2.1 Dilemmas

In this first episode for series 2 of the Real Sales Manager podcast we explore the complex dynamics of managing disruptive salespeople, the importance of character and integrity in sales leadership, and practical strategies for handling challenging situations in sales teams.

We explore two typical dilemmas for sales managers:

·      you have a good, reasonably well performing salesperson, but who is being incredibly disruptive to the team; what will you do?

·       you have a major bid, where you appear to be the preferred supplier, beating other competitors on functionality and ROI. Your team discover that actually they could reduce the cost to the customer by substituting some less expensive components, without sacrificing needed functionality or performance. Do you tell the customer?

Key  topics

• Managing disruptive salespeople
• The importance of character and integrity in sales leadership
• Strategies for early intervention and performance management
• Balancing short-term results with long-term team health
• The impact of senior management decisions on team dynamics

Guests

Richard Bounds:

Richard brings more than three decades of sales and leadership expertise across startups, scale-ups, and global enterprises, with experience leading teams of 30+ sellers and driving consistent, high-impact growth. His track record includes doubling turnover at Box-it by transitioning to a cloud-first model, scaling a business from zero to $4M in just 18 months before a successful trade sale. Built a $25M partner channel at Software AG and delivered record results at OpenText as VP EMEA. Today, Richard supports technology companies as a Board Advisor and Fractional Leader, helping organisations build stronger sales functions, implement best practices, and accelerate revenue through structured coaching, advisory, and modern sales approaches

https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardbounds1/

Sophie Steel: 

Sophie is a coach, trainer, and recovering sales manager who now spends her time figuring out what actually makes people perform. She loves mindset, behaviour, and all that good stuff—but mainly she enjoys calling out the gaps between what we say we do… and what’s really going on. She’s an ICF PCC coach, EQ-i qualified, and specialises in brain and behaviour change—working across sales teams and senior leaders to turn insight into actual behaviour change, not just good intentions.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/sophie-steel-72218817/

Special Guest: Steve Mortimer

Steve is a Sales Leader at BT who believes that being a good person and building genuine relationships are the foundations of commercial success. A natural challenger who makes the complex simple, he brings real curiosity to every customer engagement — always seeking to understand the "reason why" before aligning solutions to the outcomes that matter most.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevenmortimer/

 Sound bites

"Disruptive behavior is data telling you something's off"

"Set non-negotiables from day zero"

"Build long-term trust through integrity"

Keywords

sales management, team dynamics, disruptive behavior, leadership, integrity, performance management, sales team culture, sales manager coaching