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A SALES LEADERSHIP MANUAL

CHRISTOPHER PLATT

GONZAGA UNIVERSITY
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Christopher Platts Johari Window Collage (COVER PHOTO EXPLAINED)

In this project I examined my truths according to the Johari window. As sense of self is not finite,
either should our perception or self-diagnosis. The briefest explanation of the project is four
separate Johari windows positioned in a line of transformation.

The first section (black and white) is somewhat of a key to the rest of the puzzle. The open area
is black and white color, symbolizing clarity or truth on what is known to others and known to
myself. There is no ambiguity. The second window or blind spot shows what is unknown to
me and known to others, thus shows me blocked out and the foreground as lucid. The third
hidden window is inverted from the blind window; it portrays what is known to me but not to
others. The background is blocked out and I am clear. Finally, what is unknown is simply
unknown; this window has been blocked out entirely.

The second section shows my state of self in a new situation, with new people perhaps in a
professional setting. I calibrated the size of the windows to correlate with what is shown in this
kind of environment. It is apparent that fear of vulnerability and fear of judgment causes one to
close up and withhold the true self. The paradox of this whole model is that the shrinking and
lessening of what is known to me and to others, results in the increase of size of the unknown
window. What is unknown leaves more margin for false judgment and undeserved criticism,
which is ironically the very thing I fear the most.

The third window shows my selfhood in calm state and friendly environment, most likely around
friends or family. As what is known to me and them is shared and open, the unknown window is
has shrunken drastically. This is the model Id like to move towards- a model of self-discovery. It
involves disclosure and feedback as key principals to success. This creative exercise is the
epitome of what Ive taken away from this course. Enjoy!
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CONTENTS:

Chapter 1

i. Basic Tenants of Great Sales Leadership

Chapter 2

ii. Leading and Driving Metrics Ethically

Chapter 3

iii. Creating Team Building & Team Play Events

Chapter 4

iv. Measuring Effective Sales Leadership

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Sales Manual Preface:

Throughout this work I will attempt to clearly articulate the tenants of great sales

leadership. This manual will serve as a blueprint for sales leaders use when defining their own

leadership styles. Since we all come from different circumstances and different walks of life, I

issue a disclaimer; there is no guarantee that implementing the lessons and tools within this

manual will produce favorable results. I will however, describe some specific behaviors and

strengths behind a winning leadership style; which should help draw out how one should engage

as a leader. I will assert a leadership belief system while identifying an environment of

flourishment and personal betterment that all great leaders should create. The goal of this

manual is this; to create a great sales leader, run an ethical organization, train and build a

winning team, measure, maintain and reflect on what defines winning results.
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Chapter 1: Basic Tenants of Great Sales Leadership

Remember, the actions as a leader are largely defined by goals. Goals in which are

grounded deeply in ones core belief and values. Here are three concrete goals and values that

work in sales environment as it pertains to leadership. Live and model your core beliefs and be

accountable for the success of your team. In other words, own it. Show humility and

accountability and exhibit lifelong lessons of integrity, every chance you get. Selflessly serve

through unconditional encouragement, remember this isnt about you, it is about your people.

You need to give.

Lets break down these three basic tenants of great sales leadership. The first

recommendation is to live and embody the behaviors you expect from your team. Do not expect

a work quality or output that you, yourself have not modeled and/or made yourself accountable

for. Why is this important? Lets ask Kouzes and Posner, Eloquent speeches about common

values are not nearly enough. Exemplary leaders know that its their behavior that earns them

respect. The real test is whether they do what they say; whether their words and deeds are

consistent. Leaders set an example and build commitment through simple, daily acts that create

progress and build momentum. (Kouzes and Posner) With this said, you never want to remove

yourself or be above the daily workload of your group. The quickest and easiest way to earn the

buy-in and trust of your team is to perform the tasks youre asking of them. Yes, this means

getting in the trenches with them, making sales calls together, working through the throws of

pricing, battling it out with you legal department to get a deal done. Most impactfully this

includes making mindful decisions. Kouzes and Posner assert the importance of modeling on
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page 77 of their text. "Leaders recognize they have to be mindful of and accountable for the

