Through nearly four decades and thousands of assessments, Omnia has researched and validated the characteristics that define the quintessential sales personality. Personally, I have a passion for helping professionals who don’t have these traditional traits consider which sales roles would fit them best. I also agree with Daniel Pink when he says we are all in sales. But that’s a topic for another blog to be written, so back to the point here.
In the dynamic world of sales, success often hinges not just on personal drive and people skills but on a deeper understanding of the nuances of human behavior, market trends, and strategic planning. While some sales roles may emphasize the need for a gregarious, outgoing personality, there’s a niche where a supportive, analytical, methodical, and structured approach can lead to amazing fulfillment and success.
We have found that there is a role for almost every personality type in sales. Let’s delve into the realm of sales roles that demand a different set of skills — ones that cater to those who thrive on data-driven decision-making, meticulous planning, and providing unwavering support to customers.
The Omnia Behavioral Assessment measures 4 distinct personality traits — assertiveness, communication style, pace and structure. There’s a lot that goes into each of these traits that you can read about here. Traditional sales roles typically call for an individual whose traits are highly assertive, less cautious, less supportive (think more me vs. we), outgoing, intuitive, fast paced, autonomous and resilient.
There are many types of selling roles that are also conducive to someone less gregarious, more analytical, methodical and detail oriented. Within our 17 personality groups, these characteristics fall into our analytical personality types.
An analytical sales personality is one that finds fulfillment in dissecting data, identifying patterns, and drawing insights that guide strategic decisions. Individuals with these traits have a keen eye for detail, an innate curiosity to understand the underlying mechanics of a market, and the patience to navigate complex scenarios methodically.
Selling across the enterprise of a business often involves multiple stakeholders, intricate procurement processes, and long sales cycles. They also typically involve a high price point. These types of sales are not for the faint-hearted. An analytical approach is indispensable. Enterprise sales professionals must meticulously examine the needs of each stakeholder, map out the decision-making hierarchy, consider the internal politics, and craft tailored solutions backed by solid data and insights.
In consultative sales roles, success hinges on the ability to deeply understand the challenges faced by customers and propose solutions that address their pain points effectively. An analytical mindset enables sales professionals to conduct thorough needs assessments, perform root cause analyses, and present data-driven recommendations that resonate with clients.
Within industries driven by technology, such as software, hardware, or engineering solutions, technical sales roles require a blend of domain expertise and analytical prowess. Sales professionals must possess a deep understanding of the technical intricacies of their offerings and be adept at translating complex concepts into tangible benefits for customers.
While the typical sales professional is hugely assertive and fast paced, there are benefits to having traits that fall into the categories of being more supportive, methodical and structured. Our reports display an individual’s results in the form of columns. We see many participant results depict very strong personality traits in one or the other, which comes in the form of an extremely high column on any of these dimensions. In the above sales roles, it can be beneficial if an individual’s columns are less extreme. And most people, after all, are never only one thing versus the other.
We all possess a balance of these characteristics. It’s important not to fall prey to a stereotype but lean into your unique traits and embrace your strengths or those of a candidate who demonstrates a solid sales track record and/or a deep propensity and desire to go into sales. Here are some other nonconventional characteristics that can be very beneficial in sales roles.
Building trust, cultivating long-term relationships, and providing exemplary customer service are paramount. A supportive sales approach involves actively listening to customer needs, empathizing with their challenges, and serving as a trusted advisor throughout the buyer's journey.
This entails developing well-defined sales processes, setting clear objectives, and leveraging tools and frameworks to streamline workflows. From prospecting and lead qualification to closing deals and post-sales support, adhering to a structured methodology ensures consistency and efficiency in sales operations.
In the ever-evolving landscape of sales, there exists a niche for individuals with a supportive, analytical, methodical, and structured approach. Sales roles that demand these qualities offer diverse opportunities for professionals to leverage their strengths in data analysis, strategic planning, and customer-centricity. By embracing the analytical edge and cultivating a supportive demeanor, sales professionals can excel in roles where precision, insight, and empathy are required above all else.
Want to learn more about your unique sales traits and strengths? Try our complimentary assessment, and a member of our team will contact you to debrief your results.
We all have our own image of what a salesperson looks and acts like. Maybe you think of someone in a business suit who wines-and-dines clients at expensive restaurants. Or perhaps someone who frantically runs back and forth between multiple customers, trying to get each of them to commit to a purchase, springs to mind. In reality, salespeople are much more complex than these caricatures.
