Focus

Focus is important to manage the scarcest resource in the world which is time that unless it’s probably managed nothing else could be managed.

There are two types of focus:

FOCUS AS A NOUN: Is just something you have

Is a central point, as of attention or activity.

It is a static thing

Usually mean having a single goal.

E.g.  John F. Kennedy challenges NASA put a man on the moon within a decade or, coming back to Bill Gates, a vision of a personal computer on every desk.

The upside to this kind of focus is clear and compelling.

You pursue a single objective and don’t get distracted along the way; you build momentum as many different people aligned behind achieving this one goal.

The dark side to focus as a noun.

Kodak was so focused on optimizing for traditional film capture and processing that they did not see or accept the transformation in their industry.

Then they found themselves caught off guard by the disruptive innovation of digital cameras.

The most important quality of a good Sales Manager

Integrity - doing what you say you will do (DWYSYWD), whether it is convenient or not, and whether or not circumstances have changed since you committed to do it.

Goal setting, communicating the goals efficiently and effectively to the team, and empathy.

Understanding your people and understanding what drives them is key.

Positive reinforcement:

And this could be the only thing a sales manager need do, appreciate, applaud and reinforce even the small "right-things" people do well, which creates a positive culture; an atmosphere of support, accomplishment and feeling good about the things we do. 

And it need not be done all that often. The rest of the time, stay out of the way and let professional sales people work.

And if you feel the urge to do more, ask the top 20% who produce 80% of your sales how they can be better and/or better served by you and the company. 

Vision: A great Sales Manager must be able to see opportunity even when others do not

Role model:

He/she is a role model who possesses positive spirit and has an emotional intelligence to know how to lead and encourage his team. Being a fair player is also a characteristic, which gives a benefit to the team.