choices they make, because they're setting an example of what's appropriate and inappropriate,

what's exemplary and what's second rate." (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). A great example that

supports this mindset comes from a learning moment in my own career. Ten years ago I was a

young very green rep in southern California, I prepared a very compelling offering to consolidate

purchasing for a string of food chains. Weeks had passed after my proposal, and with continued

follow-up and phone calls no decision had been made. I was stuck. I told my manager about the

troubles I was having and without hesitation she called me in her office and shut the door. Were

calling him now! she exclaimed, as she picked up the phone and started dialing. When he

answered the phone my heart about dropped into my stomach. David? she asked, Im sitting

her in my office with Chris Platt, are you still interested in moving forward with our proposal?

We have committed much time and many resources to implementing this deal and need to

reallocate without a decision! It was then, that we had our decision, we got the deal. From that

moment on, I learned to be direct when asking for a deal. The moment was very teachable and

rather than being told to call and ask for the business. My manager had lead by example, put her

expectations into action and modeled how to get it done. She not only earned the customers

business but earned my respect in the process. Principle number one, do the work youre asking

your team to do!

To lead is to be transparent and genuine. Showing such humility is the cornerstone of

developing trust and rapport of your team. As exemplified above, modeling the behaviors you

expect is proverbial tip of the iceberg. Beneath the surface, we must live the values we believe

in, showing conviction and willingness to stand up for these beliefs is the number one identifier

of a great leader. This being said the second goal of a great sales leader is to embody a life of
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integrity through authentic, ethical, and spiritual leadership. Integrity is a primary determinant

of interpersonal trust. Unless one is perceived to be trustworthy, it is difficult to retain the loyalty

of followers or to obtain cooperation and support from peers and superiors (Yukl, 2013). A key

determinant is the extent to which one is honest and trustworthy, and the extent to which a leader

executes on his promises. To put this in play, think back to all the social interactions youve ever

had. When making plans to host a party, you really count on attendance. How many times have

you heard, Yeah, sounds awesome, Ill see you there!? And when your committed invitee

doesnt show up, how do you feel about that persons character? The last thing you want to do is

have your team question your character. A great reflection on this can be pulled from McCall &

Lombardos teachings in Psychology Todays, What makes a great leader?, I will do exactly

what I say I will do when I say it. If I change my mind, I will tell you in advance so you will not

be harmed by my actions.(1983, p. 30). This is the truest act of being genuine. Implement it.

As far as transparency goes, Palmer asserts, good teaching [leading] cannot be reduced

to technique, good teaching [leading] comes from the identity and integrity of the teacher

[leader] (2007). To further the argument, it isnt enough to just have good integrity and a strong

set of ethics, one must make themselves known and in doing so open themselves up to potential

judgment or disagreement. Palmer says it best, when referring to the service of learning

[leading], my ability to connect with my students, and to connect with my subject, depends

less on the methods I use than on the degree to which I know and trust my selfhoodand am

willing to make it available and vulnerable in the service of learning. (2007, p. 11) In

summation, a leaders perceived integrity is measured by how consistent their behavior is with

their values and how well they articulate themselves genuinely to their followers. Great sales

leaders make their intentions known, and follow-up on those intentions.

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Service and selflessness are the third pillar of great sales leadership philosophy. Sales

leadership is not about being the boss and no longer is sales leadership based on positional

power. One must give to truly empower his people. One easy trick to help frame this is concepts

is think of the work leadership as synonymous with service. Serving our people and helping

them to achieve their objectives and quota, requires facilitating individual development. The

number one goal of a leader is to grow our people and help them become healthier and wiser. In

addition to building great people, empowerment in this manner, produces a wonderful by product

of loyalty. Which ultimately will lead to greater interest and willingness to accept

responsibilities. (Yukl, 2013) Showing compassion and concern for subordinates creates a lasting

and trusting bond. It is also likely to increase trust, loyalty, and overall satisfaction. To

understand someone and to recognize their needs is said to be one of the most flattering things

you can do for them. Servant leaders must listen to followers, learn about their needs an

aspirations, and be willing to share in their pain and frustration, (Yukl, 2013) After all, there is

nothing more noble than to connect and give of yourself in pursuit of another human beings

betterment. Good teachers [leaders] possess a capacity for connectedness. They are able to

weave a complex web of connections around themselves, their subjects [work], and their

students [followers] so that students [followers] can learn to weave a world for themselves

(Palmer, 2007)

Execution of these basic sales leadership goals requires a shared vision, only possible

through collaboration and co-authorship between leader and follower.