In our nearly four decades in business, with thousands of assessments under our belt, Omnia has uncovered the characteristics that define the quintessential sales personality. Not surprisingly, it all starts with…
Ambition is a fundamental attribute for a salesperson. This trait is shown by a tall column 1 on the Omnia Assessment and indicates a competitive spirit, strong assertiveness, and the determination to go after new business. Confident, goal-oriented salespeople take bold, proactive measures to seek out new opportunities and develop them into new clients and revenue streams. They can directly ask a prospect for the sale (and keep on asking if needed). They are motivated by the thrill of the hunt, and they want to be rewarded for their individual successes.
They want to prove themselves through their achievements and enjoy being able to keep score. That can look like receiving a big paycheck, winning sales competitions, and having their names on the top of a sales leaderboard. They are comfortable taking chances, and that extends to their ease with at-risk pay. These salespeople often prefer having a smaller base salary with a large percentage of performance-based pay; some may even want a 100% commission pay structure. This inspires them to take more risks and keep pressing for sales.
Omnia’s traditional sales benchmark possesses an approachable demeanor and a socially outgoing communication style, shown by a tall column 3. These salespeople are energized by being around others and can strike up conversations easily, even with people they don’t know; this ability can be hugely helpful to garner leads and ask for referrals.
Their expressive, engaging personality is often valuable in sales roles that require strong rapport-building skills and the need to maintain strong relationships with potential and existing customers. This communication style is also beneficial in positions where the individual must use emotionally compelling appeals to sell the product or service. These salespeople are adept at reading prospects’ social cues and understanding how to phrase their pitches and construct their presentations in a way that most appeals to their audience.
The classic sales personality works at a fast pace and is comfortable with the dynamic, sometimes hectic, nature of a sales position. This is evidenced by a tall column 5. Salespeople with this personality want to close sales as quickly as possible so they can move on to the next lead; as such, they prefer working in a short sales cycle.
These salespeople can work on several deals at once and do not feel rattled when they have to rearrange their schedule at the last minute to meet with an interested prospect — anything to capitalize on a promising opportunity! Similarly, they are not fazed when their manager sets ambitious deadlines for them.
The ability to bounce back quickly is another key characteristic of the traditional sales personality, and it is shown by a tall column 7. These salespeople can roll with the punches when faced with turndowns or other setbacks. While they may not like hearing No (and may work very hard to change it to a Yes), if the sales attempt ultimately fizzles, they can turn their focus toward the next opportunity and keep moving forward. That kind of rejection may cause many of us to look for a safe place to recover (or maybe that’s just me), but for this personality, it simply adds fuel to their fire to ensure the next deal gets closed.
Because these salespeople understand — and are okay with the fact — that things won’t always go as planned, they are comfortable trying novel or untested approaches. They don’t have to use the same methods for every sale. Actually, they enjoy being able to innovate and figure things out on the fly.
They don’t feel the need to ask their manager for guidance or permission often (or maybe ever). These independent salespeople prefer having ample latitude to make decisions on their own, and they prefer a manager who lets them work autonomously and who focuses more on the end result of making deals than the processes used to achieve them.
The classic sales personality is multifaceted, and all of the various aspects work together to create a dynamic salesperson. Sales roles are multifaceted too, and some require a slightly different sales persona. Check back next week when Keather Snyder discusses less conventional, but no less successful, personality characteristics that you may benefit from adding to your sales team.
Curious about the sales personalities on your staff? Try our Sales Style report to uncover each person’s unique traits and understand the best way to manage and motivate them to success.
Speaking to a group of sales executives a few months ago, I posed this question to the room –“how many of you have made a bad hiring decision?” Every single person in the room raised their hand. If you’ve hired people for any length of time, you are bound to have made at least one mistake. Hiring the wrong salesperson can be even more common – especially seasoned salespeople who are skilled in selling themselves in interviews.
Given that this is the month of horror movies, we thought it would be fun to tell some sales-hiring horror tales. In this blog, I’m sharing some of the darkest scenarios my network was willing to share with me. The only thing I wish is that they could have been told under a full moon, around a blazing campfire with howling winds bristling tree branches. But honestly – making a bad hiring decision is scary enough without the audiovisual effects.
Here are some tales narrated by industry colleagues. Read on if you dare.
