As a sales leader, there is one overarching thought to keep in mind: It is your responsibility to push your sales reps to greater heights than they would achieve on their own. Otherwise, you are excess cost.
When it comes to doing this, too many times we find sales leaders who are extreme. They either want to be their salespeople’s friend (marshmallow) or feel like they have to be drill sergeants (meanie pants).
I recently conducted a webinar for a group of both new and experienced sales leaders on this topic. Its focus was on sales leadership accountability and as is true with most everything, taught that balance is the key. But I recognize that it can be difficult to achieve that right balance when it comes to managing people. I wrote about the accountability traits of the most proficient sales leaders in this recent article Data Reveals Missing Accountability Traits in Sales Leaders
There are two key ways sales leaders can maintain balance and avoid being marshmallows or meanie pants. They can 1) set expectations and 2) become accountability partners. Here’s what I mean:
Seasoned reps want and need oversight. While you may have extreme confidence in them and may default to just letting them do whatever they choose. Recall our mantra that it is your responsibility to push your sales reps to greater heights than they would achieve on their own.
Think about how weird it would be if you weren’t having regular accountability meetings with a high performing rep and something happened, and they stumbled. All of sudden they aren’t producing per usual.
Wouldn’t it be awkward to start meeting and providing oversight where you had not before? Actually, not providing oversight and assuming they’ll snap out of it is being a marshmallow.
Consistency and balance are key and will produce the most predictable results.
Gretchen Gordon is the CEO of Boost Profits, a consulting firm specializing in sales team transformation. A self-proclaimed “Sales Nerd” with over 27 years of sales, sales leadership, and sales team transformation experience, she spends most of her time working directly with client companies and helping them improve their sales effectiveness and exceed their sales goals. Gretchen is also a frequent guest speaker for industry events and webcasts, and has been featured on the radio talk shows “Meet the Sales Experts” and "Sales Coaching over Coffee." She is also an accomplished writer, having been featured on industry-leading sites like SellingPower.com and SecurityInfoWatch.com. She authors a “Top 50 Sales Management Blog,” according to Docurated.com, and has published sales-focused eBooks, including “The 5 Essentials of Effective Sales Management” and “Cold Calling in the 21st Century.”
Find out more about Gretchen Gordon on LinkedIn
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