Day One: Sales Leadership

Congratulations, you've done well in your sales role, and now you've been asked to take on a leadership position. If it’s like most startups, things are moving so fast that there is little guidance, beyond: “Here’s your team.” At least, that’s what it felt like to me. I still vividly recall being pinged by our HR Director, “Sam [VP of Sales] is looking for you.” I thought I was in trouble for something, honestly. But in fact, he asked me to take over a team – to teach them ‘to sell like me.’ I was honored, of course, but really had no idea how to get that done. I can remember my first meeting with the team, which when I look back on makes me cringe. It was just me telling the team that “they had to do more.” One rep then asked, “More of what?” To which I answered, “Everything.” (I told you, cringe.) There are many different ways to lead, and it will take time to develop your own style. Yet to do that will take years, even with a commitment to personal growth and given great people around you. But while you grow and develop, I wanted to provide action items for you to implement right away. There are countless other things that you will need to learn, however none of them matter if you can't make an early impact on your new team. So here are some steps that you can implement, day one.

• Know who works for whom:

I am sure your swagger/ego to some extent helped you do really well in your sales role, however, it will likely hold you back from building trust/loyalty with your reps. I know this first hand because I used to believe that if I just ‘crushed it’ then my reps would follow me, obviously: I was so good. It was not until I started to open up and indeed fail in front of my team that they really started to buy into the process. It seems to inspire reps more when they see you're human, and experience failure the same way they do. The most powerful view to have is that you work for the reps – not the other way around. No one will follow you merely because your title says they should. You need to come in every day to work for them: to mentor, develop, and help them grow. Teaching one-liners, rebuttals, etc. is helpful, however, instructing them on how to break down their numbers, and target outbound metrics to increase their demo set rate by 1% will have a much greater impact on their entire career (more on this later).

• Set the tempo:

The team will always take on the personality of its coach. Have a crystal clear vision of what you want the personality of your team to be. You may want a disciplined/hardworking team, but they’ll never be that if their leader has poor data hygiene, or comes in late. There are many different types of sales teams, and no one size fits all. The tempo I have always intended to set is ‘making every day count,’ so it’s important for the reps to see the leader coming in to make every day count. As you are looking to build out your team, I encourage you to spend time thinking through what type of team that you'd like to have and make damn sure to live it organically, every day.

• Know your numbers:

If you don't know your numbers, you don't know your business. Numbers in and of themselves don't tell a compelling story, of course, and we've all had the manager that simply says 'make more calls,' without any seeming logic put into it. But numbers do drive a story, and it’s up to the leader to find out what numbers drive what story. If you connect with 1 DM per 10 calls and convert 1 demo set per 10 DM connects, then you per day must make 100 calls to set 1 demo, for example. Knowing what each of your reps’ respective numbers are will help you to coach, and make them appreciate their numbers. And the more that they own their numbers then the greater they'll fight for them. Regularly reporting their numbers, moreover, will not only provide to your reps a concrete plan of action but also illuminate where they need to improve. When they fully understand how their numbers impact their overall goals, you’ll require many fewer 'make more calls/set more demos' type of conversations.

• Take more blame than credit:

Great leaders never take the credit when they win, and always take the blame when they lose. Your job as the leader is to put your team in a position to win; so when they win, the team gets all the credit. When it comes down to it, after all, it’s up to them to execute the game plan. When they don't win, you take all the blame because you just didn't put them in a position to win. When you are dedicated, and put in the work, your superiors know. (If Bill Belichick found himself as the Head Coach of the Cardinals, rookie quarterback and all, then missed the playoffs – management wouldn't fail to appreciate the fact that the roster needs some work… Well actually, Belichick would likely still make the playoffs; so let’s say, Ron Rivera.) Anyways, the point is that your team feels that you have their back, and believe in them. And so too, with respect to your superiors, that they observe you are a person who not only doesn’t make excuses but also self-reflectively goes back to the drawing board, ready to go to war with the army you have – and expect next time to win. This does not mean you coddle everyone or refrain from calling out people when and where they need to improve, of course. During the game, players need to know what’s what. So coach them, obviously. But when the clock runs down to zero, and you're short of quota – stand up during that post-game interview to say it’s on you. Onto Cincinnati, that’s the mindset you want to instill. It will make your team further respect you, and in doing so helps to get the most out of them. Again, it comes down to leading by example. Do your job. If you own your numbers, they will own theirs.

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