Characteristics of a True Sales Leader

">approaches to essential competencies. And they do it
In the average sales organization, successful salesso that their people can outperform the standard.
reps get promoted to managers. These "new" salesSales training campaigns should be setup to improve
managers are suddenly tasked with leadership andthe ratios of success in each core competency.
training. In these situations, there is one commonOperational effectiveness equals better competency
liability. The salesperson's biggest strength nowroutines. Better than whose, you ask? Your
becomes the sales manager's biggest weakness incompetitors', of course.
leading a team. Typically, top sales reps don'tWith the right systems in place, good sales leaders
diagnose and document their sales routines andunderstand their essential competency ratios and
processes; rather, they "just do it", as the sneakerperformance numbers, and are able to relate them to
commercial so aptly says. So, when they are askedrevenue objectives. It is important to set realistic
to advance the same superior results in a largegoals that are in line with performance ratios, then
group, they can not do it. Why? Because theseset "benchmarks" for each competency and train
individuals are exceptional "drivers." Most of their pastspecifically to those benchmarks.
success was due to their personalities and individualJim Tressel, head football coach for the Ohio State
abilities, which are not transferable to the masses.Buckeyes, gave a preseason interview the year after
Sadly, most superior sales performers, whenwinning the 2002 National Football Championship. He
promoted to leadership positions, are unable to trulysaid, "We decided to identify a number of important
lead. They have trouble analyzing and teaching theirperformance benchmarks, and effect training to
personal sales processes in such a way that theirmeet them each week. For instance, we found that
sales teams can properly digest. Solo reps who moveover the last 15 years, when we gained at least 200
into the management sphere tend to manage peoplerushing yards in a game, we won the game 98% of
versus coaching critical competencies and behaviors,the time. So we are training to routines that will help
which hurts the bottom line. To be effective, salesus get better at the competency of running the
leaders must understand and know how to integratefootball on the ground in order to reach that
knowledge of sales systems and processes to theirparticular benchmark more often."
staff. They need the majority of their salespeople toSales leaders believe that sales reps will be
accept it, own it and benefit from it.accountable to results, provided that leadership:
Going one step further, it is crucial for sales leaders(1) Identifies the important competencies required for
to have experience in identifying and measuringsuccess;
critical core competencies and essential performance(2) Supplies targeted training with appropriate
metrics. Sales leaders should understand that therestructures for learning and application; and,
are a finite number of scenarios in any selling process.(3) Measures the degree of improvement.
If you identify, train to and measure each one ofSales leaders are dedicated to transforming "C"
them, you are on your way to excellence. True salesplayers into "B" players, and "B" players into "A"
leaders shine a light on the most criticalplayers. They hold themselves accountable to
competencies, enabling the highest percentage ofdevelop or invest in relevant training systems, learning
their sales force to routinely win. Sales leaders trainstructures and support tools. They want most of
to each one of these competencies, but they do sotheir people to routinely meet or exceed company
by priority. They understand that training to multiplerevenue goals, as well as personal career objectives.
missions at once will achieve minimal results.They know that they must provide the setting and
The importance of sales training comes into play forthe tools that foster this kind of achievement.
sales leaders, who must consider results-orientedWhile their seat-of-the-pants skill sets are excellent,
training as a process versus an isolated event. Theythe natural sales rep, when thrust into the role of
don't just talk about it at sales meetings, or attendsales manager, must learn how to convert these skills
seminars that superficially touch on it; instead, theyinto transferable processes and routines that focus
extract the most important critical competency, suchon essential competencies. Thereafter, it comes
as creating new opportunities, and peel back everydown to how effectively they can train, motivate
element that comprises it. They break apart theand support their staff towards maximizing core
elements into single scenarios and attach powerfulcompetencies, which ultimately increases the odds of
routines to each scenario. Sales leaders, like greatexceeding revenue targets.
business leaders, spend time developing systematic