Successful Sales Leadership Takes Discipline

One of the earliest lessons I learned when I made the leap from Sales Executive to Sales Leader, was the critical importance of discipline. I thought I was disciplined when I was responsible for my own actions and results, however the transition to Sales Leader required me to take my discipline to an entirely new level. No longer was I responsible just for myself, I was now responsible for 8 people, all of whom were competing for my attention and assistance. On top of that I now had responsibility for 8 times the number of customers I had been managing as a Sales Executive, and still only had a limited number of hours per week – if only I could manufacture 8 times the amount of time!

Thank goodness I had a mentor who had been in the Sales Leadership game for over 10 years. He was able to work closely with me as I made the transition and helped me implement the following key disciplines, which not only set me up for success, more importantly it set the team up for success :

1. Learn & understand what the organisation looks for and expects in its leaders. As soon as I was appointed Sales Leader, my Manager encouraged me to begin planning for the next role, including identifying a successor for me. To do that, it was important to clearly understand what the company looked for in great leaders, and develop the discipline to plan and schedule time in the diary to work on those competencies.
2. Conduct a self analysis and 360º feedback to identify your strengths and areas for development. Then seek opportunities to enhance the strengths and seek opportunities to take on projects outside of your comfort zone to start stretching yourself. Also identify others in the team who could assist in ‘plugging’ some of your development areas, especially in those areas which is a strength for them.
3. Maintain a positive and uplifting attitude. This, as I found out, can take great discipline, however, remember that attitude can shape your mindset, and mindset then shapes and influences your behaviour, which then determines your results. And as we have covered in previous articles, your team is a reflection of you, which means that they take their cue from you. Maintain a great attitude and so will your team.
4. Have the discipline of creating regular 1:1 sessions with each member of the team. This is incredibly important for their development, as well as the overall health of the team. These 1:1’s should include a review of activity as well as progress against their objectives. Have the discipline to maintain the 1:1’s.
5. Establish a separate 1:1 session to coach your people. This is not about reviewing performance – this is about enhancing performance and progressing their development. It is also an opportunity for you to seek feedback on how your people feel they are progressing, as well as an opportunity for you to provide feedback based on your observation. Coaching your people is critical to their long term success – make it mandatory.
6. Develop the discipline to delegate. Understanding there are only so many hours in the week, identify what can be handed over to others to get done and empower them to make decisions and be okay with them making mistakes.
7. Develop the discipline to reflect. Reflect on what is working for you as a sales leader, and what is working for the team, as well as what needs to change. Do this weekly and make it a priority as it allows you to recalibrate, refocus and reload.
8. Establish high and clear standards, especially for yourself, and never deviate from them. This breeds consistency in your leadership and in the team, and provides a strong foundation for the team to thrive.
9. Be disciplined to identify new talent to bring into the team. This can be linked to point 1 above, seeking out a successor, however it is more about identifying talent to further enhance the capability of the team. Be specific on what qualities you are looking for and develop relationships with people ahead of any positions becoming available. This can save significant time and effort when a position does become available as you have developed a good relationship and the person should be able to get off to a fast start.
10. Allocate time in the your diary for customer meetings and customer calls. A key part of being a Sales Leader is developing and maintaining strong relationships with your key stakeholders, the biggest of which, are your customers. This also provides you with an opportunity to teach your sales people through your actions, as well as observing them in the customer environment, providing you with insights from which to coach from.

I must admit that at the time, I looked at all of the above disciplines and almost became overwhelmed, wondering how I was going to be able to do all of it as well as lead the team. However, looking back now with the benefit of hindsight, the guidance I was given actually not only fast tracked my development as a Sales Leader, it also fast tracked the development of the sales team.

So if you are a Sales Leader currently looking to fast track your leadership development and that of your team, implement the above disciplines. Even if you chose 1 or 2 to focus on for the next 30 days, the results you can achieve may astound you. Take the challenge. Be a successful Sales Leader – be disciplined.

To your continued sales leadership success.

Darren

If we haven’t already connected via LinkedIn, please send me an invitation to connect. I would love to connect.

I would also welcome the opportunity to have a conversation with you. I currently have 4 slots available over the next week for a 30 minute 1:1 strategy call. If you are experiencing a current challenge around your leadership, I would love to help. Send me an email at darren@darrenmitchell.com.au and we’ll set up a time to chat. No obligation, and no cost. I look forward to connecting with you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post – I greatly appreciate it, and welcome comments and feedback. Please feel free to comment below, to follow me on LinkedIn, or to connect via Twitter, or Facebook.

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.