I hope by reading the next few chapters of this manual, you are able to gather and

implement tools and practices necessary to implement these 3 basic tenants of great sales
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leadership. In summation, you must commit to a life of service and dedication to the better those

around you. This is accomplishable through modeling, living your core values, and executing on

the things you say you will. In doing this you are creating a web of connectedness, and will

ultimately create the ideal flourishing sales environment.

Chapter 2: Driving activity and Leading Ethically

In todays current corporate sales climate, ethical issues seldom get discussed, moral

standards and ethical efforts are easily decoupled from organizational activities. Unfortunately,

society is likely to look at a sales department first to highlight examples of this statement. The

value and weight, that trusting our employees holds is paramount to the ethical foundation that

we all grew up on. It is this foundation that should motivate us to create a safe and thriving sales

environment. In this chapter we will examine how the formal and informal values, codes, rituals,

and stories inform the current sales climate for many organizations. This will help us to clarify

the purpose and impact we want to have as a sales leaders within our respective organizations.

Our number one goal is to appeal to the shared values of those in and around our sales

department and identify an action plan to influence the various stakeholders ethically. If we can

harness ethical leadership to produce trust, than along with it, we will produce winning results.

To begin with we must evaluate our current ethical climate. When coaching/motivating

sales teams, we all can agree activity, is the number one most emphasized deliverable. Sales

activity is the one lead indicator we have control of as sales people. Activity can be broken down

into measurable metrics, such as phone calls, first appointments, proposals, and closes.
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Normative behavior around phone calls or dials are just one area where ethical displacement

can occur in many organizations. For example, an acquaintance and fellow salesman explains the

perk of having a company cell phone. By providing a cell phone to the rep, the company has

essentially provided cost-relief by offsetting the monthly payment one would normally owe if

they only had a personal phone. Right? Wrong! On further dialog, I learned quite quickly there is

much more than meets the eye to this story. When we dove deeper and looked into the values of

their sales leadership and the cultural norms that were in place we discovered dials were the

most visible and respected activity metrics at the company, hands down. Each day the sales

manager would report the number of dials made to the Vice President and at the end of each

week, the Vice President would take time to follow-up on with each rep on their performance in

this respect.

Therein lied the ethical dilemma, dials were being measured through the company cell

phone service, which linked all company phones and extensions to one database. The employer

had the ability to see into ones activity by pulling call records. To make things worse, location

services were toggled on each company phone rendering the whereabouts of that device always

visible. Now, in our ordinary lives, this would be considered a major invasion of privacy. By

watching rep activity in the way, Sales management left sales personnel to feel their privacy had

been seriously violated. There was little to no trust in the employee to conduct their job

autonomously.

The practice of monitoring sales personnels phone activity and location services exhibits

disengaged ethical behavior. Dissecting this aspect of my friends companys sales environment

will help us to show how this affects the stakeholder both internally and externally. I look to

Johnson to help define the concept of ethical climate, shared perception of what is ethically
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correct behavior and taking it a step further, how ethical issues should be handled at the

company (Johnson, 2012, p324).

Activity and hard work is clearly highly valued at this company but what about trust? As

related by Johnson, on page 305, this practice exhibits several characteristics of an ethically

decoupled organization. Firstly, sacrifice of individual rights of privacy for organizational good

is taking place. These practices confirm leadership has low to moderate trust and commitment

levels to the reps. Monitoring phone calls and location services allows management to hold and

build a larger power base versus relinquishing control and empowering their employees to do

right. (Johnson, 2012) After all, empowered employees are more likely to make better ethical

decisions. Those closest to the problem are more likely to be sensitive to the issue (Johnson,

2012).

