As technology changes, so must our sales approach and related sales technologies.
The standards of the sales industry changes rapidly, and it can be challenging to keep ahead in the face of these alterations. Despite the difficulty, effective sales managers are strong leaders that can adapt to any situation to help guide their salesforce through troubled and uncharted waters.
As the world changes rapidly around us, successful sales leaders can harness the opportunity for the best action plan in the unsure settings and bad times to promote growth.
One study by Harvard Business Review has shown that as many as 29% of participants met or exceeded their annual quota over the last year.
On the other hand, around 42% of participants either met or stayed within 3/4ths of their annual quota.
Additionally, an effective leader should be able to utilize their superior communication skills, management style, and passion for their product or service to inspire a prospect about your company.
The benefits of having a skilled sales team leader are nothing to scoff at. However, there is one big question: what makes a good salesperson? What are the characteristics of a successful sales team leader?
Read on if you want to know the best qualities to look for in a successful sales team leader, whether to hire the best candidate for your company or climb the ranks in your salesforce.
No matter what your goals are, adopting these great qualities can help you get far in the sales culture!
What are the Qualities of a Good Team Leader?
When it comes to the ever-changing field of the sales industry, everybody always focuses on how consumers and market demands are shifting.
Everybody is on the lookout for the newest way to manipulate the market. Most organizations will focus on how the clients change, but what if they should focus elsewhere?
A sales team should be able to adapt to any potential scenario, foreseen or otherwise, in a sales situation. The sales team leader is no exception to this rule.
As societies, technologies, and markets change, so does leadership styles. The characteristics of sales leadership roles are far different now than they were ten years ago.
Above all, effective sales leaders should be passionate about their subject matter and have a competitive drive.
Any sales professional knows that a good attitude can get you far in a sale. However, there are other factors to consider. Let’s consider some of the key traits of successful sales managers.
Be A Good Listener
Any salesperson needs to be a good listener to build better relationships with prospects. After all, much of your sales pitch will involve listening to your prospect and adapting your sales pitch to their concerns and needs.
However, a sales team leader must take this idea of active listening even further. Not only must sales team leaders listen to their prospects, but they should also listen to their entire sales team and existing customers.
Existing customers can provide insight and feedback on your sales team’s performance from a valuable outsider’s perspective.
This input allows a sales team leader to adjust their business strategies and techniques to sales success rates and ensure a more calculated yet personal approach.
Listening to your salesforce’s comments as actionable feedback is also vital for any good modern sales team leader.
By hearing the requests and notes from your salesforce, you can adjust your sales approach from beyond a number-based perspective and factor in the human element.
By enabling a sense of humanity in your sales strategy, you allow your sales team the freedom to build a more natural rapport with your prospects.
A Sense Of Strategy And Innovation
Bringing an effective strategy to the salesforce is one of the key qualities of high-performing sales managers to form a sales tactic in which they utilize their sales professionals for optimal results.
While forming a comprehensive and successful sales strategy is vital for any sales or marketing entity, a sales technique is only as good as its flexibility.
You could have the most effective sales strategy, but it’s only good if its medium is popular.
When strategizing, a good sales team leader cannot remain stagnant. They must look to the future and plan accordingly, using their strategic mind to innovate and lead their team into uncharted territories.
As your company’s sales goals for the future change, realign your sales team’s goals to maintain an upward climb for your team to success.
Envision where your sales team will be in the immediate and far future with achievable targets. Follow a process to achieve these goals and picture your team’s success with your company’s goals.
Be Analytic And Process-Driven
The art of sales is so much more than an art. Sales performance is a science, as well.
On the art side, you must have the proper improvisational skills to adapt to any situation. On the science end, you must be able to predict trends, calculate and compare data, and adjust your sales team accordingly.
A process-driven and analytic team leader utilizes tools to their advantage, from sales reports to advanced, professionally-crafted technical tools.
Make Important Decisions And Assert Your Authority
Teamwork is a vital aspect of any sales team. Everybody should feel free to provide input that they believe is valuable. After all, you are running a sales team, not a sales kingdom.
However, as the leader, you have the final say in any decisions before a sales activity. You need to be able to make major decisions for your company and take responsibility for any repercussions, whether positive or negative.
A good sales team leader should have the support and trust of his salespeople, who believe they will make the right decisions.
If you erode the trust that you hold with your staff, you will have disgruntled sales professionals questioning your every move. You must strike a balance between fair and authoritative.