We once hired someone who never resigned from their prior company after accepting a sales position at ours. They covered it well for the first few months, but after several missed sales calls and team meetings, we got suspect. And what made it even worse than the fact that this person was trying to hold onto two full-time jobs, the other company was a competitor!
We had a salesperson who appeared to be one of those rock star overnight successes. She landed huge contracts with highly regarded multinational companies in record time. Our sales leader strutted her on stage touting her lightning speed hunter capabilities while pretty much shaming all of us. Turns out this person was falsifying customer contracts and ended up facing charges for federal wire fraud. Needless to say, employee engagement took a big dive during that time too.
We hired someone who had high scores on an assessment we were using at the time. On her resume, she had changed positions often, which was a red flag, but we trusted the tool. She was professional, friendly and interviewed well. Once in the role, it was clear she oversold herself. She really struggled with the fundamentals. She had shared many times that her husband was a seasoned sales professional. We’re pretty sure he took the assessment for her.
Two colleagues had the same horror story with somewhat different plot lines. They hired employees who never showed up on the first day. Turns out one was doing time in jail for a DUI when the start date came around. The other person just seemed to disappear for what would seem like an eternity – until they showed up on social media enthusiastically posting from another company.
One colleague in my network asked a great question when I was asking for these horror stories. She wondered if errors of omission could also lead to a hiring nightmare – especially when top talent is so hard to find. Thankfully they avoided it by revising their hiring criteria… During a recent recruiting process, we had a referral from an employee, but the referral didn't have a degree, which was a requirement in the job description. She campaigned for the hiring manager to at least give this woman a chance considering her stellar record of success and the high praise from an employee. We ended up hiring her and even promoting her a few years later.
If we ever are sitting around a campfire together, I’ll be glad to terrorize you with some personal horror stories of my own. Unfortunately, there are some scary ones and I’ve had my share of mistakes. The good news is the drama that goes along with a selection process doesn’t have to end horribly if we follow a thorough selection process and do our jobs well when it comes to onboarding, development, coaching, and performance management. Take the time to do your due diligence when hiring. Act swiftly as soon as you get the “spidey” sense that something is awry post-hire.
This graphic depicts Omnia’s view of selection best practices and the weight by % each factor should have on your final decision. While it pains me to hear the tale of the assessment not working out, we strongly encourage our clients to use other factors when making hiring decisions. And to the point of omission, this is a great time to re-visit your job requirements. For the sales hire committing fraud – turns out she had done that at 2 other companies prior. This might have been uncovered in reference calls or a background check.
To avoid being the star of your own horror movie, where the audience is yelling at you to avoid the dark hallway and to not open that doorway when the scary music is playing in the background, follow these steps and consider each factor of the selection criteria. It will make for a much more rewarding experience – for the people in your company who are like the viewers of a bad horror flick, for your clients, and you.
Even if you’ve never seen the movie A League of Their Own, it’s likely you’re familiar with the scene where Tom Hanks loses his temper and famously rants, “There’s no crying in baseball!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M8szlSa-8o. As a sales leader, I’m sure you’ve had a similar feeling and fought back that same sort of emotional reaction when one of your salespeople has done something that’s utterly mindboggling to you. Let’s face it, selling can be hard, and coaching salespeople can be even harder.
I’m a huge fan of the 1992 film A League of Their Own - a mostly fictionalized account of the early days of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) and its stars. Founded by Philip K. Wrigley to keep baseball alive while the world was at war, the league existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the United States. Over 600 women played in the league, which consisted of eventually 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948, league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team, the Rockford Peaches, won a league-best four championships.
Tom Hanks plays Jimmy Dugan, a maimed and drunken former all-star who reluctantly agrees to coach the Rockford Peaches. It takes him awhile to wake up for the games and once he finally does, he struggles with how to coach without yelling and cussing relentlessly at his players. Over the course of the movie, Jimmy sobers up and learns about each of his players and how to bring out the best in them. Like Jimmy’s team, your salespeople likely come in many forms and have a mix of personalities. These differences call for adaptation in the way you develop, coach and motivate your team. And losing your cool on them is never a great strategy.
Through 35 years of personality data analysis, The Omnia Group has identified 17 distinct personality groups. They break down even further into unique sales styles. After recently watching A League of Their Own again, I got to thinking about these characters and how I would slot them into these personality groups and the challenges a sales leader could have in coaching any of them.
