The Manager Curse: Being a Super Rep with Tammy Sexton

Oct 6, 2024

Tammy Sexton, the Chief Revenue Officer at Aerospike and a seasoned sales professional, shares her journey of shifting from account executive to first-line manager. She discusses the trap of becoming a 'super rep,' where new managers inadvertently overshadow their teams. Emphasizing the importance of effective coaching, Tammy advocates for recognizing individual strengths and fostering empowerment among sales reps. She provides actionable strategies for new managers to encourage team success while driving revenue goals.

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Navigating the Transition from Sales Rep to Manager

00:00 • 6min

In this curated episode of the Revenue Builders Podcast, John McMahon and John Kaplan are joined by sales veteran Tammy Sexton, currently CRO at Aerospike, discussing the crucial transition from being an account executive to a first-line manager. Tammy emphasizes the common pitfall of new managers acting as 'super reps' by trying to sell in their style rather than coaching their teams. She shares insights on empowering sales reps, recognizing individual strengths, and fostering lasting behavioral changes through effective coaching. The conversation highlights the importance of not overshadowing AEs in client interactions and allowing them to enjoy the critical negotiation phases. Tammy provides strategies to help new managers succeed in their roles and drive revenue goals without undermining their team's potential.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

[00:00:45] Transitioning from AE to First Line Manager
[00:01:26] Avoiding the Super Rep Trap
[00:03:46] Effective Coaching Strategies
[00:04:11] Empowering Your Team

HIGHLIGHT QUOTES

[00:01:43] "Managers need to recognize when they're becoming super rep and when they're doing their AEs' job for them, as opposed to coaching them."
[00:01:59] "Sometimes letting them just fall off once is not a bad thing either."
[00:03:50] "Telling them what to do is never really effective. Asking them questions so that they figure out that they could be doing something differently themselves - that's when you're going to actually have a change that's going to be a lasting change in their behavior."
[00:04:21] "The most important person at the account is the rep and you're disrespecting the rep in front of the customer, you're not giving any power to the AE."
[00:05:09] "Taking that fun part away from them makes them not want to be on your team anymore."

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https://revenue-builders.simplecast.com/episodes/showing-value-as-a-sales-leader-with-tammy-sexton/

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