how to inspire your sales team
TRANSCRIPT
How to Inspire Your Sales Team
Leadership Style
MANY DIFFERENT
STYLES WORK
YOU HAVE A BLIND
SIDE
The GOOD News
The BAD News
TEND TO EITHER BE INSPIRATIONAL OR HANDS ON
• Tendency to micro-manage or take control when things are not working
• Skimping on context + vision
• Being disconnected from the effort required to complete work
• Missing warning signs that something is broken
• Being in the trenches with team• Leading by example• Setting the standard• Knowing personal strengths
and weaknesses of reps
• Casting a vision• Providing context• Creating meaning in the
everyday work• Delegating work• Enabling ownership
INSPIRATIONAL HANDS ON
YOU’REGREATAT:
BE MINDFUL OF:
Leadership StyleIf you are an INSPIRATIONAL leader…
Keep:• Providing context + vision
Consider:• Keeping an open door policy, so reps can easily escalate issues• Hiring managers that are good coaches (not necessarily
leaders)• Putting aside time each week to spend 1 on 1 time with reps to
put personal stories behind your pipeline report
Leadership StyleIf you are a HANDS-ON leader…
Keep:• Showing your team what success looks like
Consider:• Training leaders on your team so that can train others and
creating space for them to lead • Selecting some of your reps to work on solving a problem
before you start to solve it• Putting time on the calendar each week to deliberately create
context
Cared about me personally + my career aspirations
A voracious learner who consistently brought best practices back to the team so everyone could
benefit
Expected big things from me
My Best Boss...
Pushed me out of the “nest” when the time was right
Taught me the nuances of recruiting and how to understand people
Never, ever publicly embarrassed someone on the team; kept human element front & center
My Best Boss...
Coach Up or Coach Out?1. Does this person have what it takes to succeed? Skill,
ability and desire?2. Within my control, have I given them everything they
need to succeed?3. Is their evidence that they are trying to achieve quota
(activity)?4. Do they have a good attitude?5. Would I fight to keep this person if they told me they were
leaving for another opportunity?
Tips for Both• If a rep is surprised, you’ve failed.• During the trial period, create “micro-projects” to help them
learn & test both skill and desire• In the absence of missing your quota, hit your KPIs. If you
are going to miss you KPIs, hit your quota. • Use data as motivation.• The conversation you do not want to have IS the
conversation you need to have • Remember: No Profit. No Mission.• Your employees are the only eternal part of your business.
A New Approach
Ruinous Empath
y
Manipulative
Insincerity
Obnoxious
Aggression
Tools to Gamify Your Metrics
Hoopla InsideSales InsightSquared Salesforce
Boost engagement and communication
with live data, leaderboards,
gamification and recognition.
A comprehensive sales gamification
system that fosters an energized
atmosphere, giving reps the momentum
they need to succeed.
A sales performance analytics solution
that provides hundreds of pre-built
reports for every major sales metric.
Track all your customer information
and interactions in one place. Best
practices and in-line intelligence help
move deals along.
In summary…Press into what you are good at. Be aware of what you are not good at. Hire for your blind spots and build accountability. Start with the
end in mind. Invoke radical candor. And don’t forget to have fun!
Will Reed JobsWill Reed Jobs is a members-only employment
marketplace that helps young professionals find customer-facing roles with innovative
employers. We bridge the gap between these two groups creating rewarding opportunities
and relationships for both.