Furthermore, the culture of monitoring is not in alignment with the climate and ethical

dwelling place that we as leaders wish to create. This is a prime example of unethical

organizational functioning that is damaging not only to employee morale (May, 2006) but also

threatens the integrity of the organization. Arnett, Fritz, and Bell define a notion of a dwelling

place as, a gathering of communication practices and stories that gives an organization a sense

of uniqueness, separating a specified organization from others (Arnett, Fritz, Bell, 2009,

p138)

When faced with ethical challenges such as these, a simple way to approach this would

be to ask; how would external stakeholders, those in our community/those in our customer base

look on these practices? Do we want to sacrifice privacy and autonomy of the individual for

increased sales metrics? All in all, if the goal is to promote greater influence and increase our

relationships with our customers, we must actively consider our own organizational citizenship
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first. After all, our customers and stakeholders probably wouldnt like to know they are on the

receiving end of a measurement initiative for reps to attain credit for simply calling them. We

must make a commitment to trust our own employees as we do our customers, remember trust is

reciprocal, and leading ethically is an easy way to garner trust.

The impact we need to bring as sales leaders, scales beyond putting processes or

structures in place. It involves tweaking and enhancing our own leadership skills, voicing our

values and voicing our commitment to reinforce ethical engagement when it comes to individual

rights. If we cannot honor and protect individual rights, have higher trust and commitment levels,

how can we empower our own people? Without empowering our people how can we empower

our own customers and community?

To frame great sales organizational ethics, Dowling and Pfeffer note, Organizations seek

to establish congruence between social values associated with or implied by their activities and

norms by acceptable behavior in the larger social system of which they are a part (Seeger,

1997). Never forget that ethics improves organization performance and ultimately the bottom

line (May, 2006). Do not be afraid to ask yourself to walk the talk to live out your values.

Make sure maximizing your communications and focus on re-training, socialization, and

embracing new processes if necessary. Arnett, Fritz and Bell warn us that disaster rests with the

inarticulate, a failure to make the organizational mission and purpose explicit in day-to-day life.

(2009, p141-42).

Remember, again our primary goals as leaders is to model correct and ethical behavior

and to empower our people through service and motivation. Do it Daily. Giving your team

autonomy and allowing them to perform the duties necessary to be successful without direct

interference is the end goal. In sales, results are extremely measurable and visible, sink or
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swim as they say. Please consider all the key stakeholders necessary when evaluating and see

table 1. Below for a sample action plan on addressing and implementing new ethical standards.

Table 1. Action Plan to implement new standards:

Stakeholder Action Step Measurability/Indicator Tim

s
Employee Give autonomy and Employee satisfaction, Imm

flexibility to work schedule sense of ownership

accountability
Company Remove phone More autonomy and 1w

tracking software from increased trust / consolidated

infrastructure/ implement company culture

ethics hotline
Community Provide outreach to Community support Con

report feedback events

Leadership walk the talk model New talk track, Ev

changes monthly manager highlighted commitment to reoccurring

meeting to discuss best growing employee

interest of employee
Customer Provide feedback Increased Incl

avenue to report experience understanding, more retention Reviews

of existing customer
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Success will be quite easy to measure. Employee satisfaction will increase, so will

support from the community. Leadership will grow with your sales team, they will perform and

take accountability for their results. Company culture will foster an awareness and deference for

trust.

Ultimately, the hope is that your sales reps will feel not only more trusted but

appreciated. This will in turn increase their performance and overall confidence when interacting

with outside stakeholders. Our roles as leaders is to model trust to our sales people, it will be

contagious and potential customers interacting with our sales teams will feel they are doing

business with well-nurtured employees. This will cause them to look favorably on the

organization thus making it much easier to conduct business with yours. By appealing to the

shared values of those in our organizations we can bolster a new attitude towards ethical leading,

and it all starts with sales.

