It’s OK if managers step in to help their sales staff – but not too much

A study of over 5.5 million sales exchanges at a Fortune 500 company found teams with manager involvement outperformed those without by 5% to 13%, translating to roughly $13 million in extra annual revenue. The biggest gains came when managers took a supportive, back-seat role with new customers rather than leading the sale themselves.

Between 12% and 20% of sales managers step in to help close deals, according to prior research, though surveyed managers reported spending about 41% of their time selling alongside staff. Benefits plateau, however: past about one in three transactions, store sales actually suffer.

New hires who got more manager involvement in their first month were also less likely to quit within three months, though the researchers note the study doesn't address more complex business-to-business sales.

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