Sales results are always the topmost priority of every organization. Sales expectation can be very high for organizations and without a leader to oversee that this is achieved, the goals become hard and difficult to gain and sustain. A sales leadership is a crucial role in an organization.
Sales leadership entails creating goals and engineering mechanisms that will aid the actualization of these goals. They help sales representatives in making improvements towards achieving assigned tasks within a period of time. Their roles in the organization cannot be quantified.
In the past, we hosted a webinar with the world’s leading expert on sales coaching, Rob Jeppsen. He joined our very own, Jack Kosakowski, to discuss formulating a world-class sales team.
For those not aware of Rob’s work, he’s the CEO and co-founder of Xvoyant. He’s been responsible for $3bn worth of sales in financial services. In the American Business Awards program, Rob has collected 15 Stevie Awards, including Golds for Sales Coach of the Year and Sales Director of the Year.
There’s no doubting the passion that Rob has for connecting with salespeople. His approach to measurement is designed to deliver eye-opening insights. It goes beyond the typical accountability that’s been around the ages, touching on just about every facet that’s out there. The revelations from this give a much clearer picture on the directions your sales team should head towards.
If you are interested in watching the webinar on-demand, you can access it free here.
A checklist for self-reflection
We never thought we’d be quoting Ice Cube in this blog, but here goes: Check yourself before you wreck yourself.
Rob Jeppsen points out the essential differences between being great at sales and being great as a sales leader. These are the facets that need to be accounted for when hiring.
It’s a great matter of importance that you’re process-orientated and not outcome-orientated. That way you can attain high-quality insights that, in the long run, will help your organisation far better than the traditional focus on outcomes.
Of course, you’ll see much greater detail in our webinar, but here are the four factors Rob cites for establishing a successful sales structure.
- Consistency
- Process
- Levelling up
- Collaboration
Step-by-step process for “modeling awesome”
People tend to forget about the coaching process, special attention should be devoted to this, argues Rob Jeppson. Another bedrock is consistency.
You also need to delve into feedback from your team. A strong connection with your workers will help them excel at what they do.
Innovative sales coaching strategies
It’s vital for sales leaders to have the skills their people have. Some of the best sales leaders will have been ‘at the coalface’ themselves.
Staying connected with sales innovations is absolutely crucial for leaders. Rob Jeppson underlines the need to work smart and build a strong connection between leaders and the sales ‘frontline’.
Are you confident that your organisation gives room for failure when it comes to innovation? Rob Jeppson believes it’s vital that companies are open-minded in this area.
We’ve seen many of the most disruptive technology giants thrive with a sense of experimentation in their nascent ideas. Those who are totally outcome-orientated are restricting future growth.
Sales coaching KPIs and metrics to grade yourself
It’s an understatement to say that Rob Jeppson is not a fan of the traditional way of selling, which is, focusing almost entirely on outcomes. Aligning employees to challenges based on skillsets has to be your highest priority.
In his battle against ‘Spreadsheet Coaching’, Rob tells us why it’s crucial to value the individual, to not treat your team as an army of sales robots.
Celebrating incremental wins with your salespeople
As discussed elsewhere in this webinar, a social bond is a great motivator. Talking to your salespeople on a social level not only encourages them to do better, it helps retain them. That’s crucial to ensure they’re not leaving you for a competitor.
Rob Jeppson believes there are two factors in a sales job – passion and stress. A leader should be there to provide the ‘passion factor’, which helps people overcome the negatives.
Regular one-to-one conversations are also part of the social glue, argues Jack Kosakowski. Rob agrees, the personal touch is a huge differentiator. Reach out to your workers and you can retain their skills even when competitors are putting out financially lucrative job offers in your industry.
How to motivate without micro-managing
“The best leaders are the ones who are authentic”
Jack and Rob discuss the importance of being sincere with your sales team and peers in your industry. Breaking down barriers and winning permissions are the rewards from this approach.
Resource training really helps your sales team. Rob Jeppson sees it as a higher priority than product-orientated education. These are the knowledge gaps you should be focusing on.
Rob also believes that Salesforce shouldn’t be regarded as the sole view of a salesperson’s activity.
