Sales Management and Leadership – They aren't the same!

Today Sales Managers usually have two roles. First, they have to manage and administer the sales team. Second, they are also expected to demonstrate Leadership of the sales team. These are two different roles.

Most Sales Managers are trained in the management and administration skills, but few are taught Leadership. They are simply expected to Lead â€" a very poor and risky strategy.

I want to discuss General Leadership development first.

Leadership â€" Setting Visions/Goals and then empowering and motivating others to accomplish those Visions/Goals.

Some people demonstrate Leadership skills naturally. We saw them as we were growing up. They were the student council leaders, athletic team captains, club presidents, etc.

Most managers will need training in Leadership and that takes a commitment from the corporation because it will take time and dedication. But the rewards can be phenomenal. The company will have to:

• Commit to the development of people.

• Commit to developmental programs - the key word for training is developmental.

• Commitment to the long haul, unfortunately, nothing good ever seems to happen quickly. So the corporation must keep driving people development regardless of other initiatives, programs, and events.

>From our experience, it takes a minimum of 6â€" 12 months and you shouldn't rush it. This is not an event.

There are 3 stages of development.

• Bring the "Leadership vision" into the culture â€" make it part of the organization and start to get "buy in" from all the future participants. Create anticipation.

• Conduct the development programs company wide â€" bring in all the departments. This will create Leaders throughout the organization as well as enhance the overall working environment.

• Re-enforce training, support it, and use it. Make the training part of regular personnel assessments, reviews, etc. You get what you inspect.

Leadership is not just the CEO or president; it must be in all levels of a corporation.

Imagine how your company's bottom line would be affected if all your managers could fulfill a Leadership role when needed and therefore improved performance by just 3% - 8% or more?

Now, Sales Team Leadership can do that and much more.

The Sales Team Leader needs to do two things â€" develop the teams' skills and then lead them to success.

• First, the Leader must know the skills and knowledge base that each team member needs to do their job.

• Second, the Leader must rate each team member's competency in each skill and knowledge base.

• Third, train and enhance skills and knowledge where needed.

Why is this necessary?

We can't simply allow people to develop on their own. If you want your people to perform the skills and use the knowledge base competently you must teach them the skills and knowledge base you want them to use. If you leave it up to them, they will learn something. Hoping it is what you want is really risky.

No one has a "skill vacuum." If they aren't taught, they will create it themselves. Just like children, if you don't teach them your values, they will create their own. If the need is there, it will be met, somehow.

Now the Leadership role grows. Once the goals for the sales team are set every Leader does the following in some form.

1. Create a Vision for each of the tasks

2. Create the Team to develop and achieve the GPS - that is, the Goal, Plan, and Steps to accomplish the Vision

3. Empower the Team

4. Produce Short Term successes to keep the GPS alive

5. Stick with it for the Long Haul

# 5 may be the most important step. How many of you have been in companies who get all excited about a new program, push it hard for a few weeks, and then get all excited about another program? The first program never has success because it was not given time to develop.

In conclusion, Leadership offers many benefits and most organizations will need to specifically develop this skill for its managers. It takes Leadership to bring it in, however.

The rewards will be well worth the effort.

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About William J. Truax


And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Naming Your Local Business

Pothole Pictures: Normally this name wouldn't create a positive image for a movie theater. But in Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts, where glacial potholes in the Deerfield River running through the village are a cherished part of the landscape, the name works well.

When naming a business whose geographical reach and clientele are mainly local, you can use nicknames, regional or city lore, local in-jokes and historical references that might be lost on outsiders. Subliminally, these kinds of names drive home the message, "We're rooted in your community."

Besides features of the landscape, consider these sources of inspiration:

* City nicknames. Some residents of Northampton, Massachusetts affectionately refer to it as "Noho," so a local studio calls itself Noho Yoga. Happy Valley Gifts in nearby Amherst also plays off a local nickname.

* Historical references. Paradise Copies, Paradise Spa and Paradise Taxi all refer to the locally well-known fact that in 1851, Swedish singer Jenny Lind pronounced Northampton "the Paradise of America." Likewise, residents understand that the Calvin Theater pays homage to Calvin Coolidge, who before becoming U.S. president served as mayor of Northampton.

* Archaic names. Geographical names no longer in use may have the same sort of cachet for locals in the know. Norwottuck Realty Company and Nonotuck Community School both make reference to Native American names for what is now Northampton.

* Local in-jokes. Upingil Farm in Gill, Massachusetts "humorously describes its location perfectly for those of us who live here," a colleague tells me. "I'm sure the owner of the farm has been referred to as 'Mr. Upingil' by outsiders who don't understand the pun in the farm's name."

Homegrown industries and the mascots for high school and college athletic teams in the area can also inspire business names with a local aura.

What about locally inspired names for companies doing business nationally or internationally? In most cases, such a name won't register meaningfully at a distance. It won't hurt but won't help the business, either. At worst, such a name can backfire.

For instance, Nobscot Corporation is named after an Algonquin Indian word meaning "rocky place," and alludes to a hamlet in Massachusetts frequented by author Henry David Thoreau. Nobscot comes across respectably in the U.S. but evokes snickers in England, where "nob" is slang for a private part of the male anatomy.

Use my examples from Massachusetts to spark insights and ideas for your own locale if you have a local business to name!

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About Marcia Yudkin

Marcia Yudkin is the author of 6 Steps to Free Publicity and ten other books hailed for outstanding creativity. Find out more about her new discount naming company, Named At Last, which brainstorms new company names, new product names, tag lines and more for cost-conscious organizations, at http://www.NamedAtLast.com.