April showers bring May flowers, and those seeds you’ve been planting should hopefully bear fruit soon—and the tips from these stories can help.

Top Stories This Week

Micromanagers in the Making? Why Salespeople Struggle to Lead (Harvard Business School)

Just because someone is a great salesperson doesn’t mean they’ll automatically make a good sales manager. But credibility is also important for a manager, and it’s difficult for a salesperson to trust a leader that hasn’t done what they’ve done. To be sure, the skills that go into being a good salesperson and a good manager are quite different, and it’s basically a brand-new professional identity. Here’s how to navigate that change effectively.

After You Ask This One Question, You Can Ask Your Prospect Anything (HubSpot)

You’ll never make a sale without asking penetrating questions about what your prospects want, but some salespeople have a tough time asking the tough questions. Whether it’s fear, ignorance, or our inherent need to be liked and approved of, not asking hard questions can stand in the way between you and a deal. Perhaps the most succinct takeaway from not asking these kinds of questions? “A salesperson has less to lose: A deal instead of a job.”

5 Reasons Your Sales Results Are Suffering (The Sales Blog)

Even superstar salespeople hit slumps once in awhile, especially in an age where there’s a lot to keep up with and so much to go wrong. Fortunately, like a star athlete, you can re-evaluate what you’ve been doing and make adjustments to get back on track, like making sure you take complete control over the process and using the most effective communication method that actually drives results

5 Sales Tasks That Should Be Automated (SalesLoft)

Did you know that sales reps spend an average of 25 hours per month leaving voicemails? That’s a significant percentage of a full-time job, and time that could be better spent actually selling. A salesperson’s day can essentially be broken down into selling and non-selling activities, and the latter can eat up valuable hours of day, and using pre-recorded voicemails for your sales calls is just one of the routine tasks that can be automated so you can spend more time actually selling to prospects.

The Mashup of Sales Enablement and Sales Effectiveness to Drive Sales Productivity (Membrain)

Here’s a deep look at all the different elements that go into sales productivity, including sales enablement and sales effectiveness. Indeed, it’s a mashup of many varied ingredients—like buyer personas, sales training, and strategic account management—that can go into the foundation of a successful sales system. Complete with thorough definitions and handy infographics, this is a robust overview at the fundamentals of modern sales.

Hot Job Listings This Week

We’ve got great sales jobs all across the tech industry—and all across the country.

VP/Director-level roles

  • Ziosk: Sales Director (NYC)
  • Jask: Regional Sales Director (Boston)
  • Neudesic: Director of Enterprise Sales (Seattle)
  • Splunk: Regional Sales Director, Strategic (Cleveland)
  • BentoBox: Director of Partnerships (NYC)

Manager-level roles

  • Twilio: Manager, Mid-Market Accounts, East (NYC or Atlanta)
  • Oracle: Sales Senior Manager (NYC)
  • Splunk: Sales Account Manager (McLean, VA)
  • BentoBox: Sales Manager (NYC)

Account executives

  • FourKites: Mid-Market Account Executive (Multiple – United States)
  • Twilio: Commercial Account Executive (Atlanta)
  • Affinio: Strategic Account Executive (NYC)
  • Selligent: Senior Account Executive (NYC or San Jose)
  • Box: Account Executive, Enterprise (Philadelphia)