How to Create a Winning Sales Leadership Development Plan

Helen Waite

April 24, 2025

In the high stakes world of sales, strong leadership is a must. A great leader can be the difference between a high-performing sales team and one that consistently misses their targets.

Yet, many organizations still overlook the importance of developing their current and future sales leaders. So it’s no surprise that 77% of organizations are experiencing a leadership gap – a gap that can directly impact performance, employee engagement, and revenue growth.

A strong sales leadership development plan is essential. With the right plan in place, everyone from emerging managers to veteran leaders can build the skills needed to inspire teams and drive results.

But what are the key ingredients of a winning leadership development plan?

In this post, we’ll explore what a leadership development plan is, why it’s so important, and how to create one that equips your leaders to coach, guide, and motivate their teams to lasting success.

What is a sales leadership development plan?

If you’re not quite sure what a sales leadership development plan is, you’ve come to the right place. Let’s start off by defining the term.

A sales leadership development plan is a strategy created to ensure current and future sales leaders can build the skills, behaviors, and competencies needed to effectively lead sales teams and drive results that boost the bottom line.

Typically, a sales leadership development starts with identifying the skills and attributes required for successful leadership in your organization. These skills vary by role. For example, the skills needed to be an effective frontline manager may differ from those required of a regional sales director.

Then, organizations deliver targeted training and learning opportunities to help leaders build these essential skills and capabilities. Some types of training and development that may be included in a sales leadership development plan include:

Live workshops and leadership training sessions
Online courses and seminars
On-demand learning modules
Curated training and development content
One-on-one leadership coaching
On the job leadership training
Structured mentoring programs
Industry conferences and events

Each sales leader (and aspiring leader) brings a unique background, set of strengths, and areas for growth. A leadership plan must be tailored to the unique needs of each individual, a point we’ll discuss in further detail later on.

Why is a sales leadership development plan important?

Establishing a sales leadership development plan can have a positive impact on your sellers – and your entire organization. Let’s explore some of the key advantages of a solid sales leadership development plan.

More effective leaders

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of a sales leadership development plan is its ability to cultivate more effective sales leaders. When leaders have opportunities to build essential skills and competencies, they’re better prepared to be successful in their roles. LinkedIn research found that development initiatives can increase job performance by up to 25%.

Higher performing sellers

Strong sales managers have what it takes to coach and motivate their teams. When sellers are properly trained and coached, they’re better equipped (and motivated) to close more deals. In fact, a recent study found that organizations in the top quartile for leadership development report 37% more revenue per employee.

Higher leadership retention

Sales leaders are far more likely to stay with your company long-term when they feel supported and receive ongoing training and development. Per LinkedIn, 94% of employees stay longer at a company that invests in their professional development.

That kind of retention plays off – reducing the time, cost, and disruption of constantly recruiting, onboarding, and training new sales leaders.

Better ability to attract and retain great sellers

Recruiting great sellers isn’t always easy. But the opportunity to work under an exceptional sales leader can be a big draw for high potential candidates.

Strong sales leaders can also positively impact seller retention. It’s often said that people don’t leave companies – they leave bad managers. But a great leader can keep your sellers engaged and committed.

A standard for leadership excellence

Every organization aspires to have great sales leaders. But without a clear definition of what excellence truly means, this goal can be difficult to achieve.

Creating a leadership development plan gives you the opportunity to step back and define what great leadership looks like at your organization. Once you establish a clear standard, you can work to replicate it across your entire sales leadership team.

Better customer experiences

Today’s B2B customers expect exceptional experiences throughout the customer journey. A well-designed sales leadership development plan empowers managers to effectively coach their teams to meet (and exceed) those expectations. Organizations that consistently deliver outstanding experiences are far more likely to earn prospects’ business and their long-term loyalty.

How to build an impactful sales leadership development plan

It’s clear that a strong leadership development plan can have a big impact on your sales managers – and your bottom line. But how do you go about creating one?

Building an effective sales leadership development plan starts with a few essential steps.

