When Sales Leaders Don't Lead With Their Strengths

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Mon, Nov 05, 2012 @ 14:11 PM

Today I received a request for all of my articles to date which reference Objective Management Group's Sales VP/Director Assessment.  I conducted a quick search and found - what?  None!  Out of nearly 1,000 articles, I hadn't referenced OMG's Sales VP/Director Assessment even once!  I'll fix that right now.

Unlike our sales and sales management assessments, which are usually performed as part of a sales force evaluation at the request of an executive, most VP assessments are requested by the VP's themselves.  There are some pretty interesting components to it, so I'll discuss some of the more intriguing ones here.

Compared with a sales management assessment, where the sales manager must be tactical, the VP must be more strategic, so we have a Strategic Thinking dimension.  Our VP assessment also integrates a component of our Leadership Assessment, the Key Management Dynamics, where we can determine how well the VP has developed the Strategy Style, one of the nine Leadership Styles which we measure.

We also measure and identify the sales VP's tendency to default to any of eight competencies over the others when they need to grow revenue.  It becomes interesting when a VP scores high in one competency but defaults instead to a different competency (one where they scored lower) to drive revenue.  And isn't it powerful to finally be aware of that, learn why, and change?  When sales leaders default to a competency that isn't their best, they can become frustrated when the desired changes and revenue do not occur.  Not only that, when they aren't aware of a skill gap in the competency they chose, it can alienate sales managers and salespeople.  For instance, when a sales leader scores high in Coaching and low in Motivation and chooses to fire up the sales team to grow sales, it will not work as effectively as if coaching had been chosen.

When VP's request this assessment, they can use it as a self-coaching tool or as a coaching road map by an outside sales leader.  But more than a self-development tool, it explains the strengths which are supporting sales leadership excellence, points out the weaknesses which may be responsible for not driving sales and growing salespeople (at their current or prior companies) to achieve their fullest potential.

If you are interested in getting yourself evaluated as a Sales VP or Director, just send me an email and I'll make sure that one of my experts contacts you ASAP.

Topics: Dave Kurlan, sales management, sales leadership, Sales Force, sales leaders, assessment, people problems, sales issues

How the Right Sales Leader Can Turn Around Sales Performance

Posted by Dave Kurlan on Mon, Jun 11, 2012 @ 22:06 PM

KGWhat jumpstarts sales performance?  Here are the first 30 which I thought of.  Is it:

  1. Improved Selling Skills? 
  2. Change in Attitude?
  3. More Intensity? 
  4. Written Goals?  
  5. Effective Targeting?  
  6. Stronger Motivation
  7. Stronger Desire?
  8. More Pride?
  9. More Determination?
  10. Tenacity?
  11. New Sales Talent?
  12. Training?
  13. Coaching?
  14. Assessments?
  15. Tools?
  16. Accountability?
  17. Competition?
  18. Killer Product?
  19. A Sale?
  20. Buying Incentives?
  21. Performance Incentives?
  22. Optimized Sales Process?
  23. Better Sales Methodology?
  24. Improved Sales Model?
  25. Effective Sales Management?
  26. Ultimatums?
  27. Deadlines?
  28. Better Demos?
  29. Professional Proposals?
  30. Economy?
I was listening to a Boston sports radio show where the topic was on how future Basketball Hall-of-Famer, Kevin Garnett (KG), single-handedly changed the culture of the Boston Celtics when he arrived there several years ago. 
 
Here are ten of the things for which they said he was responsible (in no particular order):
  • Holding everyone accountable,
  • Team dinners,
  • Leading by example,
  • Taking younger players aside,
  • Intensity,
  • Raising expectations,
  • Presence,
  • Physical Play,
  • Attitude and
  • Unselfishness.
The Celtics were a struggling franchise and KG, along with his 10 competencies, led them to an NBA championship and playoff competition each year that he was there. 
 
So is there anything that KG brought to the table that a key sales leader couldn't introduce to his sales force?  Not a thing. 
 
While each of the 30 sales-related items (yes, there are more) listed above are important and some are instrumental, it begins with people who can make a difference.  Do you have the right people?  Do you have people who can step up?  Do you have people who should have stepped up but didn't?  Did the wrong people step up and model the wrong attitudes and behaviors? 
 
One of the biggest mistakes that companies make with their people is allowing or asking the wrong people to take leadership roles on their sales force.  It doesn't have to be a VP, Director or Sales Manager.  Even a salesperson who is well-liked and/or respected by his peers, who doesn't model the right behaviors, skills and attitudes, will have a significant, detrimental effect on the entire organization. 
 
What kind of people problems have you created?
 
How can you fix them?

Topics: Dave Kurlan, sales management, sales leadership, Sales Force, sales leaders, sales competency, people problems, sales issues

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Best-Selling Author, Keynote Speaker and Sales Thought Leader,  Dave Kurlan's Understanding the Sales Force Blog earned awards for the Top Sales & Marketing Blog for eleven consecutive years and of the more than 2,000 articles Dave has published, many of the articles have also earned awards.

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