There’s one commonality among every sales style. In Omnia terms - they all have a tall column 1 – level of assertiveness. The uniqueness comes through in the other 3 traits.
In Omnia’s eight-column instrument the Visionary Personality style is a 1-3-5-7. This is a classic sales personality. Dottie is assertive, competitive, outgoing, fast-paced, and decisive. Visionaries are optimistic, expressive, and determined to win. Visionaries accept risk for high reward and naturally take charge in any setting. In the movie, while manager Jimmy Dugan sleeps, Dottie creates the lineup and coaches throughout the game. The day Jimmy wakes up and challenges her calls and hand signals, she swiftly snaps at him telling him to get his act together. She also quickly becomes the fan and media favorite as the catcher who rarely misses a catch even while doing the splits to get a photo-op to help promote the league.
Visionaries aren’t afraid of speaking up and speaking out when they see something wrong. This can cause some coaching challenges for a sales leader who isn’t confident and strong in their own position. Visionaries are forthright with their opinions, comfortable with conflict and push back when they don’t agree with you. As a sales leader, you may have to keep your own ego in check and be OK with not having all the right answers. If you’ve got a strong visionary on your team who hits their numbers while earning the respect of their teammates and clients, the best thing you can do is be there when they need you and not when they don’t. Let your visionary shine and thrive. Your role is to support and guide them while removing any obstacles on their path to success.
In many ways we wish all salespeople could be like Dottie Hinson. But you need more than one player on the team, and there are benefits to having players with other traits.
With Omnia columns 1-3-6-7, there’s a not-so-subtle nuance between the visionary and the persistent visionary. And that’s their love of doing things their way and at their own deliberate pace. Stubborn? Yes! This is Kit to a tee. Assertive, outgoing, independent, patient, and focused, the persistent visionary is committed to results and loves the limelight. Kit can’t wait to get to the big city, play in the competitive league and make a stadium full of new friends. She struggles under Dottie’s shadow and bossiness.
Persistent visionaries are motivated by individuality and will likely push back on coaching they don’t agree with. They aren’t inclined to back down easily and like doing things their way to get the project complete. Your persistent visionary can get stuck on a deal that isn’t likely to close and work themselves tirelessly not wanting to give up while leaving other deals untouched. Don’t let them stubbornly chip away at a lost cause. Kit loved swatting at high balls and never wanted to be taken out of the game when her pitching arm was shot. As a coach, you’ve got to stroke the ego and nurture the confidence in a persistent visionary while helping keep their eye on the right ball. Keep them aimed at the long-term outcomes and goals. Give them assurances along the way and be prepared for a few battles if they don’t agree with your thinking. They do not like being told how to do things. They will persist! Dottie referred to Kit as “mule” throughout the movie quite fittingly. That stubbornness can pay off though if guided positively. Spoiler alert: Kit’s stubbornness makes a difference in the final game.
Columns 1-3-5-8, the assertive diplomat nuance comes in the column 8’s need for structure, detail, and perfection. Ellen Sue is the essence of an assertive diplomat. As a former Miss Georgia, she is the image of a fierce competitor with the grace and diplomacy of a southern socialite. She’s a relentlessly strong relief pitcher, and my favorite scene comes when she takes out a heckling fan yelling “girls can’t play baseball” when she aims a fast pitch directly his way instead of the plate.
Assertive diplomats are just as competitive and outgoing as the rest. They are quick-paced, but also very accommodating. They are committed to quality outcomes while ensuring team engagement. Ellen Sue wrote the team song and led the singing of it each game through the reunion at the end of the movie. When it comes to coaching, be specific and detailed in your feedback. Salespeople with this personality style like having a clear picture of what’s expected, with guidance and support to do their work along the way. They respect and appreciate procedures. Make sure guidelines are clear, and that compliments come often. A salesperson with this unique personality style thrives on positive feedback and affirmation. If they get feedback about getting something wrong or make a mistake, they can take it very personally and could need some propping up before going back to bat again. When your team needs propping up and working through challenges, you’ll be glad to have a person like this with the spunk and diplomacy to help cheer everyone on.
