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“I’m not here to fire anybody.” It was the elephant in the room when Karl started working with a new organization. More specifically, when he started talking to somebody who the team was considering letting go. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but my goal is to improve things.”
During their first meeting, Karl made a commitment to that sales person. “I’m going to find out what your world is like right now. I’m going to learn why you’re with this company, what you wish it was like, how you would improve it. Everything. And I’m going to show you, through my actions, that you can trust me. That I’m here to support you.” The salesperson was, rightfully, skeptical, but she gave Karl a chance. Over the next several weeks, they’d meet at least twice a week, and Karl learned a few things very quickly. The saleswoman didn’t feel like she was respected. She felt like she was often treated poorly. She didn’t feel heard. One big point of contention was that she wanted to have longer meetings than the standard 30-minute ones her team was expected to do. She felt she needed at least 45-minutes to get to know people and really be effective. “I’m tired of being told I can only do 30-minute calls so that I can do as many as possible. Give me an hour. Give me 45-minutes, even. I’ll take less calls, but I know I’ll be able to close more than anyone else.” Karl met with the leadership team and told them he wanted to do a 30 day experiment. During those 30 days, he’d make decisions he felt would best elevate the sales team and the leadership team would refrain from making any personnel changes. They agreed. The biggest change was a simple one: the sales team was in charge of their own schedules. They could set meetings for the amount of time they felt they needed. By the end of the 30 days, the average sales price had increased by about 30%, the whole team’s close rate had gone up, and the person who was initially on the chopping block had the highest closing rate of the entire team. An interesting follow up fact: she maintained the lead 80% of the time for the next 3 years while Karl was there. The salesperson wasn’t being difficult by insisting that she needed to have longer calls with potential customers. She was trying to take the time to get to know them so she could sell more effectively. Had the sales leaders fired her, as they thought they needed to do, the entire team would’ve not only lost her great sales record, but never improved as a whole. On the How to Drive Growth Through Empathy episode of the Predictable B2B Success Podcast, Karl shares how digging beneath the surface helps you learn better ways to motivate your sales team in addition to improving your business, why lack of foundation can hold back even successful sales organizations, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts Listen on Spotfiy  One of your past clients reaches out to give you a referral that could lead to new business. You talk on the phone or email back and forth with this new connection for a while when they ask an important question: Can I connect with you on LinkedIn?
Of course, you’re thinking. Why wouldn’t I be willing to? And, of course, the answer to that question is yes. But before you send over your profile or find them and request to connect, pause and think about when the last time you updated your profile was. Better yet - when was the last time you critically looked at it from the lens of a potential client? What will they find when they look at your profile? Is the picture professional, polished, and current, or is it blurry and so dated, they won’t be 100% positive it’s actually you? Is your background picture something that represents you, or is it a gray box? Does the title you have listed match the one they have for you? What about your job description? Your LinkedIn profile is one of the first ways new connections learn more about you and the value you can bring to them. So before you send that invite, make sure you’re being intentional about the message yours sends. And after that? Take a minute to thank the person who gave you the referral. This is an important step that a lot of us miss. If you’re like a lot of businesses, the growth of your company relies heavily on referrals. From friends and family telling their network about you to happy customers sharing your information, word of mouth is one of the best forms of marketing there is. And when somebody provides you with that (free!) marketing, they deserve some recognition, not only in the moment, but years after the fact. If there’s somebody who gave you a referral in the past, especially if that referral resulted in regular business over time, following up years later to thank them will show the ongoing positive impact their referral had on your business. Why is this important? It could re-energize your relationship with the connection and lead to them working with you again. It could lead to another referral that turns into a long-term customer. And it could give you an opportunity to return the favor. Regardless of the immediate or long-term impact, it starts a conversation with somebody who’s helped you in the past and opens up the door to support somebody who’s previously done the same for you. Not sure what to say? Copy and paste the email template below and add your personalization! Hello [NAME], I just wanted to drop you a note with an update! A few years ago, you referred, [insert name] to me, and they’ve been a wonderful customer ever since. It’s been a really great experience for our team, and it wouldn’t have been possible without your referral. I just wanted to say thanks again! Let me know if you’d like to touch base or have time to catch up sometime in the next couple of months. I’d love to have the opportunity to return the favor. I really value our relationship, and if there is anything I can do to support you or your business, please let me know! Best, [NAME] The potential return on investment from this quick note is huge - and it’ll feel good to send.  One of the first things organizations do when looking to uplevel, grow, or build their sales team is appoint a capable leader.
