In this conversation, Stanimira Koleva shares her journey into sales management and the importance of passion, empathy, and continuous learning in the role. We discuss the differences between selling directly to customers and selling through channel partners, highlighting the need to understand the business models and drivers of channel partners. Steve and Stanimira also explore the challenges and strategies for expanding into new markets and cultures, emphasizing the importance of empathy, curiosity, and building relationships. They discuss the role of sales managers and how to judge their performance. They emphasize the importance of managing a portfolio and de-risking it, as well as effectively communicating with team members. They also discuss the value of skip level reviews and gathering qualitative feedback. Stanimira shares her top tips for new sales managers, including not micromanaging and bringing people along on the journey. They also touch on the concept of turning around a struggling business and the importance of balancing vision with collaboration.Keywordssales management, passion, empathy, continuous learning, selling, channel partners, business models, expanding into new markets, cultures, relationships, sales managers, performance, portfolio management, de-risking, communication, skip level reviews, qualitative feedback, micromanagement, bringing people along, turning around a business, vision, collaborationTakeawaysPassion, empathy, and continuous learning are essential traits for sales managers.Understanding the business models and drivers of channel partners is crucial for successful sales management.Expanding into new markets and cultures requires curiosity, empathy, and building relationships.Being part of industry events and understanding the pain points of customers is key to relevance and success in sales.Feeling and living in the world of customers and partners is essential for effective sales management. Sales managers need to focus on managing a portfolio and de-risking itEffective communication and skip level reviews are important for understanding team performanceAvoid micromanagement and bring people along on the journeyTurning around a struggling business requires a complex intervention and a balance of vision and collaborationSound Bites"I think the business is changing in terms of where the customers and the flows of information and knowledge is changing, because now you have so many multiple channels of getting information and learning about stuff""People don't leave companies, they leave managers""Managing and selling both require connecting with people and understanding what's important to them"“Understand what makes the needle move for them” (customers and people)“everyone lives in their own village”“don’t create the mushroom effect”“micromanagement is one of the worst enemies of humanity” ContactTo discover more about Stanimira’s impressive experience and for contact details, her LinkedIn profile is at https://www.linkedin.com/in/stanimirakoleva

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