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Chapter 3: Team Building and Team Play

In this chapter, we will discuss the ways to bolster comradery, enhance team

cooperation and approach change management. These are three elements that every winning

sales team should be adept at dealing with. The purpose of this chapter is to impart you with

know-with-all to lead and facilitate an event that will strengthen your team. To train we will

utilize Rohnke and Butlers Facilitation model better known as A.P.P.L.E. We will walk through

how to use our basic sales leadership instincts to choose and organize each exercise in a manner

that will allow each participant to grow. Throughout the event consideration to the sequencing

and flow of these activities is equally as important to understanding your role as the leader, since

I suspect it will change as you develop stronger group cohesion throughout the day

Assess.

In order to provide the best possible experience, you must assess and gather information

on your group. What is the group size? What responsibilities does each group member hold.

Remember, there will be a mixture of talent and tenure and not every sales person has the same

strengths. Each individual has a different style and temperament. My first instinct is to point out

that sales generally represents a very competitive, driven and ambitious group. Every sales

person relies on some other facet of the organization to be successful, whether it be pricing,

marketing, or account management so cross-functional strengthening should be a big theme. Set

goals for your program. (ie. enhance cooperation, teamwork, coordination and change

management.) Trust building and achieving more seamless conflict resolution should also be

major goals of this event.

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In the assess phase we need to be cognizant of logistical factors such as location and

duration of the event. If you have a big group you will need more space and more time for

activities.

Plan.

Look to the details of your initial assessment to select the tools and specific scenarios for your

activities. To achieve shared sense of value, I recommend sending out a brief survey to elicit

what the group would hope to accomplish and determine from there the issues youd like to

examine. This pre-work will later be the basis for your initial activity which is to develop a full-

value contract on which you and the team will outline expectations and commitments for the day.

At this point the group will have developed an understanding of what the intentions of the event

are. Keep in mind your role as leader will be to model the first few activities so having a clear

and intentional understanding of what youll be doing it critical. Initially, your goal is break the

unseen barriers and make group fun and comfortable, this will in effect create a shift in your role

as your presence will be less and less with each activity. Here is how this works as far as activity

breakdown: Icebreakers and de-inhibiters will be a necessary opener, make everyone comfortable

because they will be reluctant to show any vulnerability. Problem solving activities will provide

challenge and fun later in the day. Overall, the split between ice-breakers and problem solving

activities should be about even, and this is done purposely to increase understanding and trust in

one another. The day should wrap-up with overall reflection on key learnings from the activities

and thoughtful review of the full value contract. (See Figure 1).

Prepare.

In order to prepare for the days events, you will first and foremost need to develop an

agenda. This will obviously help manage the schedule and provide an organized front as far as
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duration and timeliness for activities. Plan to be adaptable to spontaneous and fun breakouts.

Sometimes giving up your plan is the best plan you can have. (Adventure Leadership Handout)

The key to preparation is to having all the resources and tools ready and on hand. Assembling the

necessary materials is paramount to success. If you need 30 feet of rope, 10 roller chairs, 50 feet

of yarn, cut into nine pieces and tied into varying sized circles, tape, box of spaghetti and yarn,

and post-it notes, its probably best to prepare this a day in advance.

Remember to inspect the meeting room space and schedule and make sure you have the

necessary rooms reserved. A key point to add is that by having all of this done and prepared prior

to the event, will alleviate the majority of anxiety to be the leader of the day.

Lead.

Remember, in the case leading these events we must keep our primary goals in the

forefront. This isnt about exemplifying our personal leadership traits, this is about growing our

teams together closer. So think of leading as facilitating and implementing all the planning and

preparation we set forth. As inclusivity and safe space should be your goal, each participant

should be given the option to sit out if theyre uncomfortable with the event. The tone and pace

your style should be to build trust by making everyone comfortable, try to keep it light and fun

but provide time for serious thought and reflection. Be sure to model appropriate behaviors when

delivering instructions. Keep it clear and simple, allow for communication and clarification at

any point. Humor and enthusiasm are two core strengths but utilizing them in a manner where

the goals of our activities are not lost.

Leading is observing just as much as it is modeling. Monitoring rule infractions and

enforcing them is key to keep the activities on track. Regulating the temperature by determining

when to intervene and when not to; is a necessary skill set. Lastly, debriefing and reflection are
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powerful tools to enhance the learning potential and to do this maximize participant talk-time by

asking open-ended, thought provoking questions.

