.
If you’ve faced similar challenges, I’d love to hear how you approached them. What’s worked for you, and what should I avoid?
Thanks in advance for your advice—I appreciate it!
 
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I can't tell what you sell or how long you've been in management. But just from your intro, It looks as if you are taking on too many sales responsibilities. You hired the sales people to sell. Let them. "Don't muzzle the ox when it is treading out the grain" Deut 25:4. On a scale of 1-10 what do you feel your grasp of GTD is? As far as organizing and actually getting things done, it isn't about the tools, its about the system. Are you concerned about your time management skills or your teams? If you are doing too much for them, you're training them to rely on you to pick up the slack.
I have just a basic simple GTD system. I use apple notes. I have a project list and a someday/maybe list. 5 context next action lists. And currently 3 Agenda lists. There are some other checklists that come and go. But that is the basics. I also do everything by context not priority.
Others here have more sophisticated systems, tools and process. But you could spend more time on your system than actually getting things done. I know I was one of those people. Your system should be just as complex as you need to get "things" off of your mind. And be confident "things" will show up at the time you need them.
All the best.
 
Just to follow up on what @fooddude wrote, how familiar are you with the GTD levels (aka horizon) of focus? I think starting at the bottom (your next actions), and working up through your projects, your areas of focus (roles), and then your longer-range goals will help you with both control and perspective. I emphasize “your” because it’s crucial. You likely became a sales manager in part because you were a very good salesperson. As a sales manager you have different responsibilities and concerns. Your projects and areas of focus have to be different from those of a member of your sales team. Working through the different horizons will let you think about things that only you can do, and the difference you can make for your team.
 
TaylorFS said:
Hey everyone,
I’m looking for some advice on managing my workload as a sales manager. Lately, it feels like I’m being pulled in a million directions—leading the team, managing client relationships, hitting targets, and everything in between. I try to be everywhere, but it’s starting to feel unsustainable.
One challenge I’m facing is figuring out what responsibilities I should handle myself and what I can confidently delegate to my team. For example, I love being involved in the sales process, but I know I can’t (and shouldn’t) micromanage every deal. I’d love to hear how others have struck a balance.
Another thing I’m curious about is how you plan your sales process. Deals can be so unpredictable—one moment it feels like you’re close to closing, and then suddenly something shifts, and you’re back to square one. How do you stay focused and organized without letting the uncertainty derail your strategy?
I’ve been exploring tools and strategies to streamline things, and Automotivaters has been really helpful for some aspects of team management and sales training. But I’m looking for more practical advice on time management, delegation, and planning deals effectively.
If you’ve faced similar challenges, I’d love to hear how you approached them. What’s worked for you, and what should I avoid?
Thanks in advance for your advice—I appreciate it!
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@TaylorFS

Occupation that informed this end that something like GTD was necessary . . . tried to develop such a system on own before GTD before became available and failed

Getting Things Done for Teens (individual implementation) and Getting Things Done for Teams (group dynamic perspective) might suit you ?

As you see GTD fit. . . .
 
There's a useful little article to read about The Maker's Schedule vs The Manager's Schedule. The primary conundrum is that you are in a position that is likely about 50/50 in both roles. You have to meet your own sales targets while helping (in whatever way or whatever that means to you and your circumstances) your team meet theirs. There is no silver bullet, magic formula, or grand technique unfortunately. It's self-analysis coupled with trial-and-error.

It is a careful mix of finding the best times to focus on being a salesperson and being a manager to lead the team appropriately. Ideally, you have some past calendar data to analyze to find instances where, on average, you are best positioned to be a salesperson doing maker type things. As well as finding the times where, again on average, you are best positioned to be supporting your team doing manager things. Use those data points to synthesize a schedule that helps maximize your impact in both roles so that you can communicate to your team accordingly on how to most effectively engage with you.

For example, you might find that 6:00 AM to 9:00 AM is the optimal time for doing management stuff since most people are not doing sales activity during those times (hypothetically, I don't actually know your own circumstances). Then from 9:00 AM to 3:00 PM you focus on doing your own sales activities to meet your targets/etc. Then you might find that the last 2 ~ 3 hours of the day is flex time from the perspective of using it to either continue your own sales tasks or following up on management related asks/tasks from/for your team. This is just an illustrative example, your ratios and time slots may be completely different as well as your overall circumstances.

