Sales Leadership Behavior: Know your business

Sales Leadership Behavior 1A: Know your Business

As you know,  I’m reading Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan. The first leadership behavior that the authors feel is critical for building a culture of execution is “Know your people and your business” (pg 57). 

As leaders, it’s important that we’re where the action is, that we’re directly engaged with the business.  I often find the presidents, CEOs and VPs of Sales are making decisions based on filtered or incomplete information. I don’t want to offend anyone; often I find that business leaders have surrounded themselves with “yes people.”  It makes sense — people don’t want to risk losing their jobs so they don’t bring bad news to the table. Or, they have a high need for approval and are uncomfortable talking about what’s really happening in the business.

Whatever the reason, it’s disastrous for the leader.  An owner of a telecommunication company has made a deal with his salespeople that he will visit any client or prospect whenever they want him to. He’s not there to sell; he’s there to do a Senior Executive Overview. Interestingly,  he reports that in every situation he’s come back with new business opportunities that his salespeople hadn’t seen.  Joe is committed to getting un-filtered information from their clients. 

Other times, the information is incomplete. People are doing the best that they can; however, sometimes they lack your depth in the industry and market. Other times, they don’t have a strategic mindset where they can connect the dots as quickly as you can.  For example, when I was involved in the ownership team at Micro-Tech Hearing Instruments, my leadership team was great at surfacing current client and product information. However, when we needed industry trends, the ownership had to connect with other strategic players in the industry.  To get complete information, you may need to connect directly.  

What steps are you taking to know your business?   

And, what steps are taking to know your people? We’ll talk more about this in the next post. Stay tuned. 

What’s a Fatal Flaw for the Sales Management Leader?

Assigned reading for this quarter’s class in my Master’s in Transformational Leadership program at Bethel University is The Extraordinary Leader by Zenger and Folkman. Have you read this book yet? If not, I highly recommend!

One of their key research findings is that character is core to leadership. You can all sorts in incredible talents and skill, including the ability to drive results and to communicate well. However, lacking character is a Fatal Flaw that will destroy any leader, whether a president, CEO or sales management leader.

This topic is apropos since I’m actively involved in helping two separate companies in separate industries, medical device and manufacturing, hire VP of sales. Yes, the skills identified in Yes You Can: 67 Tips to Raise Sales Results in a Recession, are important; but, they are useless with character.

So, how is character defined? Here are some of the way that authors indicate that character gets defined (page 56 of Extraordinary Leader). I invite you to rank yourself on each of these attributes.

Making decisions with the company in mind; not their personal interests.

Keeping commitments. They walk the talk.

Committed to continuous improvement; they are constantly learning how to improve their game.

Receptive to feedback; in fact, they actively seek feedback from others to help them grow.

Approachable by everyone, regardless of rank or position.

Treating everyone the same; no preferential treatment.

Treating everyone with respect and dignity, regardless.

Assuming others have good intentions; trusting others.

Works collaboratively with others.

Tenacious; being determined even in the midst of difficult obstacles.

Emotionally resilience; adjusts rapidly to changing circumstances.

So, how do you rank yourself? Where are you strong? Where do you need to continue developing and strengthening your core, your character?

The Paradoxical Commandments & Wise Leadership

A couple of years ago, I sat next to a man who told a fascinating story about how he developed his core philosophy on leading. I immediately resonated with his philosophy because I think he addresses the most difficult part of leadership, whether is it’s leadership of a company or of a sales team, (at least for me!) to…love them anyway.

Wise leadership is founded on strong relationships with those around us. In fact, Marcus Buckingham in The One Thing You Need to Know about Great Managing, Great Leading and Sustained Individual Success, says that the greatest manager truly care (love) their staff.

So, how do rate yourself?

Who are the people that are difficult to care for? What does that say about you?

When is it difficult to care for others? What does that say about you?

Take the challenge and read The Paradoxical Commandments by Kent M. Keith:

People are illogical, unreasonable, and self-centered.

Love them anyway.

If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.

Do good anyway.

If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies.

Succeed anyway.

The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow.

Do good anyway.

Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable.

Be honest and frank anyway.

The biggest men and women with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest men and women with the smallest minds.

Think big anyway.

People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs.

Fight for a few underdogs anyway.

What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight.

Build anyway.

People really need help but may attack you if you do help them.

Help people anyway.

Give the world the best you have and you’ll get kicked in the teeth.

Give the world the best you have anyway.

© Copyright Kent M. Keith 1968, 2001

www.paradoxicalcommandments.com

Our Deepest Fear as Sales Leaders

I’m certain that most of us have read this poem that is popularized by Nelson Mandela. However, it struck me anew as I was rereading it. I’ve been dealing with a couple of sales
leaders this week who are so tentative in their decision making.
In fact, when they asked me about what might be one of their
greatest obstacles to turning their sales force from declining sales to record-breaking sales, I answered, “Your decision making ability.”

Stopping the downward spiral of an excuse making, blame-game culture takes DICE+1 leaders. Yes, that leadership means that we as CEO, owners, board members, and sales
leaders, need to build strong relationships with those around us.
However, that leadership also calls us to be clear with our
expectations and to be willing to follow through with consequences when
expectations aren’t met and promises are broken…even when we’re
afraid.

So, what are you afraid of? What’s holding you back from doing what you know is right?

Our Deepest Fear

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate,
our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?”
Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.
It is not just in some of us,it is in everyone.

And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

- Marianne Williamson

Leading from the Inside Out

I just came home from a meeting with group for friends who are watching The Truth Project. Tonight we talked about history and the importance of understanding the truth of the past. The truth of the past; not who we necessarily remember the past…the truth. Why? Because how we perceive the past informs how we act and react in today’s world.

Because of the tremendous impact we have on those in our spheres of influence, it’s critically important for leaders to reflect and to accurately understand how our past experiences impact our today’s decisions. For example, if you’re feeling overwhelmed by the economic news of the day, where does that fear come from? What’s happened in the past that drives that fear? What’s happened that causes you to react in fear whereas others are energized?

Perhaps I’ve been more reflective than usual because of two books that I’m reading for my Transformational Leadership course work, Leading from the Inside Out and Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership: How to Become an Effective Leader by Confronting Potential Failures. I highly recommend these for all leaders.

What past experiences inform the way you’re acting/reacting in light of the economic news?

Sales Leadership Confidence is Contagious

It’s Make or Break in the First Two Minutes

As you may have noticed I am currently reviewing articles by various contributors to the eBook, “Keep Your Sales Up in a Down Economy.” Today, I read an article written by Anne Miller, a leading sales and presentations expert and author of Metaphorically Selling. Her article is entitled “Are you Losing Them in the First Two Minutes?”

Anne uses the example of the time when Ronald Reagan was shot and it was uncertain whether he would live or not. Secretary of State Alexander Haig went on television hysterically telling the world that he was in charge. Well, if that is what “in charge” sound and look like…no wonder it just heightened everyone’s fears.

She then asks the question of what picture do you present to business associates when you meet them. Is it a picture of fear, incompetence and even hysteria about the current economic situation? Or, is it a picture of someone in charge of self and the situation? Someone who displays that inner confidence in a self-assured yet calm manner – you can see it in their eyes, you can hear it in their voice. It’s a voice of reason and of hope, actually more than hope, of conviction that “we WILL win this one too.”

Anne tells us that we only have the first two minutes after we have met our client to make an impression.

That same truth applies to our interaction with employees. They instantly know when you walk into the building (or into the room) whether you’re fearful or confident. And, whatever emotional state you’re in spreads like wildfire throughout the business, creating the culture.

So, what culture are you creating?