Hi, it’s Ben Lai from Sales Ethos. Today I’m continuing on the series of The Many Hats that Sales Professionals Wear, and today’s hat is the leadership hat. Sales professionals are leaders. Leadership and persuasion influence and sales are all synonyms of each other. To be effective at sales, we need to put on a leadership hat. And the more effectively you do this, the more effective you are going to be in your selling efforts.
Sales professionals are leaders because they initiate change
So my first tip for you, to be a leader in your field is to constantly initiate change. One of the key reasons that sales professionals are paid so well is that they have the ability to constantly initiate change. They’re the ones who are approaching companies and having a look at the problems that they’re facing and suggesting ways to overcome those issues. So as a leader, you need to constantly initiate change. I always like to say that as a sales professional, you need to always maintain initiative, AMI. That’s one of my favorite sayings in sales.
Sales professionals are leaders because they accept responsibility for results
Now the second thing that you can do as a leader and as a sales professional is to take responsibility for the results. Now this is more of a mindset thing than an actual practical exercise. But what you need to do is to constantly think of the ways that you can influence situations. Always focus on who is it that I can influence? What can I do? Rather than focusing on the negatives, blaming someone else, your colleagues or your boss for your lack of results, or the markets, or your clients, take responsibility for the results. Always focus on what you can influence and what you can change in order to bring about the sales revenue that you are paid to bring about. Take responsibility for the results.
Now a quick mention. If you are a sales manager or a salesperson yourself, you’re looking for ways to improve your own sales techniques or you want to put together a sales strategy, this can apply to individuals as well as teams, feel free to leave a comment below for a complimentary consultation. I’d be more than happy to have a chat with you to see if we can work together.
Sales professionals are leaders because they are influencers
Now the third thing that you need to do as a sales professional and as a leader is to find ways to constantly influence all the parties involved. Now, leaders always have followers. If you have no followers, you’re not a leader. Now, as a sales professional and a leader, you need to lead your clients. You need to lead the people who are colleagues to the clients, other decision makers. You need to influence your internal stakeholders, the people who are going to be involved in the fulfillment of the order, or you may need to lead even your own manager to take part in the sales discussion. You need to always be considerate of the influence that you have on all of the parties involved. Remember, that you are primarily responsible for your results. And the way that you do that is by influencing others.
Conclusion
So to summarize, a sales professional is a leader because they need to constantly initiate change, they need to take responsibility for the results and avoid blame, and they need to find ways to influence all of the parties involved. So what are some of the ways that you take on this hat as a leader in the sales profession? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below. Don’t forget to like and subscribe and remember that integrity plus skills equals success.
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Sales Ethos is the only provider of sales training for introverts. We also provide sales coaching, sales process consulting, and sales training in Melbourne & Adelaide.
Transcript by Rev.com