Research on sales performance confirms again and again that the primary indicator of a company's sales success lies in the strength of their sales managers. The best sales managers do much more than manage...they evolve into sales leaders who understand how to empower their salespeople and inspire their teams. These sales leaders' results speak for themselves. These are the men and women who know how to unite a sales team, how to help their people achieve and exceed their goals, how to motivate and encourage, how to get the strongest players on their team, and how to handle the many challenges they are faced with daily. Difficult skills...demanding skills...and skills that are not automatic to most salespeople who become managers.

Catalyst 5 offers a rich story of the transformation of newly-promoted sales manager Chris Houser, as he evolves from sales person - to sales manager - to sales leader - under the guiding hand of Joe Garson, his former manager and mentor. In a series of five weekly breakfast meetings, Joe teaches and coaches Chris on how to succeed as a "Catalyst", or change agent, for his team. Together, they explore the five key practices that sales managers must embrace to become sales leaders in their organization - the practices of leader, business manager, coach, recruiter, and trainer. Within each practice, Chris discovers how to apply what Joe learned "the hard way", after years of frustration caused him to study and emulate the most successful sales leaders he could find.

Chris - and you, by virtue of listening to this book - get a shortcut to Joe's "school of hard knocks" that will take you to the top of your sales organization as you, too, evolve from sales manager to sales leader.