The Voice of the Sales Manager study, completed in October 2019, surveyed sales managers across the U.S. with five or more direct reports. The 450 managers who completed our survey represented the retail and consumer goods, hospitality and food service, and business service sectors, among others. About 35% of these managers work for privately held companies, another 23% are employed by franchises, and 22% hold positions at publicly traded companies.
Our research has given us insights into the characteristics sales managers believe they need in order to succeed in management. We also learned which characteristics they are looking for when hiring sales staff members and how their hiring process works. And, we've uncovered just how expensive it is for an organization when they make a bad hire.
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