Evaluate.

In this area, consider yourself a learning partner not so much the leader or instructor. Not

only will this approach be natural to take, it will be received the best by the group. There are two

parts to this step. The first is to evaluate during the program activities, do so by monitoring the

group and adjusting accordingly. Plan to debrief after every activity by allotting time in the

schedule for it. In this micro-setting it is very important to apply the lessons of the activity to our

regular working lives asking What/ So What/ Now What these questions will elicit connections

and allow your team to hit the goals in the value contract.

The final piece of evaluating will occur at the very end of the program. You should

discuss what worked for your team, what your biggest growth areas from the day were and what

you will do differently in applying the concepts to your work.

In conclusion, the sequencing and agenda of the event need to be adaptable and so should

the role of leader. It is planning and preparation that will ultimately alleviate the anxiety or stress

of facilitating the day. Simply executing and supporting a growth environment is the main goal

as facilitator and by utilizing A.P.P.L.E. you now have a framework to conduct this kind of

program. Please see figure 1 for sample agenda and activity suggestions.

Figure 1. Team play and Teambuilding: Agenda Sheet [Template]

Event: Team play and Teambuilding Leadership event

Event Date:
Length of Program:
Location:
Contact: Sales Leader
No. of Particpants:
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Reason for Event: Empower managers to cooperate/ communicate / and mitigate change
management more effectively

Timesheet/ Agenda

Activity Equipment Duration/Reflection Approximate

Start Time

Partner Interview Intro ? sheet 20 Mins 7:30 AM

Full Value Contract HW 20 Mins 7:50 AM
High Risk/ Low Risk Hi/Low Risk Cards 30 Mins / 5 Mins 8:20 AM
Circle- Mimics Circles of Rope 25 Mins / 10 Mins 9:00 AM
Star wars Circles of Yarn 20 Mins / 10 Mins 9:30 AM
Bio Break 20 mins

Spaghetti / Spaghetti / 30 Mins / 15 Mins 10: 20 AM

Marshmallows/
Marshmallows Tape / Yarn
Manager Chairs Chairs/ 30 Mins / 15 Mins 11:05 AM
Instructions / Notes
Closing Activity - Quotes Index Cards 10 Mins 11:50 AM
Group Reflection 20 Mins 12PM

Figure 1.
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Chapter 4: Keys to Measuring Effective Sales Leadership

Corporate America spends billions and billions of dollars every year on third party

training/consulting services to enhance their salesforce. At the end of the day, what tangible

product or result does this money pay? Furthermore, what does the engagement process between

sales consultant and sales organization really entail? If we as sales leaders, understand with

clarity, the simple measurements outside consultants are using than we stand to save our

organizations billions of dollars. With that said, the final chapter of this manual is written from

the 30,000 foot level perspective, and aimed to look at how one measures the effectiveness and

results of sales consulting/training. Ive identified three key elements to measure the delivery of

a purposeful, meaningful training or consultative service as it pertains to sales. The first key

element to producing effective results is establishing a clearly defined hierarchy of purposes

(Turner, 1982).The second is to conduct thorough and unbiased research and analysis. The third

element of producing effective results is to co-author and partner to implement a solution with

the key leadership stakeholders of your organization. At the end of this chapter, you will see

how measuring success is really truly defined by the needs of your team and how well you can

execute the key elements listed above.

Hierarchy of purposes includes clarifying goals, considering fundamental objectives, and

defining the end picture of success. This is a crucial part of the leadership process because it sets

the stage and gives the opportunity for your team to communicate their expectations and measure

the outcome of this transaction. Just like our upfront value contracts in sales training events,

were defining together what success would look like.

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Here are a few high-level examples of some consulting purposes may look like (in no

particular order). Providing a solution, redefining a problem, providing recommendations,

assisting in implementations, and providing requested information. Addressing the purpose of

the clients request is paramount and all of these pre-set purposes are easily measurable. If the

organizations goal is to increase sales growth, than the parameters of sales growth should be

clearly defined to include specific details, consider items such as product group or the time

period for this expected growth. It is wildly important that details be clearly defined prior to

developing any program aimed at producing them. In sales we look to break down the sales

process into measurable and reportable benchmarks. We can all agree, first appointments are

crucial to adding on new business. By clearly defining our leading measurements (activities such

as phone calls, emails, sample drops) that contribute to our lag measurements, we now have

something tangible to measure.

Adding value to your teams goal and purpose is what will push the envelope on what

they are stating is measurable. For example, providing recommendations and assisting in

implementing them is great but add in consensus and shared cultural buy-in to these goals and

youve increased total value of your offering, thus making the results and impact of your

consulting much more measurable (Turner, 1982). If the goal of your project is to gain

information for competitive advantage, than helping to facilitate team learning around this

information would increase the value of your leadership. One could simply provide a solution to

specific problem or a detailed outline of recommendations to their teams but taking it a step

further and sharing thoughts on how this will improve overall organizational effectiveness will

take it to the next level. See below for Turners visual on organization of consulting purposes and

substitute client for the word sales team. As you can see there is a line that moves leadership
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from traditional to above and beyond. That is the threshold we must cross as sales leaders to

produce the results we seek.

Figure 1. A hierarchy of purposes (Turner, 1982)

Measuring and quantifying the effectiveness of sales leaders is not something that is laid

out by the manager or vice president, rather, it is something that is defined by the team and

reinforced by the leader.

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After clearly defining the purpose or goal of the sales team, one must vet and identify the

issues and or challenges associated with reaching that objective. Understanding the problem and

the issues requires intense observation and research. Understanding your companys culture,

history, communication process, communication tools and role of the community are vital

extremely vital. The question to ask is are company-wide resources effective and are

communication tools accessible enough for the team members? If the communication strategy

for the company is not optimal, one must take care in approaching these weaknesses.

Additionally, understanding what has already been tried and true and if there has been prior

success or failure would help tremendously. Researching other like industry companies with

similar situations can also be helpful. Finally, gathering information from employees and

management is just as important to truly cater your leadership service. (Desautel and Johnston,

2016)

An important and overlooked element necessary to research and uncover problems/issues

with the company is creativity. One must think outside the box, uncover connections, and ask

the right questions to seek the unknown. When probing for information asking the un-thought of

questions is paramount to creating a measurable effect. One must incorporate all the information

together when creating a plan and bringing something new to the table and its important to

remember each sales organization and every company culture is unique.

In other words, your effectiveness is measured by the way you assess and approach the

variables and unique factors of every situation. It requires you to understand how success will be

determined and to get creative in your evaluation technique.

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Whenever creating a strategy to address the issues you uncover, it is important to first

include your groups approval and feedback before implementing whenever possible. By this

time you should have been able to identify the key trainings needed as defined by group and your

research to uncover areas of opportunity. Entering into a situation that you are not intimate with,

means you have not had the years and years of time to build rapport and credibility as a leader

within that particular organization. Your research and proposal strategy for sales training could

be largely rejected by the participants if you have not sufficiently recognized key issues and

relationships with key stakeholders. This is why it is important to elicit help and check for

understanding from the team.

Throughout this chapter, weve identified three key elements to measure the delivery of a

purposeful, meaningful sales training or consultative service. The first key element to producing

effective results is establishing a clearly defined hierarchy of purposes. Without knowing where

we need to get, well never get there. The second is to conduct thorough and unbiased research

and analysis. This requires creativity and help from within your organization. The third element

of producing effective results is to co-author and partner to implement a solution. The

importance of what success looks like and how effective your performance is all depends on your

groups definition of the results. In the end it isnt us, the sales leader, trainer/consultant, that

decides what will be measured, it is your clients and your teams.

Weve only touched the tip of the proverbial iceberg that is sales leadership. Hopefully,

after reading this manual weve imparted the wisdom on how to create a great sales leader,

someone who is solid and whole. We talked about running an ethical organization and how to

treat and address a new set of ethical values. Weve shared insight on how to train and build a
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winning sales team and lastly we determined how to measure, maintain and reflect on what

defines winning results.

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