Fans of the movie will remember the moment Marla Hootch is introduced at the gym where she hits continual solid line drives through multiple gym windows. The assertive analytic, columns 1-4-5-8, is assertive, direct, pragmatic, fast-paced, and by the book. A senior, highly developed salesperson with the assertive analytic personality style will be considered the expert in the field who everyone goes to for their knowledge, skill, and expertise. They get right down to business and are more analytical and intentional than any other sales personality. They’re natural multi-taskers and excel at problem-solving. They thrive on data-intensive work, love processes and structure, and do everything with precision.
What’s interesting about this personality to me is their quiet strength. This isn’t going to be the loudest person on your team. In fact, you may often overlook critical input or creativity from this person because they aren’t the one who is talking first. You could go through an entire sales huddle and never hear from this person. They don’t talk just to hear themselves or process extemporaneously like some of the other personalities on your team. But, when they speak you want to listen. Anything they have to say will be backed with data, acts, and objectivity.
The best coaches have consistent winning seasons because they know how to bring out the best of their players and leverage the talent across their team. The greatest sales leaders who consistently exceed their sales targets do so by getting the best out of all their salespeople. No salesperson is the same. The more time you spend getting to know the unique traits and motivations of your individual salespeople, the easier it will be to lead them, develop them, and help them reach peak performance. I can’t guarantee there still won’t be a few tears. But when you realize what lifts someone up and makes them want to do better, and what demoralizes them you can get to the heart of how to help someone thrive.
Selling is hard. That’s why we pay salespeople the big commission for winning the deals. And I believe that leading a team of dynamic and diverse sales personalities is even harder. I know 25 years in, I still make mistakes. I l haven’t figured it all out and have some daily struggles that can leave me rendered speechless looking like Tom Hanks. The good news is his character evolves and he got better at the end with Evelyn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8kP3vKaDRE. We can too.
When times get tough for me, I think of that scene when Jimmy Dugan is talking to Dottie about staying to finish the season. It strikes the point perfectly. He tells her baseball is something that just gets inside of you. I believe that selling and the challenge of succeeding at sales is very similar. When Dottie tells him it just got too hard, he says…” It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.” Getting greatness out of your team – leading them to be their very best and seeing their success is what makes it great.
Ready to get started? To get to know your team better, contact us to assess your sales team and get an Omnia Sales Style report that outlines each sales person’s unique personality along with developmental insights and motivational tips.
Hiring the right person the first time is the hardest part of recruitment. These days, people have plenty of choices when it comes to their next opportunity. The average cost of a bad hire is up to 30% of the employee’s first-year earnings according to the U.S. Department of Labor. However, one report from the CEO of Link Humans puts the average cost as high as $240,000 in expenses. When broken down, the costs relate to hiring, retention, and pay. This is especially true when hiring someone for your sales team, as the cost increases due to lost revenue opportunities.
When calculating the cost of a bad hire, consider:
The best way to stay focused and secure a successful hire is to have a plan and to remain dedicated to working the plan.
If you are like many companies, you don’t have a designated HR department. If you are like many managers, hiring is a headache. Hiring is risky, there are no guarantees, and people will always have a few unpredictable gray areas. In other words, people are not always consistent. We are impacted by things like our morning commute, our grumpy but talented coworker, or a boss who doesn’t take the time to get to know their team. The need for an individual who is comfortable with the work AND the workplace is critical.
Obviously, this is a task to consider carefully. The steps below will help you to focus on attaining a successful hire and avoid costly mistakes. While no process is perfect when dealing with human beings, staying on plan can give you the edge you need.
Step 1: Develop a new hire checklist, identify your needs, and identify what doesn’t work.
For example, individuals who need a great deal of recognition might not be happy in an inconspicuous job, and passive people could avoid tasks like cold calling or taking aggressive actions.
In this step, identify the exact traits you’d like for members of your sales team. For example, to be successful in sales, one has to be assertive. With the Omnia Assessment, this equates to a tall column 1 (as indicated above).
Step 2: Identify recruiting channels. Don’t only seek experienced applicants because that can lead to the “recycling” of unsuccessful yet “experienced” individuals. Remember, recruiting is not one person’s exclusive responsibility. Every supervisor/manager should have an ongoing goal that states, “Through my own networking, during hiring times, I will solicit and present two viable candidates per month.” This is especially true for anyone with a private office and a door!
It is easy to get comfortable in your own office but getting out in the community and letting people know you’re looking for talent is wonderful PR. The type of position does NOT matter. Networking is important whether you’re recruiting an executive assistant for yourself, a sales rep, or a manager. For salespeople, be very active in recruiting on LinkedIn.
