Article
#4
"Follow
The Leader" - Entrepreneur, Sept, 2000 by Barry Farber
...and
discover five traits the great ones share.
What makes a great
sales leader? There's no single, remarkable secret. In fact, great
sales leaders are many things. Depending on the situation, a great
sales leader is a time-management supervisor, a meeting planner, a
contest coordinator, a talent scout, a coach, a trainer and a psychiatrist.
All of those roles put together--and executed well--make for a great
leader.
However, there
are five key areas in which the best sales leaders excel. Great leaders:
- Are passionate
and enthusiastic. These traits are transferred to the entire sales
team. If the leader is negative, everyone else will be pulled down.
How do great leaders maintain a realistically positive attitude?
Great leaders are great readers; they read everything they can find
about their crafts and industries. They seek out mentors whose wisdom
and experience can help them achieve their goals, and they encourage
their reps to do the same. They surround themselves with high-quality
people.
- Recruit great
salespeople. Many managers don't start recruiting until someone
leaves, which means they often settle for second best in order to
fill the gap. Great leaders, on the other hand, are always on the
lookout for talented people. One way they do that is by carrying
two-sided business cards to give out to people they meet at other
businesses who demonstrate great sales and service skills. One side
of the card contains the standard name, address and phone number.
On the other side, it might say, "I was very impressed with
your service and professionalism. Please call me if you're ever
looking for a career." The success of a sales leader is in
direct proportion to the success of the team, which is why it's
critical to hire the best people.
Advertisement
- Make their
numbers through their salespeople, not for them. The greatest difficulty
a sales team can have is a manager who closes for his people. When
that happens, the reps don't learn the skills they need to move
to the highest level of self-sufficiency. It's instinctive for a
manager to want to jump in and save a sale, but the message you
send is that you don't trust your reps. Then when the reps are on
their own, they won't have the experience of handling difficult
situations themselves. Close a deal for a rep and you've made one
sale; teach him how to close and you've made a career.
- Lead by example.
Great sales leaders are out in the field with their people 60 to
80 percent of the time. There's an old saying that goes, "Don't
expect what you don't inspect." If you don't inspect your reps'
performance in the field, you can't expect improvement. Spending
a day with your reps not only shows you how they're doing, it also
gives you firsthand knowledge of what customers are thinking and
what their needs are, based on your products and services. Most
important, sales reps respect leaders who know what it's like in
the trenches. Surprise your reps occasionally by saying, "I
thought I'd travel with you today and see how you're doing."
How do they plan their day? How do they do on calls? What methods
are they using to prospect?
- Understand
their reps' individual strengths and weaknesses. They're able to
ask non-directive questions like "What do you think you could
have done differently on that call?" or "What was your
objective?" When the reps say it, they own it; when the manager
says it, they doubt it. Great leaders are aware of what motivates
each rep and know how to get the best from everyone. They expect
excellence. If your reps know you think they're capable of reaching
greater heights, they'll strive for them.
Your role as a
leader is to encourage your people to succeed. There may be substantial
monetary rewards in being a great sales leader, but the greatest reward
is having helped others reach their goals. Our material possessions
won't really matter once we're gone. Our greatest legacy is the people
we've helped build, who are left to build others in the same way.
Barry Farber is
a noted speaker on sales, sales management and motivation, and is
the author of seven such books, including Dive Right In (Berkley Publishing).
COPYRIGHT 2000 Entrepreneur Media, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
Back
Home
• Ask a Sales Management Question
• Audio Answers & Interviews •
About the Trainers
Recommended Books & Articles •
One-on-one phone sessions • Favorite
Links • Contact Us
The
name and concept "AskaSalesManagementQuestion.com" is a
trademark of AskaSalesQuestion.com.
Copyright © All right reserved ®. 2006 AskaSalesQuestion.com.
Do not reuse text and graphics without prior written permission.
AskaSalesManagementQuestion.com. protects your privacy and security.
We never share any of your personal information.
|
