Are your top salespeople carrying the entire sales team? It’s a common problem in sales organizations — the top performers are shouldering the load while the rest of the team falls behind. And it’s not sustainable.
The top salespeople can only do so much. They can’t be expected to single-handedly keep the entire sales operation afloat. Eventually, they’ll get burned out, disillusioned, and will start to underperform. And when that happens, the entire sales team will suffer. Most teams are only as successful as their weakest member. If your team has one underperforming salesperson, it’s dragging down the entire team. And without proper sales leadership, your sales team will produce mediocre results. So, what does this mean for businesses?
Why do so many sales leaders tolerate mediocrity?
One of the main reasons why sales leaders tolerate mediocrity is because they fail to develop sales goals and defined activities for their entire team. Furthermore, they don’t hold themselves accountable for encouraging productivity and getting the best performance from each individual.
Another reason why sales leaders tolerate mediocrity is because they are afraid of confrontation. They might be worried that if they point out a problem or hold their sales team accountable, it will lead to an argument. However, avoiding confrontation will not solve the problem. More often than not, it will only make it worse. If you are a sales leader, it is important to confront mediocrity head-on. Address the problem and make the necessary changes to ensure that your team is set up for success.
Tolerating mediocrity brings the whole sales organization down
When sales leaders tolerate mediocrity, it brings the entire sales organization down and sets a precedent that it is acceptable to underperform. As a result, salespeople are less likely to try new things, take risks, or go the extra mile for a prospect or client. Teams that lack proper sales leadership often produce mediocre results because they lack direction and motivation. This results in salespeople who are not as focused or enthusiastic about their work, which can lead to a high turnover rate and low morale.
If you want your sales team to be successful, you need to set the standard that mediocrity is not acceptable. Address underperformance head-on and make necessary changes to ensure that your team is hitting their numbers.
“The meaning that sustains you in life is found through responsibility.” -Jordan Peterson
Harnessing the power of your sales team with proper sales leadership
To be an effective sales leader, you need to motivate your team and help them stay focused on their goals. A great sales manager achieves their objectives through a mix of approaches. They understand and take full responsibility for training, coaching, and empowering their team in using the correct selling behaviors and activities to meet their revenue objectives.
The Key Attributes of a successful sales manager include:
- Develop sales goals, plans to achieve those goals, and defined activities that build right-sized pipelines.
- Enhance coaching skills to improve One-on-One debriefs, pre-call planning, post-call debriefs, role practice, and joint sales calls.
- Create a motivation system ensuring each person is engaged and empowered for success while continuously upgrading your sales force.
- Improve and enhance your communication effectiveness by instilling infinite curiosity and empathetic listening skills into your leadership style.
- Track activities and results, get commitments from the sales team and create a culture of accountability.
- Enhance interviewing skills, define proper hiring criteria, and onboard new employees, setting them up for success.
Accepting the responsibility to develop and refine these skills, you will create a revenue-generating machine. You will be the leader of a high-functioning and highly profitable sales team. You can help your team reach their full potential and exceed their sales goals by adopting key attributes and providing strong sales leadership.
Top sales leaders demand excellence
The best sales leaders demand excellence from their teams. They are always pushing to be better and striving for continuous improvement. While this can be tough to take on some days, the best salespeople understand that it’s necessary to stay sharp and always be learning.
With excellent sales leadership comes an understanding that not everyone is a good fit for their team. They are willing to make tough decisions and let go of people who are not meeting their standards. Sometimes, if you can’t change your people, the best next step is to change your people.
Successful executives need to hire the right salespeople who will make them and their team better. They know that the right team will reflect their dedication to excellence.
With great power comes great responsibility. As a sales leader, it is crucial to evaluate your team constantly. Make sure that everyone is meeting the standards you have set and that they are working to improve. If you find someone not a good fit for your team, don’t be afraid to let them go. It’s better to have a smaller, high-performing team than a larger team of underperformers.