Step 3: Get professional assistance if you use online job boards and/or classified advertising on the Internet or the newspaper. Asking someone unbiased questions about your ad’s content will result in more qualified responses. The more targeted your advertising is, the less filtering you’ll have to do.
Step 4: Filter your response using the list of traits identified in Step 1. Watch for “date blending” on resumes and resumes that contain only years. Send “not interested” letters to the appropriate candidates. Remember the rule of thumb – disgruntled people reach at least ten others. Happy people tell only one or two. This, like networking, is very inexpensive positive PR.
Step 5: Contact applicants and schedule a five-minute phone screening interview. Explain your process to the candidate.
Step 6: Send qualified candidates an Omnia assessment. With the Omnia Assessment, you go into the interview prepared with specific details on the personality traits of the individual being considered. You’re going to want to focus on candidates with tall 1-3-5-7 columns, like the image above.
Step 7: Interview the candidates in person or via video at least two times on two different days. There are many reasons for two interviews: to ensure they arrive on time both days, to ask a couple of duplicate questions to check consistency, and to give them a chance to ask additional questions they didn’t think of on their first visit.
Interview using both traditional questions, such as “How many hours did you work at XYZ Company?” or “What is your ideal job?” and behavioral questions, such as “Tell me about the last time you had to deal with an irate client” or “Tell me how you ranked competitively among the local sales team for the last quarter.”
Step 8: Have at least one additional interviewer meet the applicant, and have the applicant meet with at least one potential peer. Additionally, have the applicant do a “job preview." By job preview, we mean that each applicant should sit with, ride with, etc., someone doing the proposed job now for at least 2-4 hours. Incompatibility with the job is cause for 50% of employee turnover.
If possible, have the applicant prepare and present some presentation or role-play. By this, we don’t mean “sell me the pen." Instead, while on your premises, ask the applicant to write a short proposal, a business letter, or do a mock sales presentation, any of which are tied to your line of work and to the job for which they are applying. If you’re seeking a sales rep to sell an intangible, asking the person to sell you a Bic is not job-relevant, but asking them to review your collateral materials for 15 minutes, then make a presentation based on that is very job-relevant.
Step 9: Proceed with a full range of background checks. This is more to cover yourself in case there’s something not picked up during the interview and recruitment process. Remember, put the fact that you require background checks in your job description to weed out candidates who aren’t willing to do them.
Step 10: Write an offer letter outlining the position, the expectations, benefits, and the compensation (monthly or weekly increments). Explain in the offer letter that this is not a contractual agreement. The offer letter should begin with “Pending satisfactory background checks.”
Once you’ve finished these steps, it’s time to help your new hire flourish in your organization. Use your Omnia Assessment from Step 6 to identify key traits that will help with managing your new associate. If you’re interested in using the Omnia Assessment for your hiring process, contact us today!
BK, one of my favorite sales leaders of all time, got it right most of the time. Bob is his real first name, but he always referred to himself as BK, and he always used my nickname, Ketch. Right off the bat, he was personal. BK was an amazing coach, motivator, problem solver, firefighter, and an all-out inspirational leader. When I worked for him, I wanted to be my best at every moment. He inspired, managed, coached, and led me to be a consistently successful sales professional who never missed my number and made the sales trip every year. He used quotes, books, and themes to anchor us on our path to success each year. I have every book he gave us sitting on my bookshelf today, and they will survive the downsizing tirade I’m on. (But that’s another blog). One of my favorite BK sayings is Gladiators amid battle should not be interrupted to discuss sword patterns.
My BK Book Collection. Each taught a valuable lesson.
You see, BK knew how to motivate; we felt like superstars who could achieve anything, big or small. We won record-breaking deals under his leadership. We ranked first as a sales team, and each of us won almost every prize possible for new business, account retention, and client growth under his tutelage. He protected us from unnecessary meetings, non-value sales processes, and cumbersome reporting that could get in the way of meeting our sales goals. BK also gave me my first shot at being a sales manager, and, most importantly, taught me a lot about how to lead. He would always say, “Ketch, a great leader is there when you need them and not when you don’t; and the best leaders know the difference.”
As we wrap up our series on Sales Success, it’s only appropriate that we turn our attention to Sales Leadership and consider the key elements needed to lead a team to success.
