Today, I will be sharing actionable insights to empower your sales team and drive exceptional results.
In today’s fast-paced business landscape, the key to sustainable sales success lies in fostering a people-centric sales culture.
But what does that really mean?
It is all about prioritising the well-being, development, and success of individuals within your organisation. Instead of treating your team members as mere resources, think of them as your greatest asset. When you cultivate a culture of trust, respect, and open communication, you empower your colleagues to reach their full potential.
Now, let’s debunk a common misconception: the idea that people-centric leadership may not align with sales goals. Prioritising people in your sales strategy can be the catalyst for driving exceptional sales performance and fostering long-term customer relationships.
So, how can you implement people-centric leadership in your sales organisation? Let’s explore four key strategies:
1. Invest in Continuous Training and Development
Your sales team is only as strong as their mindset and skills. By providing ongoing training and development opportunities, such as coaching, workshops and mentorship programmes, you empower your team to stay ahead of industry trends and sharpen their selling resilience and abilities.
Did you know that companies that invest in continuous training for their sales teams experience 50% higher net sales per employee?
In our recent LinkedIn LIVE discussion, Andy Champion emphasised the importance of autonomy & accountability to cultivate an environment where sales professionals are encouraged to make decisions and take ownership. This is critical when seeking to foster a sense of empowerment and accountability. Discretionary effort is a sign of how well you are doing here. If your organisation is not developing you beyond what you are doing for yourself, states Andy, then perhaps you are in the wrong organisation.
Additionally, Andy mentioned he uses as a sales leader, the situational leadership model, developed by Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard, which suggests that effective leadership depends on adapting one’s style to the follower’s development level. The four leadership styles are:
- Telling, Directing, or Guiding
- Selling, Coaching, or Explaining
- Participating, Supporting, or Facilitating
- Delegating, Observing, or Monitoring
This model emphasises that leaders should adjust their approach based on the follower’s performance readiness, which includes their ability and willingness to perform a specific task. This flexibility allows leaders to guide and develop their team members effectively.
2. Promote a Collaborative and Supportive Culture
Collaboration breeds success. Foster a culture where team members feel valued, respected, and supported. Encourage knowledge-sharing sessions and cross-departmental collaboration.
In my interview with Barrett King on Scale Your Sales Podcast, he talks about dumbing down the lone-wolf sales attributes and the importance of sales team collaboration, which stems from a culture of transparency.
Remember, the job of a leader is not to be the smartest person in the room, Andy quotes Richard Branson. Andy highlighted the importance of leaders actively listening to your team members, providing constructive feedback, and leading by example, encouraging open communication to build trust and strengthen relationships within the sales organisation. No one of us is as smart as all of us. The sales leaders must walk the talk and demonstrate the behaviours they expect to see.
Andy also mentioned the feedback tool, The SBI (Situation-Behaviour-Impact) feedback model, which is a structured approach to providing effective feedback. It involves:
- Describing the specific Situation you observed.
- Objectively describing the Behaviour, you observed.
- Explaining the Impact that behaviour had.
This model helps ensure feedback is specific, objective, and focused on improvement.
Like Barrett King, I use the STAR approach, a structured method for analysing and responding to behaviour. It involves describing a specific Situation faced, the Task needed to accomplish, the Action taken, and the Result achieved. This structured approach helps demonstrate your skills and experience in a clear, concise manner, and is often used during job interviews. However, I use this method to give and elicit better feedback and to draw out contextual behaviours linked to impact or results.
3. Actively Listen and Adapt to Customer Needs
Your customers are the heartbeat of your business. Actively seeking and prioritising the needs and preferences of others by actively listening to their feedback and adapting your sales approach accordingly. Remember, customer-centric cultures start from within, so encourage your sales team to cultivate strong relationships with clients built on trust and empathy. Organisations that prioritise customer-centricity experience 60% higher profits compared to their competitors. You must demonstrate active listening at all levels within your organisation to be able to replicate it consistently with your customers externally. Active listening is crucial for effective sales.
Research from OMG states that – The top 10% of salespeople excel in listening over talking, showing a 375% larger difference compared to other insights.
4. Coaching, Mentoring, and Recognition
Coaching is the secret sauce of sales success. Allocate time to coach and develop your people. Research shows that coaching can increase average deal size, sales activity, win rates, and new leads by 25%-40%.
A formal sales coaching strategy reaches 91% quota attainment. Informal coaching reaches 85%. Statistics from a global LinkedIn program support our results; it found that “coached reps attain quota at an average rate 22%-26% higher than their non-coached peers.” Analyst firm SiriusDecisions also ties coaching and continuous sales learning to improved rep tenure and lifetime contribution.
In our LIVE discussion, Andy advocated for his entire team to have a mentor, champion, or sponsor either internal or external or both. For coaches and mentors to serve the entire sales organisation, it must be integrated into the culture from hiring to development, management, and leadership.
The fact is that:
- Some sales managers are not particularly interested in coaching.
- Some sales managers do not know the appropriate times to coach.
- Some sales managers do not know the proper approaches for coaching.
- Most sales managers have not created a sales environment or culture that is conducive to coaching.
- Most sales managers are simply not effective when it comes to coaching salespeople.
I advocate for a data-informed approach that is sales-specific predictive and verified to have a measurable impact on sales performance.
Imagine a scenario where you are guaranteed the recommended sales candidate is 92% and will be in the top quartile of performers within the first year. Imagine turning the candidate assessment into your coaching guidance to kickstart the onboarding success plan. Imagine a sales-specific assessment of the entire team and each manager having the coach notes to guide each individual to be the best they can be into the top quartile of consistent performance.
Imagine making the dark black hole of sales performance that you pull a forecast out of, into a clear crystal ball of consistent performers and coaching managers. This is what I help sales leaders uncover real actionable data from which to successfully develop their elite sales team to execute the business plan.
Prioritising people in your sales strategy and motion is a strategic imperative for driving sustainable sales success. By implementing these actionable strategies, you can create a culture of growth, empowerment, and collaboration that supercharges your sales efforts and fosters long-term customer relationships.
Feel free to share your thoughts and insights in the comments below. Together, let’s unlock the full potential of people-centric sales leadership!
