Your sales team is struggling to develop their leadership skills. What can you do to help them?
Leadership skills are essential for any sales team, especially in the competitive and dynamic media industry. However, not all salespeople are natural leaders, and some may struggle to develop their confidence, communication, and vision. As a sales manager, you can help your team grow their leadership potential by following these tips.
The first step to help your sales team develop their leadership skills is to assess their current level of performance and identify their strengths and weaknesses. You can use various tools, such as self-evaluations, feedback surveys, 360-degree reviews, or personality tests, to gather data and insights on your team members. Based on the results, you can create individual development plans for each salesperson, highlighting their areas of improvement and setting specific and measurable goals.
-
Randall Greene
Business Development Specialist, Mergers & Acquisitions at Harris Computer
During my career leading sales teams, I've found that assigning mentors within the team to help in onboarding new reps or challenged reps is a very effective way to develop leadership. This will identify those individuals that are open to taking on additional responsibility. Further, the mentee gains additional attention and insight from their mentor over and above the Team Leader. It is important however for the Team Leader to monitor how well this development pathway is going. This is more than delegation. Trust but verify that the mentorships are working. Have regular check points with both the mentors and mentees. Ride alongs and field days with the new or challenged rep is essential to make sure everything is tracking for success.
-
Chris Grimes
Head of Biz Dev - Zippsafe USA
I have found that leaders tend to emerge from a group while managers are appointed. By managing your team directly, you can observe your leaders as they begin to appear.
The second step to help your sales team develop their leadership skills is to provide them with coaching and mentoring opportunities. Coaching is a process of guiding, supporting, and challenging your salespeople to achieve their goals and overcome their obstacles. Mentoring is a relationship of trust and learning between a senior and a junior salesperson, where the mentor shares their experience, knowledge, and advice. You can coach and mentor your team members yourself, or assign them to external or internal coaches and mentors, depending on their needs and preferences.
-
Amit A.
Principal Investor & Managing Director || Speaker || Indian Institute of Management Calcutta || Fitness Enthusiast ||
Self development is the key to success and it is a continuous process . Coaching and mentoring is ongoing process and it can be achieved through proper training and guidance . One this is very important in leadership is that you should always remember and understand the core issues of team and show genuine empathy !!
-
Collin Muyanja
Digital Finance| Sales and Distribution Expert/Director Finca
Coaching and mentoring often enables leaders identify hidden talent. By encouraging open dialogue and communication amongst struggling teams, backed by a hand holding and mentorship process. Sometimes all that is required to turn around results, is that extra word of encouragement by a team leader, and most importantly working with individual team members to enable them achieve set goals.
The third step to help your sales team develop their leadership skills is to encourage collaboration and feedback among your team members. Collaboration is a key skill for leaders, as it fosters creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Feedback is a vital tool for leaders, as it helps them improve their performance, learn from their mistakes, and recognize their achievements. You can foster a culture of collaboration and feedback by creating cross-functional teams, organizing regular meetings, facilitating brainstorming sessions, and giving and receiving constructive feedback.
The fourth step to help your sales team develop their leadership skills is to delegate tasks and responsibilities to them. Delegation is a powerful way to empower your salespeople, as it gives them autonomy, accountability, and ownership of their work. Delegation also helps you free up your time and focus on your strategic priorities. You can delegate tasks and responsibilities to your team members based on their skills, interests, and development goals, and provide them with clear expectations, guidelines, and resources.
The fifth step to help your sales team develop their leadership skills is to recognize and reward their achievements. Recognition and reward are essential motivators for leaders, as they boost their self-esteem, satisfaction, and loyalty. Recognition and reward also inspire your team members to continue their learning and growth. You can recognize and reward your salespeople by giving them verbal or written praise, public or private acknowledgment, monetary or non-monetary incentives, or career advancement opportunities.
The sixth and final step to help your sales team develop their leadership skills is to model the behaviors you want to see in them. As a sales manager, you are the role model for your team, and they will look up to you for guidance, inspiration, and direction. Therefore, you need to demonstrate the leadership qualities you want your salespeople to emulate, such as vision, integrity, confidence, communication, and collaboration. You can model these behaviors by sharing your vision and values, acting ethically and transparently, expressing your confidence and enthusiasm, communicating effectively and respectfully, and collaborating with your peers and stakeholders.
-
Udayan Chauhan
Head (Alternate Channels) - Pilgrim
In my experience, If your team is troubling in leadership then it is a behavioural challenge, which can be handled. In simpler terms, Give Task based on OJT and involve yourself but don’t take decision yourself. Rather Suggest Situational alternatives/ Give Feedbacks Gradually with case by case, it would improve with the sense of ownership being developed.
Rate this article
More relevant reading
-
SalesWhat do you do if you're a sales professional transitioning into a leadership role?
-
IT SalesWhat do you do if your sales team is losing trust in your leadership?
-
StrategyWhat are the most common mistakes sales leaders make?
-
Sales CoachingWhat do you do if you want to groom future leaders in your sales team?