#1 Determine your goals

The first step in developing your sales leadership development plan is to clearly define your goals. These objectives must align with the priorities of the sales team and the overall goals of the organization.

Here are a few examples of goals for a sales leadership development plan:

Strengthen leadership capabilities of existing sales managers to boost their team’s sales performance and retention.
Develop leadership skills in high-performing sales reps with strong potential, preparing them to step into future management roles and ensuring a solid pipeline of leadership talent.
Create a consistent leadership approach across the entire sales organization to drive a more cohesive and high-performing sales culture.

#2 Define leadership excellence

A sales leadership development plan can help shape exceptional leaders. But first, it’s important to define what great leadership looks like at your organization.

Make a list of the skills, competencies, and behaviors of leaders who are successful at your organization. Ideally, this list should be based on quantitative data and qualitative insights.

Here are some examples of of essential leadership skills to consider:

Coaching
Talent development
Communication
Cross-functional collaboration
Conflict resolution
Pipeline and forecast management
Time management

Remember: different leadership roles require different skills and competencies. Make sure to create a list of essential skills for every role in your leadership development plan. That way, sales manager training and development will be targeted and relevant.

#3 Map out training and development

Once you’ve identified the essential skills and competencies of sales leaders, you can determine what initiatives you’ll use to help them grow these skills. You may already have existing sales manager training and development programs that can be integrated into your leadership development program. Others will have to be built from scratch.

There are several methods to consider including in your sales leadership development plan, including:

Real-time sales management training (either in-person or remote)
Bite-sized, easily digestible learning modules
Video content
Written training and development materials
Coach the coach programs
Mentorship programs
On-the-job learning opportunities

Each approach can play a valuable role in reinforcing critical leadership skills and supporting long-term growth.

#4 Create and deliver personalized training and development paths

Every current and aspiring sales leader brings a unique blend of experiences, strengths, and opportunities for growth. That’s why a one-size-fits-all leadership development plan isn’t effective.

Instead, take time to identify each individual’s strengths and weaknesses. From there, deliver personalized learning and development paths that target their specific needs and support their growth as effective, confident leaders.

#5 Choose the right tools to support your leadership development plan

Choosing the right tools and technology is critical to the success of your leadership development plan. Without the proper sales manager software, even the most well-designed sales leadership development plan can fall short in terms of execution and impact.

The sales leadership training solution you choose should streamline training and development and provide visibility into progress, engagement, and outcomes. An all-in-one revenue enablement platform is a great option.

The right revenue enablement platform centralizes learning, coaching, development, and performance data all in one place, which makes it easier to deliver tailored sales leadership training and development at scale. Organizations can provide just-in-time training, reinforce leadership behaviors, and track growth over time. In addition, a revenue enablement platform aligns leadership development with broader revenue goals. This helps ensure sales leaders are not only growing in their roles, but also actively driving performance across the team.

#6 Measure impact and optimize your leadership development plan accordingly

All too often, organizations roll out leadership development programs and simply hope they’ll deliver results. But hope alone isn’t an effective strategy.

Instead, it’s essential to continuously measure the impact of your leadership development plan. By tracking key metrics and gathering feedback, you’ll see what’s working and what isn’t. These insights will help you continuously refine your approach and maximize the impact of your sales leadership development plan.

Build stronger sales leaders with Mindtickle

Sales leaders are critical to the success of their teams and their organizations. But not all sales leaders aren’t born with the skills needed to coach, inspire, and drive performance.

Now is the time to invest in a sales leadership development plan that empowers your sellers to grow the skills and behaviors needed to lead effectively. The right technology is a key component of any winning sales leadership development plan.

Mindtickle is an AI-powered revenue enablement platform designed to help organizations build and scale effective sales leadership training and development. With Mindtickle, you can pinpoint each leader’s strengths and weaknesses, then deliver personalized learning paths to close gaps and boost performance. You’ll also get powerful analytics to track progress, measure impact, and continuously optimize your leadership development plan for even greater results.