7 Signs Your Sales VP Might Suck
Your sales leader might be totally awesome, or she might be the one holding you down. Some sales VPs I know think of their teams as galley slaves rowing across a long ocean, while others leave them isolated on a deserted island with no guidance at all.
Even the most legendary salesperson who uses Spiro’s AI-powered sales automation CRM is going to be held back by a terrible sales VP.
Here are some sure signs that your boss, or boss’s boss has no right to be managing you:
1. They spend more time with other departments
Does your VP meddle in everyone else’s business and think they can run the Marketing Department better than the seasoned professionals? If your Sales VP is spending more time focusing on every other department but yours, then maybe they should go work for them. The head of sales needs to eat, sleep, breathe, and crap sales. Get focused or get out.
2. They hate salespeople
If your VP started out at your company in a different non-sales role and after a few promotions, department changes, and company growth, just morphed into the Sales VP, but never considered themselves as a salesguy, then that’s a warning sign. The head of your team should not be bad mouthing salespeople and act like they are better than them. Not only should your VP have an appreciation for the sales culture that has made them extremely successful, but they should just stop being a jerk.
3. They take everything personally
It’s important to be emotionally invested in your job – it shows commitment to your profession and that you aren’t into it just for the money. But if your VP breathes fire when you lose a deal or cries when their budget gets cut, they may not be up for the job. Taking things too personally and being overly emotional may be a sign of nervousness about their job security, which is not a good sign!
4. They suck at making the ask
You want your sales VP to be the big guns you can bring in to help you close an important deal. If they nonchalantly arrive late and then check their phone during the meeting, that’s the opposite of helpful. Maybe their closing game is a little rusty since they were promoted past the sales rep level, but they still need to be able to make the ask and help you seal the deal.
5. They don’t know how to encourage you after a loss
Salespeople hear “no” more often than they hear “yes”. It’s just part of the job. As the one everyone looks up to, the sales VP needs to be able to help the managers and reps get over not only the fear of rejection, but also be able to push them on after a devastating sales loss. If your VP isn’t reminding you that sometimes the actual sale doesn’t even begin until the prospect says “no”, then they have a lot to still learn.
6. They don’t understand your urgency
Each sales rep reporting up to the VP has a quota to make. If you aren’t making your quota, there is a better chance that they won’t make their number either. They need to realize that if you are genuinely reaching out because you have nothing in your pipeline or need help on moving a deal along, they need to listen, and understand your reason for urgency. Hanging out at the water cooler and surfing the web doesn’t get deals done. Your VP needs to react to your urgency or GTFO.
7. They make you use a bad soul-sucking CRM
When the sales opps team suggests a better way to track your deals, and your sales VP digs their heels in and insists you continue using your dated version of whatever stupid CRM you have, that’s a warning sign. Salespeople should be focusing on closing deals, not wasting their time with data entry and updating a million required fields. Tell your VP to try something new and innovative, like the AI-Powered sales automation CRM, Spiro, which eliminates data entry time and helps you make more money.
