The Ultimate Guide to Great Sales Leadership

After Meeting 3,000 Sales Leaders in The Past 25 Years

“the quality or state of being great (as in size, skill, achievement, or power)”

Definition of greatness from Merriam-Webster

I am opinionated.

After 25 years of leading sales teams, I have an “assertive and dogmatic” view of what constitutes great sales leadership that I am “firmly or [perhaps] unduly” adhering to.

Part of this stems not only from the experience as a sales leader and running a Sales Leadership business, but also from selling into sales and marketing organizations for many years. Setting up a meeting with the VP of Sales and Marketing, walking through their offices to a conference room, engaging with team members, their use of technology, among other things, gave me a solid impression of the culture the leader had created. Sometimes I could picture myself working there; sometimes, I could not leave fast enough.

Whether I learned something from it and became a better leader myself is for others to judge.

I believe that everyone strives for greatness! Whether as an athlete, a student, or a sales leader, we all want to be great. It does not mean to be "the best." The absolute title of "the best" or “GOAT” is often a ridiculous goal.

Because greatness is a quality that comes from within us; it is the result of learning and practice; it expresses skill, achievement, and it is often recognized by those around us

So, what makes a great sales leader? What are those skills or traits that others recognize as “great?” Here is my list of the top 9 traits:

1.     Empathy – Start with listening and then respond with honest compassion and understanding.

2.     Integrity – To me, integrity is a sum of traits: honesty, sincerity, truthfulness, transparency, ethics, and strong moral values.

3.     Passion – Passion is contagious. Your excitement will ignite the passion of the team. And in sales, being passionate about the product or service you sell is key to success.

4.     Humility – Appreciate those around you, be grateful for your role, be gracious towards others, be open to feedback, and understand that you are not perfect.

5.     Accountability – Take responsibility for the results, and in the process, take a little more than your share of the blame and a little less in praise. Accept the blame for the team result, and do not play the blame game downstream.

6.     Inspiration – Provide those around you with an unconscious burst of creativity. It is not your brilliant idea that advances the team, but rather your ability to inspire others.

7.     Decisiveness – I have found that my days as a leader were filled with quite literally hundreds of decisions. A few major ones (Hiring, Product Innovation, M&A, …), and many, many small and micro-decisions. What they all have in common is the fact that not making a decision is holding up everything and everyone around me. And sometimes the decision is not a popular one.

8.     Reliability – Do not be erratic. Those around you, especially those that rely on you, count on your consistency and dependability.

9.     Positivity – Positivity is contagious. Even negative Nancy will eventually become infected by your positivity.

Sounds simple enough, doesn’t it?

Contact us to find out how our interim and fractional sales leaders can make a difference in your business.

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Merriam-Webster – opinionated

Photo by Anne Gosewehr