According to my sales personality test, I’m a tall column 1 on the Omnia Sales Style profile, which means I’m highly assertive and love to win. So, it’s no surprise that the thing I love most about being in sales is that there’s always a goal to hit with clear measures to know how you’re tracking towards the goal. Of course, there’s more to it than quotas and sales targets. A winning sales leader sets the vision and paints a picture of what success looks like. Then they keep reminding people of the vision and how they’re doing on the path to get there.
A visionary sales leader challenges their team to build on their strengths and go after high achievements. The best sales leaders are clear, concise and compelling when communicating expectations. A visionary sales leader is clear about where the team is now, where they are headed, and how to get there. The vision includes team values, expectations, and norms for interactions with clients and each other, and across functions. When things go badly, as they sometimes can, the visionary leader isn’t afraid to bring people together for a reality check to get the necessary parties back on the path. Sometimes sword patterns do need to be discussed so the team can improve.
In sales the numbers are set, the goals are clear, and it’s typically easy to know if you’re succeeding or not. As a sales leader though, you’re going to hit your goals in different ways through the unique selling strengths of the individuals on your team. Not every salesperson is the same, and the worst thing you can do is treat them that way. Not every salesperson sells the same way. You may have a team of hunters, farmers, or CSRs responsible for customer service with upsell/cross-sell objectives.
One of the most common mistakes managers make today is having unrealistic expectations of their sales performers and how they should sell. Let’s face it, a lot of leaders were promoted to sales management because they were great salespeople. As such, new sales managers risk expecting everyone to sell like they did and applying a one-size-fits-all management approach.
Enter sales development assessments. The Omnia assessment presents the strengths and qualities of your sales team, uncovers if you’ve got the right people in the right seats, and builds insight on how best to coach and motivate everyone based on their unique traits.
For example, your column 4 reserved, pragmatic salesperson may not naturally persuade prospects by instilling excitement about your insurance products. His approach will work more successfully if you free him up to use his strength in translating facts and data to give prospects logical, inarguable reasons to purchase. This person is motivated by coaching steeped in product knowledge and should serve as a strategic resource to the decision-maker. This is not the person who is going to enjoy making outbound calls all day or going to a networking event 3 times a week, and they can be successful not doing so.
Similarly, your selling CSRs are excellent at service but may not thrive with quotas and are likely uncomfortable transitioning conversations to uncover additional customer needs. But, you never really know until you assess and observe. That takes one-on-one coaching observation so you can uncover the root problem and address it straight on. Encouraging a CSR to sell, a hunter to manage a large book of accounts, or a farmer to go after a high volume of new business could be a futile effort. Know what you need, know what you have, set a course to correct where needed, and then coach and develop every step of the way.
Sometimes swords do get dull, gladiators do need coaching in the arena, and stuff gets in the way of gladiators being able to battle. A good sales leader identifies these times by observing, listening, knowing who to listen to, and deciding the right time to intervene.
While BK protected us from needless interruption about sword patterns and processes, I also appreciated another leader, Joe, who was consistently in tune with the needs of the sales team and knew how to prioritize what needed fixing. He taught me an important concept about the informal leaders on a sales team. Joe believed and proved to me that every sales team (and all teams for that matter) have one or two informal leaders on it. These are the trusted team members who have the respect of the company and their peers. They are customer focused, emotionally mature, and have the skills of diplomacy to raise tough issues while always bringing a solution to the conversation. These are not your fire starters or pot stirrers. These are the people who will help you lead from the front and have their finger on the pulse of the critical things that can get in the way of sales success.
Sales leadership success requires skills in strategic thinking, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and strong communication. The best leaders know when to get involved and when not to. How you address challenges and pick your battles requires mental toughness, big-picture thinking, and the ability to keep your head above the noise. Knowing when to jump in to help a salesperson with a tough negotiation, or how to support and encourage a new salesperson on their first few attempts, rather than schooling or critiquing them immediately takes thoughtful balance.
Leading a sales team to achieve success consistently takes discipline and a commitment to using all these approaches to get the most of your team, while being willing to learn from your mistakes and keep moving onward. I say this from experience, and a few recent battle scars of my own. The path to leading a successful team year in and year out begins with self-reflection - in knowing yourself and where your strengths lie.
If you’d like to know more about your own leadership traits, and reflect on your own path, please contact us to get a complimentary personalized leadership style report and debrief.
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