Many sales managers were once top salespeople. Then they got promoted, and suddenly the skills that made them successful were no longer enough.
Kelly Riggs joins Paul Fuller to talk about his new book, The Five Power Moves: How Struggling Sales Managers Become Transformational Sales Leaders, and the practical moves that help managers turn high-potential people into high-performing salespeople.
Written as a business story in the style of Patrick Lencioni, the book follows Larry, a former top rep struggling in his first sales management role, and Dave, the seasoned coach who helps him find his way.
In this conversation, Kelly explains why accountability is not something you demand, why being liked is not the same as being effective, and how clarity, consistent one-on-ones, coaching conversations, and disciplined planning create a culture where accountability just happens.
Why Accountability Can’t Be Demanded (03:42)
The most common struggle Kelly hears from sales managers is that people won’t follow through. They won’t prospect, they won’t role play, and they don’t do what they said they would do.Kelly’s answer is that accountability isn’t something a manager can demand. It’s something a manager creates. The first three power moves are designed to build a culture of accountability without micromanagement, by leading people to make their own decisions and addressing it when commitments aren’t kept.
The Three Questions Every Sales Manager Must Answer (09:11)
When results fall short, struggling managers often blame their people. Kelly challenges that with three simple questions: Who hires your people? Who trains your people? Who leads your people?If the answer to all three is “I do,” then the responsibility sits with the manager. Kelly explains why managers have more control than they act like they do, and why the leader’s job is to set the direction of the boat and ask everyone to row the same way.
Being Liked vs. Being Effective (14:25)
Kelly shares a Harvard Business Review study of 65,000 employees. Bosses seen as results-oriented were considered good leaders 14% of the time. Bosses seen as people-oriented scored even lower at 12%. But bosses seen as both were considered good leaders 74% of the time.The catch is that only 1% of respondents said their boss was both. Kelly explains why the need to be liked leads managers to avoid standards and difficult conversations, and why real people-orientation means developing your team, not seeking their approval.
Clarity, Consistency, and Coaching (17:48)
Most managers believe they are being clear when they aren’t. “Grow your pipeline” is not a clear expectation. How many calls, how often, to which accounts, and by when are what make it clear.Kelly walks through the first three power moves: creating clarity, holding consistent one-on-one meetings for visibility, and having the coaching conversation as soon as a pattern of missed commitments appears, rather than waiting until emotion and frustration take over.
Listen to the full conversation with Kelly Riggs to learn how struggling sales managers can create accountability, lead with clarity, and become transformational sales leaders.
Want to read the book?
Pick up The Five Power Moves by Kelly Riggs.
📌 https://thefivepmbook.com
About Kelly Riggs:
Kelly Riggs is an author, speaker, and founder of Business LockerRoom, Inc., where he has consulted with executives and companies throughout the United States and Canada since 2005.Kelly is a former sales executive, a two-time national Salesperson-of-the-Year, a serial entrepreneur, and the author of two books: 1-on-1 Management: What Every Great Manager Knows That You Don’t and Quit Whining and Start SELLING! A Step-by-Step Guide to a Hall of Fame Career in Sales.His third book was the award-winning Counter Mentor Leadership: How to Unlock the Potential of the 4-Generation Workplace, co-written with his son, Robby Riggs. It was selected as the 2019 Gold Medal winner in the leadership category by Axiom Business Books Awards.His most recent book, released in September 2026, is The Five Power Moves: How Struggling Sales Managers Become Transformational Sales LEADERS.
For more information, visit www.kellyriggs.com.
Paul Fuller’s stated mission is to help others maximize their gifts by using his.
Paul has been a pioneer in the sales process and training, sales as a service, content marketing and CRM. As a previous founder and owner of multiple successful growth organizations in these spaces, Paul has effectively trained and led sales and marketing teams across the world to focus on and achieve dynamic growth.
He firmly believes sales is defined best in three categories:
• Service - helping other get what they need
• Leadership - guiding others toward their vision
• Wayfinding - navigating the path to success together
He is firmly committed to elevating the sales profession through coaching, leading, and empowering others through systems that enable strong performance.
Currently Paul leads revenue growth at Membrain.com - the top sales effectiveness CRM in the world. Working with his team, and a group of over 100 top sales consultant organizations across the globe, they are focused at creating scalable growth through sales excellence in companies and teams in over 80 countries.
Schedule a call with him here.
Find out more about Paul Fuller on LinkedIn
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