When building sales leadership for our clients within the Education and Technology space, The Renaissance Network has identified key competencies within strong sales leadership. Therefore, we are pleased to provide The Top 10 Qualities of a Successful Sales Leader:
- Successful sales leaders continue to improve their knowledge of the education market and embrace change. Strong sales leaders will have a deep understanding of the market within which they work. They will also embrace the reality of a changing Education market, adapt their sales strategy to the market, and help your sales team address the changes by providing additional education and training.
- Successful sales leaders are strategy and performance driven. A strong sales leader can help build, refine, and execute your sales strategy based on past experience, knowledge of the market, and best practices. In addition, your sales leader will identify the activities necessary to effectively execute the strategy that has been developed and put in place sales metrics to track progress. Simultaneously, a strong sales leader will stay true to the sales strategy without getting bogged down in processes and administrative tasks.
- Successful sales leaders can communicate efficiently to senior management, individual contributors, and between departments. A strong sales leader will know how to effectively communicate goals within and outside his or her department to receive the support necessary for his or her sales team to sell.
- Successful sales leaders will be service-oriented, passionate, and committed. A strong sales leader will be dedicated to growing and nurturing your sales and your sales team; he or she will have a passion for and commitment to his or her company and products, will balance loyalty to customers, his or her team members and to senior management, and will exhibit integrity in his or her own business practices.
- Successful sales leaders continuously interact with customers and continue to articulate the value of your products and services. By maintaining relationships with customers while in a leadership role, he or she will be able drive your sales efforts by continuing to sell, will be able to actively show his or her sales team how to overcome obstacles, and can lead by experience.
- Successful sales leaders know how to make difficult decisions and cut their losses. If the sales team is underperforming, and your sales leader has tried additional training and coaching, he or she will recognize the impact that an underperforming team member, or members, has on your revenue and will take the appropriate steps to make chances within his or her team.
- Successful sales leaders are growth-directed. Your sales leader should know the importance of building a strong sales team and have the capacity to utilize all methods to find, hunt, vet, and close sales talent.
- Successful sales leaders can motivate their sales team through enthusiasm, recognition, and rewards. He or she will build enthusiasm within his team and in between departments, with guidance, support, and continued encouragement.
- Successful sales leaders will manage and lead their sales team by example and delegate the work of the entire sales team appropriately throughout his or her sales team and to himself or herself. He or she will distribute the workload fairly throughout his or her team and have an open-door policy when it comes to managing and supporting his or her individual contributors. By actively participating in the team’s activities, he or she will encourage open communication and teamwork from all levels to overcome obstacles.
- Successful sales leaders will consistently train and coach their sales team, offering guidance, advice, and encouragement. Upon hire and throughout an individual contributor’s employment, a strong sales leader will train and coach his or her team members so that his or her team, as a whole, will continue to overcome obstacles when the market changes and new challenges occur. He or she will also respect individual strengths and weaknesses and tailor training and coaching to each individual contributor’s unique needs.
