Recently I addressed an audience of sales leadership, and outlined 7 strategic mindsets the TOP SALES LEADERS OF THIS DIGITAL AGE ARE MIND SHIFTING TOWARDS in order to CREATE THE DIFFERENCE for themselves as leaders, CREATE THE DIFFERENCE between their organization and their competitors, and CREATE THE DIFFERENCE for the teams they lead:
1. Importance of “STAFFING” vs. “HIRING”
2. Knowing what a successful salesperson looks like
3. Compensate to EXCITE & ELIMINATE
4. Clarity of expectations
5. ACCOUNTABILITY
6. What to do with poor performance
7. Public praise for motivation
1. Adopt a STAFFING mindset vs. a HIRING reaction to vacancy
– Prioritize personal involvement to find quality candidates and avoid getting overwhelmed by keyword-generated applicants from job boards.
2. DON’T “GO WITH YOUR GUT” – – KNOW WHAT QUALITY LOOKS LIKE – – WITHOUT QUESTION
– Focus on attracting, finding, hiring, & retaining top candidates by pre-defining what a top associate is, before interviews start.
3. “BACK YARD” HARVESTING
– Often, the best fit may already be within your organization; Look to promote internally when suitable.
4. THE ONLY 4 QUALITES THAT MATTER
– Prioritize sales focus, achievement, stability, and attention to detail in candidates to create and retain championship teams.
5. COMPENSATION THAT EXCITES & ELIMINATES
– Ensure your compensation plan rewards high performers, fairly compensates achievers, and weeds out underperformers.
6. CLARITY OF EXPECTATIONS
– Define expectations clearly, get team involvement, and discuss progress regularly to ensure everyone stays on track.
7. INSPECT WHAT YOU EXPECT
– Regularly check team progress regarding set expectations to maintain alignment and productivity.
8. CONFRONT WITHOUT CONFRONTATION
– Address underperformance with objective, non-personal feedback to encourage improvement and accountability.
9. NO ROOM FOR POOR PERFORMERS
– Do not let poor performance linger. Reprimand in private, praise great work publicly to maintain motivation.
10. PRAISE PUBLICLY
– Offer sincere, specific, and regular public praise to encourage and motivate your team.
Leadership is expected to bring WISDOM to those that they lead…..WISDOM born from EXPERIENCE.
When a leader does that……there is no reason to look back…..the leader has earned the FOLLOW!
To learn more, get more, and CREATE more……start here
