Review of The Cadence of Excellence
Posted: 10 May 2022, 14:21
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Cadence of Excellence" by Matthew McDarby.]
The Cadence of Excellence: Keys Habits of Effective Sales Managers is a book that deals with the roles and responsibilities of a sales manager in a company. The author of the book, Matthew McDarby, has worked for years as a sales manager and uses his experience and expertise to share knowledge on the topic of sales management. Although the book is not more than a hundred pages, MacDarby manages to deal with the topic in a well-rounded manner. Throughout the book, a reader gets a sense of how the work of a sales manager can be quite complex and demanding.
From the outset, McDarby alerts the reader that the role of a sales manager is that of a leader and that the difference between a successful leader and an unsuccessful leader hinges on what the leader chooses to do with his or her time. According to McDarby, the primary duty of a sales manager is to inject value into their relationship with customers. By creating value, a salesperson is supposed to ensure that he or she helps customers recognise a benefit in a product and see things differently. This is opposed to the simple offer of a discount or quarterly end pressure.
The book divides the tasks of a sales manager into two categories – inwardly focused tasks and outwardly focused tasks. Inwardly focused tasks include those that are concerned with the improvement of your skills and competence as a sales manager. On the other hand, outwardly focused tasks include those intended to improve your team’s performance. These tasks range from the ability of a manager to lead with influence; the use of data to guide sales; the ability to lead by example; the ability to plan; and building a coaching culture, among others. McDarby goes into detail to expound on these headings.
The book is written in a simple and straightforward manner – McDarby refrains from any use of jargon and technical terms. In each chapter, there are several provocative questions that are listed – these questions help sales managers and salespersons to engage with customers in an efficient and effective manner. What I also like about the book is that McDarby uses real-life as well as fictional stories to help elucidate the subject. I would therefore rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. The book is well proofread and contains no errors. I also like the fact that at the end of the book, the author includes a Sales Leadership Excellence Planner where a person can jot down activities, actions and ideas that need improvement and those that are in a good state. Although I decided to read the book just out of curiosity I didn’t find anything wrong with the contents of the book.
I would primarily recommend the book to sales managers and salespersons – the main theme of the book revolves around them. Apart from that, students or anyone operating in the realm of business management would find the book extremely beneficial.
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The Cadence of Excellence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Cadence of Excellence: Keys Habits of Effective Sales Managers is a book that deals with the roles and responsibilities of a sales manager in a company. The author of the book, Matthew McDarby, has worked for years as a sales manager and uses his experience and expertise to share knowledge on the topic of sales management. Although the book is not more than a hundred pages, MacDarby manages to deal with the topic in a well-rounded manner. Throughout the book, a reader gets a sense of how the work of a sales manager can be quite complex and demanding.
From the outset, McDarby alerts the reader that the role of a sales manager is that of a leader and that the difference between a successful leader and an unsuccessful leader hinges on what the leader chooses to do with his or her time. According to McDarby, the primary duty of a sales manager is to inject value into their relationship with customers. By creating value, a salesperson is supposed to ensure that he or she helps customers recognise a benefit in a product and see things differently. This is opposed to the simple offer of a discount or quarterly end pressure.
The book divides the tasks of a sales manager into two categories – inwardly focused tasks and outwardly focused tasks. Inwardly focused tasks include those that are concerned with the improvement of your skills and competence as a sales manager. On the other hand, outwardly focused tasks include those intended to improve your team’s performance. These tasks range from the ability of a manager to lead with influence; the use of data to guide sales; the ability to lead by example; the ability to plan; and building a coaching culture, among others. McDarby goes into detail to expound on these headings.
The book is written in a simple and straightforward manner – McDarby refrains from any use of jargon and technical terms. In each chapter, there are several provocative questions that are listed – these questions help sales managers and salespersons to engage with customers in an efficient and effective manner. What I also like about the book is that McDarby uses real-life as well as fictional stories to help elucidate the subject. I would therefore rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. The book is well proofread and contains no errors. I also like the fact that at the end of the book, the author includes a Sales Leadership Excellence Planner where a person can jot down activities, actions and ideas that need improvement and those that are in a good state. Although I decided to read the book just out of curiosity I didn’t find anything wrong with the contents of the book.
I would primarily recommend the book to sales managers and salespersons – the main theme of the book revolves around them. Apart from that, students or anyone operating in the realm of business management would find the book extremely beneficial.
******
The Cadence of Excellence
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon