The importance of team selling to overall sales success continues to build. We hear this increasingly from clients and colleagues. The theme is prominently being reported in research too.
This team selling trend presents a new challenge for salespeople:leading sales teams through influence. Selling through influence isn’t an easy thing for salespeople to do because:
They cannot lead through an established hierarchy because they don’t have positional authority, so they must lead through influence.
The sales teams are comprised of people representing different parts of the company –technical staff, internal sales support people (e.g., proposal development, pricing), and perhaps even salespeople in other divisions who may have different sales goals and selling styles.
And, of course, this is happening in a selling environment where sales teams must navigate an ever-changing, long, and multi-player decision cycle with competitors lurking around every corner. To add to the sense of urgency, there are constant reminders of the consequences of winning or losing.
Although each situation has its own factors that contribute to success, here are five ideas to help salespeople lead sales teams through influencing:
Build credibility – Think about it, talk about it, and don’t pretend to know when you don’t.
Establish trust – Do what you say you are going to do, and make sure others know their interests are understood and being considered.
Being aware of different styles and adapt yours – Everyone on the team is different. Acknowledge and leverage those differences.
Listen – Ask, listen, and then talk. Telling informs people, but only questions can persuade. Influencing requires unfiltered listening to others.
Compromise – Rigidity is a significant barrier to leading through influence. Instead, listen, persuade and compromise when necessary.
In complex markets, the importance of team selling is likely to continue to increase. And, a sales team is not just several people who happen to be in the same room at the same time. Effective teams require leadership – for sales teams that means salespeople need to develop the ability to lead through influence.