CSM Sales Team Leadership & Development 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following BEST describes servant leadership as applied to a sales team?
- The manager focuses primarily on hitting their own career goals
- The manager removes obstacles so the team can perform at their best (Correct answer)
- The manager delegates all administrative tasks to reps
- The manager avoids making decisions to empower the team
Correct answer: The manager removes obstacles so the team can perform at their best
Servant leadership centers on the leader's role in enabling team success by removing barriers and providing resources.
Question 2: A sales manager has a team of seven reps. To maximize development effectiveness, how often should individual one-on-ones ideally occur?
- Once per quarter
- Once per month
- Weekly or bi-weekly (Correct answer)
- Only when performance issues arise
Correct answer: Weekly or bi-weekly
Weekly or bi-weekly one-on-ones allow for timely coaching, pipeline reviews, and issue resolution before problems escalate.
Question 3: When a sales manager sets activity-based metrics (calls, demos, proposals), the PRIMARY goal is to:
- Micromanage rep behavior throughout the day
- Create leading indicators that predict future revenue outcomes (Correct answer)
- Justify the team's compensation structure to leadership
- Reduce the need for qualitative performance assessments
Correct answer: Create leading indicators that predict future revenue outcomes
Activity metrics are leading indicators that give managers visibility into pipeline health before results materialize.
Question 4: A newly promoted sales manager is tempted to keep closing deals personally to help the team hit quota. This behavior is MOST likely to cause:
- Improved team morale due to visible leadership support
- Stunted rep development and unhealthy manager dependency (Correct answer)
- Faster quota attainment without any downside
- Better customer relationships long-term
Correct answer: Stunted rep development and unhealthy manager dependency
When managers habitually rescue deals, reps fail to develop closing skills and become dependent rather than self-sufficient.
Question 5: Which technique is MOST effective for identifying a sales rep's skill gaps versus will gaps?
- Review their LinkedIn profile for certifications
- Observe call recordings and compare performance data against peer benchmarks (Correct answer)
- Ask the rep to self-assess on a written survey only
- Assign them new accounts and see how they perform
Correct answer: Observe call recordings and compare performance data against peer benchmarks
Combining call observation with data analysis reveals whether a rep lacks the skill or the motivation to perform.
Question 6: A sales team consistently fails to prospect enough new opportunities. The manager's BEST systemic fix is to:
- Fire the bottom 20% of the team immediately
- Dedicate protected time blocks for prospecting and hold reps accountable to activity KPIs (Correct answer)
- Reduce quota to match current pipeline levels
- Shift entirely to inbound marketing leads
Correct answer: Dedicate protected time blocks for prospecting and hold reps accountable to activity KPIs
Protected prospecting blocks with clear activity KPIs create sustainable pipeline habits rather than reactive fixes.
Question 7: When delivering constructive feedback to a sales rep, which framework ensures the feedback is specific and actionable?
- SPIN — Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-payoff
- SBI — Situation, Behavior, Impact (Correct answer)
- MEDDIC — Metrics, Economic Buyer, Decision Criteria, Decision Process, Identify Pain, Champion
- BANT — Budget, Authority, Need, Timeline
Correct answer: SBI — Situation, Behavior, Impact
The SBI (Situation, Behavior, Impact) model structures feedback around observable facts and their consequences, making it clear and actionable.
CSM Sales Team Leadership & Development 3
Which of the following BEST describes servant leadership as applied to a sales team?