Be Resourceful And Maintain An Organized Environment
Organization skills are vital in every department, from sales to bookkeeping.
However, a sales team leader must organize his entire salesforce and ensure that their organizational sales process integrates efficiently with the team’s overall infrastructure.
Maintaining an organized environment for your sales team and yourself can provide significant benefits; 56% of sales professionals rated their organization skills as “excellent” and their team leader’s organization similarly.
As a sales team leader, you must work to keep your salesforce together as a functioning and cohesive unit.
You may have a limited number of resources, so you must make the most out of any opportunities and materials you have on hand.
Additionally, you must consider your sales team as a resource; make sure that you optimize their productivity, but not at the expense of their performance. You should ensure that each team member has what they need to succeed both in and outside of your team.
Motivate Your Salesforce Effectively
Everybody knows that the sales industry is not for the faint-hearted. Your sales organization may feel greater pressure towards the end of the month or year as they struggle to meet quotas.
While you must hold your team to a particular standard, you must also recognize the stress some sales professionals are under. Despite how hard they work, meeting their quota may be extraordinarily challenging.
A sales team must meet its quota, so you must hold your salesforce accountable.
75% of the top sales managers agreed that salespeople should consistently face measurement against their quota. However, you should motivate as well as scrutinize.
A good sales team leader should have a motivational ability, capable of identifying motivating factors in a salesperson and pushing them to maximum optimization.
Promote motivation by presenting your levels of self-discipline in comparison to your team’s.
In personality tests, the top sales managers scored 19% higher in self-discipline facets and 27% higher in priority-focused facets.
Every quality you see above is vital in any sales leader; the ideal candidate for sales leadership embodies every last one.
Now that you know the best quality of a team leader, you must take steps to become the best possible person for your position.
How Can I Be A Good Sales Team Leader?
Armed with the knowledge of what makes a quality team leader, the next step is finding ways to implement these vital attributes into your personality and sales management style.
Thankfully, there are many ways to naturally implement these attributes into your style to optimize team performance and promote efficiency and synergy among your sales people.
There are no single best leadership qualities, only that individuals need to put more or less effort into depending on their unique personality traits.
However, there are better ways to implement each of these attributes. Let’s take a closer look at these methods.
Support Your Team
As a sales team leader, one of the best things you could do for your salesforce is to support them in their efforts. Show them that you have their back to inspire trust in you and your decision-making.
Be a team player by meshing well with and supporting your sales team along with any other departments in your business. The best businesses promote synergetic practices in inter-department relations just as much as they do between employees.
Give And Request Feedback
In any matter of public relations, from sales to the HR department, feedback is one of the most vital tools any company has in its inventory.
By asking for feedback from your salesforce, you can improve your shortcomings as a sales team leader.
Additionally, by providing constructive feedback for your sales professionals, you can improve their performance, time management, and the overall success rate of your team.
Keep A Positive Attitude
When it comes to sales, a negative attitude won’t get you anywhere.
A prospective customer may find a negative attitude offputting and refuse to close a deal with you. Alternatively, a negative attitude could rub off on your staff, lowering the results of your team as a whole.
By maintaining a positive attitude in all matters and building personal relationships, you can motivate your task force by helping increase their mood. A happy sales team means better performance across the board.
FAQ
Which Technologies Can Help Me Be a Good Sales Team Leader?
In these changing times, you may face a significant challenge attempting to identify which technologies are the best tools to help your sales journey.
Some former door-to-door salesmen may have difficulty adapting to the best new sales strategies, especially in a virtual setting.
Technology is the future of sales, and successful sales reps will do their best to learn as many modern technologies as possible.
Utilize powerful online sales tools such as Salesforce and Owler to keep your sales team running smoothly.
How Can I Set Goals For My Sales Team?
Setting goals for your sales team may be easier than you expect. Your company likely has a set of immediate and future goals, along with a projected timeline in which they hope to accomplish these goals.
By aligning your team’s goals with the companies, you can ensure that you control your growth and tie your company’s success to yours.
With a smart action plan involving these goals and a tied success, your team will face more motivation to sell!
Final Thoughts
Leading a sales team is no easy feat, but it is a rewarding and fulfilling job for any sales professional who has what it takes to climb the ranks and manage their peers.
If you want to improve your sales team’s performance and create a new generation of leaders for your company, you should only choose the best option in sales training.
Contact us at The Brooks Group today to discuss how our training programs can launch your entire team to superstar status.
