When a business is underperforming in revenue generation, one of the most common responses from leadership is to replace the sales manager. As sales leaders, this often puts us in the position of taking over new teams, sometimes frequently, each with its own culture, history, and challenges.
Over the years, I’ve developed a practical and repeatable approach for taking over a new sales team. These steps help establish trust, build context, and guide change in a thoughtful and effective way. If you’re a sales manager stepping into a new role, here’s a playbook to help you get started.
1. Ignore the Noise, At First
When you step into a new role, everyone will have something to say, especially the founder and other department heads. They may provide feedback about the team’s performance, certain personalities, or historical challenges. While these insights might eventually be useful, your early days should be focused on observation.
Resist the urge to act on secondhand opinions. Instead, invest time in forming your own understanding. Ask questions. Watch interactions. Let the data and behavior guide your perspective, not hearsay.
2. Build Trust – Actively and Authentically
Building trust is your most important task in the first few weeks. You’re new, and the team likely knows little about you. Some may feel overlooked, especially if an internal promotion was expected but didn’t happen. Others might assume you don’t understand their challenges or the product.
I’ve been on the other side, as a sales rep, questioning new managers and assuming they wouldn’t last. That doubt is natural. As a new leader, your role is to earn the team’s trust by being consistent, respectful, and invested. At the same time, you must extend trust to them. Micromanagement erodes culture. Trust builds it.
3. Understand the Team and Existing Processes
Before making any changes, take the time to understand the current state of things. How is the team structured? What sales processes are in place, and why? What’s working and what isn’t?
Often, processes evolve out of necessity, shaped by past leadership, market realities, or internal constraints. Understanding the “why” behind how things work will help you avoid unnecessary disruption and identify areas for genuine improvement.
4. Deep Dive into the Product
Credibility with your team hinges on your product knowledge. It’s not enough to lead; you must also be able to coach. Spend time with product documentation, speak with product managers, and even use the product yourself if possible. The more you understand it, the better you’ll be able to support your team’s selling efforts.
5. Talk to Customers, Current and ESPECIALLY LOST
To truly understand how your product is performing, you need to speak to the people who experience the results: your customers.
Meet current clients and learn what made them buy and stay.
Talk to churned customers and prospects who didn’t convert. Why did they leave? What was missing?
This firsthand insight is critical in identifying real-world product sales gaps and opportunities that may not show up in your pipeline reports.
6. Observe the Team in Action
Spend time watching your team sell. Sit in on calls, review email threads, and join live demos. Look for both bright spots and bottlenecks. Pay attention to how reps position the product, handle objections, and manage relationships.
These observations will give you a clearer picture of strengths to amplify and habits to shift, without making assumptions.
7. Make Thoughtful, Data-Informed Changes
Once you’ve spent time observing, listening, and learning, it’s time to act. Evaluate the processes, tools, and even the team composition. Identify what’s working and what needs to evolve.
But don’t rush to overhaul everything at once. Prioritize based on impact and feasibility. Communicate changes clearly, tie them to performance goals, and bring the team along in the “why” behind your decisions.
8. Set a Vision Early
Once trust is built and you have enough context, define a clear vision for the team. Where are you headed? What does success look like in the next 3, 6, or 12 months? A compelling vision provides direction and purpose and helps the team rally behind your leadership.
9. Win Early, Win Small
Small early wins build momentum. Look for low-effort, high-impact changes that can demonstrate progress quickly whether it’s reviving a stalled deal, reactivating a customer, or improving a small process.
These wins help build credibility and foster belief that change is possible and productive.
10. Coach, Don’t Command
Great sales leaders are coaches, not dictators. Focus on helping reps solve problems, improve skills, and think critically. Create space for feedback and encourage open dialogue. The more your team feels supported, the more empowered and accountable they become.
Final Thoughts
Taking over a sales team isn’t just about fixing problems; it’s about building trust, creating clarity, and enabling performance. It’s tempting to act quickly, but the most effective changes are grounded in understanding and built on shared purpose.
At Thrive Consulting, we help sales managers build high-performance teams through expert hiring, coaching, and strategy.
Lead with humility. Listen deeply. Act deliberately. Your success and the team’s depend on it.
Take our 3-minute survey and get early access to the 2025 Revenue Benchmark Report: https://bit.ly/421NNBc