The one key thing to keep in mind is that maker activities, such as the work involved in actual selling, usually requires large contiguous blocks of uninterrupted time (e.g. usually 2 hours or more). For clarity, uninterrupted in the sense that you are not context switching to manager activities which requires a different mindset/etc.

On the manager's side of the equation, you will probably need to institute processes to effectively corral and prioritize your interactions with your team as well as to efficiently lead them to be more effective. There's several resources out there for how to do this, certain techniques and approaches, and tips & tricks. Before instituting new process try to do some research on the processes your team already has, the ones tried in the past, and understand what does and doesn't work (or did / didn't work) and why. Then experiment and keep iterating to find an optimal balance that meets your goals.

Some quick and simple ideas/tips/topics are:

  • Time box all team meetings since that time is NOT actively earning revenue (it's a cost driver)
  • Prepare (or have it prepared by someone else) an agenda for all team meetings ahead of time ... and stick to it
  • Systematize your sales process from start to end so that as many things can be automated as possible / avoid ad-hoc deviations (e.g. time lines to steps, subject matter experts, SOP's, scripts/playbooks, etc.)
  • Setup avenues of communication (synchronous and asynchronous) for your team to get help, ideas, or support on deals in a timely fashion (e.g. weekly sales meetings on hot topics / 3C's (i.e. close to closing clients))
  • Communicate early and often on everyone's deals/progress in the sales process/pipeline (e.g. daily 15 minute-max meeting with everyone to sync on the pipeline)
  • Develop and encourage a culture of sales people helping each other so that everyone benefits (i.e. do NOT create a competitive sales environment where everyone is trying to outdo / undercut each other)
  • Leverage marketing and support staff to increase overall effectiveness of everyone (i.e. cluster around a central strategy, brand identity, supporting materials, etc.)
  • Measure as much as possible. Data, numbers, and analytics should drive most decisions (using gut instinct/intuition should be the exception not the norm)

Lastly, it's a good idea to get an understanding of your higher horizons of focus. So far everything I have mentioned is really 20,000 ft or lower (i.e. Areas of Focus, Projects, and Actions). If you are in a larger organization, this is probably a conversation to have with your sales director or regional manager to understand their perspective and ideas as there is probably a grand strategy and vision being collectively worked towards that you are required to support. If you work in a mid-size to smaller company, it might be a topic for you to discuss with the general manager or CEO/COO (who ever is the primary person in charge of sales) as you will probably have more latitude but less structure in the greater direction of the sales department (beyond just making sales / increasing revenue).
 
@Matt_M

Draft reply:

In the realm of distribution, what you have maturely/professionally expressed seemingly makes good appropriator sense

As such, perhaps you might also emphatically agree that "there is probably a grand strategy and vision being collectively worked towards that you are required to support." is crucial necessity for all concerned as a necessary concern to be integrally and 'individually' express by all in verbiage and behavior with the highest moral standards all can be supported to muster, vertically and horizontally, throughout the enterprise(s), otherwise, more dust collecting binders could be an unfortunate outcome ?

Hopefully the via negativa is also appropriately/maturely good ?
 
mcogilvie said:
You likely became a sales manager in part because you were a very good salesperson.
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If it is ….this is the problem!

What I mean is that you are now a manager of women/men, who will hopefully have to become sales champions in due course. This in my opinion is important for you to define in order to understand which activities are most important and urgent for yourself.
 
It’s definitely an incredibly difficult balancing act between both of these roles. So I think the key is to not microhandle everything yourself and instead, trust your team and focus on the bigger picture. It really helps when you start setting boundaries, as you have put in on the calendar, and having time for your own priorities. Moreover, quick check ins with the team ensure that things move without you having to micro manage.
 
Max34 said:
It’s definitely an incredibly difficult balancing act between both of these roles. So I think the key is to not microhandle everything yourself and instead, trust your team and focus on the bigger picture. It really helps when you start setting boundaries, as you have put in on the calendar, and having time for your own priorities. Moreover, quick check ins with the team ensure that things move without you having to micro manage.
Click to expand...
Serve-&-Support ?
 
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