It’s a good instinct. A sales team, especially a growing or not-yet established one, needs a point person. They need somebody to provide structure to the team, make judgment calls, assign leads and work, assess challenges for team members, and help the group grow as individuals and as a selling organization. They are the primary resource for the sales team, which makes hiring the right one high stakes. One of the Most Common Mistakes. For many organizations with a superstar on the sales team, the solution to finding a sales leader seems obvious: promote the star. They’ll be able to share their wisdom and their tricks and create a team full of their clones who are similarly gifted at selling. Right? More often than not, no. Being good at selling and being good at management don’t typically require the same skills or interests. In fact, a sales superstar might have no interest in managing people, or might not enjoy the day-to-day aspects of managing a team. Not to mention, your sales superstar is bringing in business and growing it. When you transition them into a manager role, you’re adding a significant number of responsibilities to their plate and reducing how much time they have to do what they do best. You’re taking your best player off the court to see if they’d make a good coach, or even enjoy being a coach, when a much more reliable solution is to hire somebody who knows how to lead. The Right Type of Candidate. So, if a sales superstar isn’t usually the right candidate, then who is? The answer is simple: somebody who knows how to motivate and uplift salespeople and understands how sales organizations should function to be effective. There may be somebody on your team - in sales or an adjacent function - who fits the bill. There also may not be. The right candidate may come from within your organization, but, depending on how your team functions and who is available, interested, and qualified to step into a leadership role, looking for a fresh face may be the best course of action. A fractional sales team leader is also the right solution sometimes. Based on the needs and size of your company and your team, you might not need a full-time person to lead them. A seasoned veteran that knows how to motivate and lead at a fractional level can go a long way in decreasing the financial risk of bringing on a new sales leader and creating a lot of value for the team. This especially comes into play when a team is looking to build their organization and add processes, but fractionals can also help to lead your team without requiring your organization to make a full-time hire. It all depends on what your team needs. You Need to Understand Where Your Team Stands. What process does your team currently have in place? What needs to be developed? Does your team need some fine tuning and day-to-day management, or is the entire selling organization being built from the ground up? In short, do you need somebody to lead the processes and teams that are already there, or are you looking for someone to help you develop the entire system and team? Just as some salespeople are great at hunting and some are great at farming, some leaders are great builders and others are great operators. A great builder is skilled at taking a very small or nonexistent sales organization and building one. They get to know your organization, your current team, what has worked in the past, and what challenges you have. They take the time to understand where it is you’re looking to go in the future. Then they create a team structure, processes, and protocols to help you get there. They don’t just hire a team - they create everything it needs to run. Meanwhile, a great operator takes a fully built machine and keeps it running at maximum capacity. As your team grows, they’ll likely find some opportunities for improvement and make minor changes. They’ll fill roles as needed, work to develop the skills of individual team members, and make sure everybody is given the tools they need to reach their goals and potential. Both of these types of leaders are incredibly beneficial to the teams they serve, but only when they’re in the right role. The best operator in the world will be set up to fail if you’re expecting them to develop the entire selling organization. As for a great builder doing an operator’s role… have you ever heard the phrase, “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it?” a builder will have trouble working within somebody else’s vision which could lead to unnecessary (and costly) overhauls of a system that really just needs to be managed and facilitated. That’s why, before you hire a sales leader, it’s important to understand what you need. Pro Tip: If you want to know how to build the foundation for a great sales organization, check out Set Up to Win. The book shares three frameworks to help you leverage the power of your team to stabilize and grow your company’s revenue long term. Promoting From Within the Organization. Even though turning your sales star into a manager is typically a mistake, there are times when somebody on your sales team does have the potential to be a great leader. These are typically team members who have solid sales, but are more notably known for being dedicated members of their team. They’re always engaged, are willing to be a resource for others, are happy to answer questions, and always eager to learn. Even without a managerial title, they’re happy to take on leadership responsibilities and find themselves being the “go-to” person that people look to for help and advice. Of course, hiring from within your company can work only if you have the right person on your team, and when personal bias clouds your judgement, it can be tricky to tell. Here’s how you can make sure your internal candidate is actually a good fit for the job:
If it turns out that nobody on your team fits the bill, that’s okay, too! Now you already have the job description ready to go and know what you’re looking for from an external hire, too. Hiring a sales leader is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your sales team. As the person who crafts or executes the vision for the future of the team and is responsible for the growth of your business, they’re instrumental in not only their team’s success, but the success of the entire organization. Before you jump into the hiring process, make sure you know what your organization really needs from a sales leader in order to be successful. Learn More A healthy relationship between sales and marketing is vital to an organization’s success. Dive deep into this effective strategy in our book Sales & Marketing Alignment. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. |
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We are headquartered in Colorado with domestic and international teammates and clients. Please use the contact form on this page to inquire about any of our books, podcasts appearances, speaking engagements and workshops, any of our offerings, or simply to connect.
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