The Chairman of Gallup, Jim Clifton, wrote a book on entrepreneurism called Entrepreneurial StrengthsFinder. In it he shares several key points about entrepreneurs, which we believe surely presents lessons for sales leaders.
Here are four key points from the book:
Highly successful entrepreneurs quickly adjust to accommodate the changing needs and new realities of a growing business. If you are a Delegator, you understand that a rapidly growing venture needs capabilities and resources beyond what you alone can provide.
Delegators work on the business rather than in it. You recognize that a growing business requires a shift from a do-it-yourself style, which is helpful in the early stages, to a more hands-off approach as the business starts to grow. You are well aware that you cannot possibly accomplish everything yourself, and you are willing to relinquish control and hand off authority for certain tasks to others who are better equipped to handle them. You have mastered the art of delegation. This frees up your time to focus on activities that yield the highest returns for the company and that grow the business.
Delegators are great leaders and supportive bosses. You set clear expectations about timing, budget and deliverables; make sure employees have the tools and resources they need to do their jobs; provide opportunities for training and learning; and genuinely care about the growth of each individual. You seek input from your employees and value their opinions and expertise. What’s more, you encourage new ideas and approaches to getting things done, and you are focused on outcomes rather than processes.
While you do delegate effectively, you do not abdicate your overall responsibility for a project. The buck stops with you. Remember to set milestones to monitor progress, and communicate frequently with the people to whom you are delegating to avoid costly mistakes or surprises. When they complete tasks, provide feedback about what worked and what didn’t. Set up a successful delegation process. In the long run, it will build employee capacity, and more importantly, save you time – time you can use to create new opportunities for your business.
These points are particularly important for frontline sales leaders. They are the pivotal job for driving sales effectiveness. Without a solid group of frontline sales leaders, it is not possible to build and sustain a superior sales force.
Let’s close by building on one of the points introduced – quickly adjust to accommodate changing needs. Today a number of markets, like healthcare, are undergoing transformation changes. These changes require the sales team to adjust and adapt every aspect of what they do. This required level of adjustment simply will not occur unless the frontline sales leader provides a personal model for change and the direction, guidance and motivation for others to follow their lead.