SaaStr: Why Hating Sales Won't Make You a Happy Sales Manager
Many professionals in the SaaS world eventually face a career crossroads: what to do when the passion for direct selling wanes? A common thought is to transition into a sales management role, hoping to find greater satisfaction away from the daily grind of closing deals. However, SaaStr offers a stark warning: if you've started to hate selling, moving into sales management is unlikely to bring happiness or success. In fact, it often leads to failure and continued dissatisfaction.
The Truth About Sales Management: It's Still About Selling
The premise is simple yet often overlooked: effective sales leadership demands a deep, enduring love for the sales process itself. While you might consider other managerial roles or even founding a company, sales management is a unique beast. Without a genuine enthusiasm for selling, you're set up for failure, and consequently, you'll likely grow to despise sales management just as much as you disliked direct sales.
What Defines a Great Sales Leader? A Passion for the Hunt
Why is this the case? The most successful sales leaders, according to SaaStr, are those who inherently love to sell. Their passion isn't just theoretical; it's active and hands-on:
- Sometimes, they actively carry their own sales quota, leading by example.
- Other times, their focus is on empowering their team to hit targets, providing direct support and guidance.
- Crucially, they are always engaged in the pursuit of not just closing deals, but constantly improving the sales playbook, outmaneuvering competitors, and mastering strategies like FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt) and counter-FUD. They are profoundly present and invested in every aspect of sales.
The Pitfall of "Just Managing Playbooks"
SaaStr observes a common pattern: many individuals, tired of the daily sales hustle, seek management roles primarily to "manage a team" from a distance. While this approach might occasionally work in exceptionally large tech companies with highly structured, almost "order-taking" sales environments, it overwhelmingly leads to failure. These managers often focus solely on "playbooks" and dashboards, lacking the hands-on selling drive that is critical. In today's intensely competitive market, where every vendor battles for budget and attention, merely managing metrics isn't enough to drive a team to success. A true sales leader must embody the selling spirit.
Ultimately, the message is clear: sales management is not an escape from selling; it's an amplification of it. If your heart isn't in the hunt for deals, if you don't genuinely enjoy the strategic dance of selling, then a sales management position will likely prove to be a frustrating and unsuccessful endeavor. True sales leadership stems from a fundamental love for the sales process itself.
Further Insights from SaaStr
For a deeper dive into this topic, SaaStr emphasizes the importance of a sales leader's personal selling prowess:
Yes, Your VP of Sales Also Has to Be a Great Salesperson Themselves
This perspective underscores that even at the highest levels, a strong understanding and passion for direct selling are indispensable.
