Sales leaders have an outsize impact on their teams’ effectiveness. When looking at high-performing teams – or conversely, teams with below average results – in most cases it’s the sales organization’s leader that’s largely responsible for the effective functioning and performance of the team.
Here, we suggest 3 key ways sales leaders can positively impact their teams’ effectiveness.
1. Lead from the front
Leading from the front doesn’t mean being “in the trenches” and jumping on calls yourself. Although tempting, especially with bigger prospects, leading from the front as a sales leader means setting up the culture and environment for your sales organization to thrive.
One area where this is especially important is the amount of pressure put onto your sales teams to achieve results. As psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson showed, there is an ideal amount of pressure that should be present in the sales environment. Too little, and you get weak performance. Too much pressure, and performance is impaired because of strong anxiety.
For peak performance, sales leaders should encourage the zone of what’s technically called “eustress” – just the right amount of pressure to achieve maximum results from your teams. A great sales leader will constantly measure the environment for stress and performance levels, and seek to equalize “early and often” – to borrow a diving term.
2. Empower your teams
Nothing inhibits performance like micromanagement, and nothing is more frustrating for teams than not having the right tools to achieve their goals.
One example is with demos. Have you empowered your teams with best-of-breed demo tools, to maximize this pivotal part of the sales process? Or is it “every man (or woman) for themselves” and constant friction and frustration on the part of your teams and potential customers?
To find out more about empowering your team and wowing prospects with the perfect demo solution, speak to someone on Team Walnut.
3. Focus on the process
Too often, sales leaders focus on short-term outcomes rather than optimizing and trusting the process, which leads to consistent, sustainable long-term results. This process spans the entire sales organization; from attracting and retaining talent, to ongoing coaching, through to performance management and constant reassessment. Your teams are handling day-to-day performance. You need to be strategically aware and guide your sales organization with a long-term outlook, trusting the process you’ve put in place.
Successful Sales Leaders Impacting Teams’ Effectiveness
As New York Times bestselling author Orrin Woodward puts it, “Average leaders raise the bar on themselves; good leaders raise the bar for others; great leaders inspire others to raise their own bar.”
To positively impact your sales team’s performance, strive for greatness in leadership. Your team will respond in kind, taking your sales organization’s performance to the next level.
To learn more about sales leadership, or to experience the magic of Walnut’s peerless demo platform for your sales teams, just get in touch.
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