The 11 Secrets to Sales Leadership
There
is a difference between sales orientation and sales training.
Orientation is the first step in a process that should involve
a complete explanation of the sales process and then lots
and lots of practice and hands on experience with every aspect
of that process. Most sales personnel fail because of a lack
of training, not a lack of ability. We have been delivering
highly effective sales training programs to American businesses
for over 25 years. Our Consultative
Selling Skills program is considered the gold standard
of all sales training programs. The difference between an
orientation and a true training program can be measured in
dollars for your company and your pocket. Don’t settle
for anything less.
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information or to Register for a seminar, class, or training
workshop Click
here
In his
classic book, “Think and Grow Rich”, Napoleon
Hill discussed the eleven secrets of leadership. Recently,
as I was reading the book, it occurred to me that the attributes
of strong leadership and effective selling have a tremendous
amount in common. After all, to be really successful in sales,
you need to be a leader, both within your own organization,
as well as to your
clients and customers.
To paraphrase
management guru Peter Drucker, a leader is someone who not
only does things right, but who also does the right
things, while helping others do the same. The same holds
true in sales: how better to serve your clients than to really
know and understand what they do, and to truly help them do
it better?
With that
in mind, here are Mr. Hill’s eleven secrets to leadership,
as they apply to leadership in selling:
1. “Unwavering
Courage”: Selling successfully requires courage; taking
a risk where the odds may seem stacked against you; courage
to make that extra call, to deal with the tough client or
prospect, and to not let anything deter you. As Hill says,
courage is “based upon knowledge of self and one’s
occupation.
2. “Self-Control”:
The ability to set a course for yourself and take disciplined
action each day is a key attribute of all successful salespeople.
3. “A
keen sense of justice”: Knowing
right from wrong - understanding what is fair and just
- allows you to make, wise informed decisions.
4. “Definiteness
of decision”: Deciding on what you want to achieve,
and then doing whatever it takes to get there, even in the
face of obstacles and setbacks, is crucial to your success.
For those who don’t quite make it, failure can usually
be traced back to a lack of decisiveness about what they really
want.
5. “Definiteness
of plans”: In Hill’s words, “the successful
leader must plan his work, and work his plan. Truer words
were never spoken when it comes to selling. Plan your time,
and then take action on your plan each and every day.
6. “The
habit of doing more than paid for”: Want to sell more?
Go the extra mile for your clients. Want to get the respect,
admiration, and cooperation from your internal “clients”
– the people you need to rely on to implement or help
you close sales? Go the distance for them as well.
7. “A
pleasing personality”: Is selling a popularity contest?
No, but would you buy something from someone who was nasty
and rude?
8. “Sympathy
and understanding:” Selling is about understanding what
people DO, and then helping them do it better. Plain and simple.
9. “Mastery
of detail”: Ah, yes… The devil, as they say, is
in the details. Ever work really hard to close a sale, only
to have it fall apart because of some small detail that falls
through the cracks? What may seem like a small detail to you
can be a crucial one, maybe even a deal-breaker, to your prospect,
customer, or client.
10. “Willingness
to assume full responsibility”: No matter how much customer
support your company provides, you are the prime representative
of your organization. If you try to pass the buck to someone
else, you lose respect
and credibility. “But it really wasn’t my
fault that the shipment was delayed in customs and then the
delivery truck was attacked a pack of wild dogs…”
Doesn’t matter; accept the responsibility for any problem
and all details, and then do whatever needs to be done to
make things right. Your clients need to know that you are
their advocate.
11. “Cooperation”:
You can’t do it alone. Sales is a collaborative effort.
Your prospects need to collaborate with you; you need the
cooperation and assistance of others both inside and outside
your organization to make things happen. The best salespeople
are those who can work well with others, and with whom other
people want to work.
Think
about these eleven areas of leadership, and ask yourself how
you do on each of these items. Find areas where you can make
improvements and chart your course to work on improving what
you do each day; incremental improvements each day become
exponential over time.
By: Mark
Dembo
Boston
Sales Skills
- Become A Leader In Sales
Sales
Training Program Quote
"Whenever an individual or a business decides that
success has been attained, progress stops."
Thomas J. Watson
Suggested
Reading:
Building
Foodservice Sales: Leaders Guide
by Educational Foundation
The
Little Red Book of Selling : 12.5
Principles of Sales Greatness
by Jeffrey Gitomer
Sales
Coaching: Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales
Coach
by Linda Richardson
The
25 Sales Habits of Highly Successful
Salespeople
by Stephan Schiffman
Outsourcing
the Sales Function : The Real Costs of Field Sales
by Erin Anderson, Bob Trinkle
Major
Account Sales Strategy
by Neil Rackham
Zig
Ziglar's Secrets of Closing the Sale
by Zig Ziglar
Killing The Sale : The 10 Fatal Mistakes Salespeople Make
& How To Avoid Them
by Todd Duncan
For
Sale by Owner in California (For Sale By Owner California
Edition)
by George Devine
The
25 Sales Strategies That Will Boost Your Sales Today!
by Stephan Schiffman
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