The Three Traits Every LBM Sales Manager Needs to Navigate Flat Markets

If your sales team relies on what we call “Sailboat Strategy,” waiting for the wind to blow, cash flow can be crushed fast. What is “Sailboat Strategy?” It’s relying on market demand or your competitors making mistakes to drive your sales. Crazy, right? Yet it’s a common approach, despite these factors being completely outside your team’s circle of control.

The solution often cited is “We need more Hunter mentality salespeople.” That’s not wrong. It’s the Hunters, those who perpetually focus on pursuing new customer segments and new accounts, who take share and buoy sales revenue in flat or down markets. But here’s what top-grade Sales Managers understand: There are no great salespeople. There are only those who are trained and not trained.

Effective sales managers don’t sit in the office reviewing reports. They’re the tip of the spear, leading and developing their teams through three critical traits:

1. Prospecting: Creating New Markets to Capture Share

The best sales managers have a nose for finding new active construction areas, renovation and remodel projects, agricultural builds, light commercial, and industrial opportunities. They don’t wait for customers to walk through the door. They’re teaching their teams to hunt where the money is going.

Technology tools like Dodge Data or BuildFax provide the data, but leveraging these platforms effectively requires instinct and market feel. A great sales manager doesn’t just hand their team a permit list and wish them luck. They’re riding along on calls, showing salespeople how to interpret permit data, identify patterns, and prioritize prospects. They’re modeling how to approach a general contractor on a job site or how to turn a permit into a relationship. This hands-on development separates managers who get results from those who just hold meetings.

2. Creating a Referral Engine: Building Systems That Generate Leads

I’ve seen brilliant sales managers deploy creative strategies that turn their team’s into magnets for new business. Some become certified trainers for specialty products, the subcontractors come to them for certification, providing a steady stream of new account activity. Others launch Energy Star programs that create effective pull-through business development engines. These concepts can be adapted to fit any local market with a little creativity and hustle.

Don’t underestimate the power of strategic community involvement either. The sales manager who’s President of the Knights of Columbus bowling league, Treasurer of the regional dart league, or on the new membership committee at the local sporting clay club isn’t just having fun they’re blending personal interests with professional objectives. They’re teaching their teams that relationships happen everywhere, not just at industry trade shows.

The key is systematizing these approaches. A great sales manager doesn’t just tell their team to “get out there and network.” They build repeatable programs that consistently generate qualified leads, then train every salesperson to execute them.

3. CRM Transparency: Technology as a Force Multiplier

High performers aren’t afraid of transparency, they thrive when paired with efficient technology. Contact management, activity tracking, and deal pipeline visibility through CRM platforms bring consistency and optimize performance across the entire team.

Effective sales managers use CRM data to coach, not punish. They review pipeline reports on one-on-ones to identify where deals are stuck and provide real-time guidance. They spot patterns, which salespeople excel at prospecting but struggle to close, or who have strong relationships but weak follow-through and tailor their coaching accordingly. CRM becomes a powerful force multiplier when the manager leads adoption and demonstrates its value daily.

The Bottom Line

An ominous crisis is defined by whether the leader has awareness that a problem exists and whether they possess the skills and competencies needed to drive an effective solution. If your Sales Manager isn’t actioning these traits consistently and more importantly, isn’t capable of training and developing these skills throughout the sales team you now know where the problem exists.

Handing your company’s fate over to the wind comes with its risks. The best sales managers refuse to be at the mercy of market conditions. They build Hunters, create systems, and lead from the front.

Reach out to Misura Group to compare your sales leadership needs with our active bench of Sales Managers open to new roles.

Hire Smarter™

Tony Misura