Is Sales Leadership Sucking The Life Out Of You?

Being promoted into a sales leadership role is a big deal. You have worked so hard to prove yourself as a successful sales executive, and now you have the opportunity to make your mark and show the business that you have significant value to add. You are eager to impress, have developed a very detailed 90 day plan and now it is time to unleash the sales leader! And if you are like me, the first 90 days are nothing like I thought they would be.

When I first stepped up into the role, I thought I had made it and that I had instant credibility – after all, I was now a Sales Manager! Nothing could have been further from the truth. Not long after my feet had hit the floor under the desk, the avalanche started. I had salespeople complaining about their portfolios, complaining about their customers, just plain complaining. In hindsight, they were testing me as the ‘new kid on the block’ to see how willing I was to take on all challenges and solve all problems. And being new to the sales leadership caper, I thought I was doing the right thing by attempting to take on as much as I could. The problem was though, I was developing a level of dependency within the team that if I didn’t change something, it would result in my team not being willing or able to make their own empowered decisions – certainly not the intention I entered sales leadership to fulfil. My experience during my first 90 days was a real eye opener and forced me to focus on where I spent my time as a sales leader. It also forced me to review what outcome and impact I was achieving and it wasn’t what I wanted.

Towards the end of my first 90 days I sat down and wrote out all of the responsibilities I had a sales leader, including :

• Developing the team and individuals through coaching and on the spot feedback
• Planning for portfolio coverage
• Developing Team ethos/charter
• Developing the Sales Game Plan
• Competitor analysis and Account Planning
• Sales and Revenue Reporting and Forecasting
• Networking with customers and partners
• Professional development
• 1:1 Reviews with my sales executives

I then sat back and analysed where I was spending the majority of my time, and the realisation was frightening. The vast majority of my time was being spent ‘putting out fires’ and being exceptionally reactive. And I knew this was not productive, nor was it sustainable. I had to change the approach and somehow find a way to be more proactive and focus my attention on the core responsibilities. Otherwise, sales leadership would continue to suck the life out of me. It was at this time that I was introduced to 3 simple but outstanding models that would allow me to get back on track and create the impact that I so strongly desired.

Model 1 – Big Rocks

This was a very powerful model that enabled me to identify and then categorise responsibilities that I would then prioritise. Imagine that your week is represented by a bucket. As you know, there are only a limited number of hours available during the week to get things done and the bucket can very easily be filled very quickly. Before you know it, the end of the week has arrived, the bucket is full and yet you do not have the feeling of achievement and accomplishment. The issue is is that the bucket has been filled with sand and small pebbles, being the reactive tasks & requests, daily tasks and activities. Unfortunately there is no room for the big rocks which represent the most important responsibilities that need to get done. The result? You may feel busy and yet may not have achieved much. What I learned very quickly was to focus on filling the bucket first with the big rocks before anything else. And when the big rocks were placed in the bucket, there were spaces between the rocks that could be filled with the smaller pebbles, and then once they had been placed in the bucket, there was still room for some sand. All of a sudden, through placing the big rocks in first, I was able to get more done within the week and my results and the results of the team started to increase. So what are your big rocks? Focus on them and watch your productivity and effectiveness increase.

Model 2 – Urgent Important Matrix

I realised very quickly that it was very difficult to manage time – all I could do was manage my priorities within the time that I had allocated. And this meant throwing my responsibilities up against the Urgent Important Matrix. As Dwight D Eisenhower said ‘What is important is seldom urgent, and what is urgent is seldom important’. This model really allowed me to filter my responsibilities so that I could make an assessment about where to focus. Within the matrix there are 4 quadrants, as show in the diagram below;  Quadrant 1 is the Quadrant of Production, where things are both urgent and important. Often things become urgent when we procrastinate or when we are constantly putting out fires. We don’t necessarily have control in this quadrant as we are reacting. Quadrant 2 is the Quadrant of Quality and this is where we want to invest time in, as this will actually shrink Quadrant 1. This quadrant is important but not urgent and here we have a greater level of control. Activities here are critical to long term success and so we need to spend more time in this quadrant. Quadrant 3 is the Quadrant of Deception, where things are urgent but not important. We tend to be very reactive in this quadrant, often reacting to other people’s ‘urgent & important’ priorities and hence we often operate under the illusion that we are in Quadrant 1. Being stuck in this quadrant makes it very difficult to achieve long term goals. Quadrant 4 is the Quadrant of Waste and should be avoided at all costs. This is where there is both no urgency and no importance and yet many sales leaders spend large amounts of time in this quadrant. You may feel and look busy, but every minute spent here is sucking more life out of you. Avoid this quadrant and do whatever you can to get to Quadrant 2.

Model 3 – Decision Matrix

Having decided on urgency versus importance, the 3rd model is a great way to make quick and solid decisions, based on 2 simple criteria, the effort required and the impact expected. If the effort required is low and the impact is high, then it is a quick win and should be the focus of your energy. If the effort is low and the impact low, then it may potentially be a quick win, but you will only do this after the definitive quick wins, because the impact is low. Where the effort required is high and the impact is also high, then it is certainly something to invest time and effort in as it will be worth it. And where the effort required is high and the impact low, then this is just too hard – don’t be a glutton for punishment – don’t do it.

So is sales leadership sucking the life out of you? If it is, it could be because you have not clearly identified your big rocks and you may also be operating in the Quadrant of Deception. Really focus in on where you are spending your time and throw the responsibilities and activities against the urgent important matrix and take note of the result. Then use the decision matrix to determine your next steps. When I did this, everything changed. I was able to get more done, build better engagement with the team and then have my team use the same models. They are simple and yet so powerful. Don’t let sales leadership suck the life out of you. Make a difference!

To your continued sales leadership success.

If you want to know how you can better persuade and influence your team, send me an email at darren@darrenmitchell.com.au

Darren

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Darren is a Sales Leadership and Sales Performance Coach, Facilitator & Speaker.  He is an experienced and committed coach with a background of sales leadership success in large organisations. He applies a genuine focus to coaching and developing high performing sales leaders who are looking to unleash the potential of themselves and their teams.