The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

There are myriad ideas and theories out there about what makes a great leader, and many are useful. They give some insight into those characteristics that define effective leaders—strategic thinking, strong focus, a sense of mission, passion for customers, innovation, hard work—the list goes on.

But there is one trait strong leaders often exhibit that is not often discussed. It is the innate ability to build powerful relationships with the people who work for them. It’s critical, and it correlates to long-term success for the leader for several reasons:

Perhaps as a sales manager or sales executive, you have pondered the question, "Is it time to restructure my sales operation?"

When you're not getting the results you need from your sales team, it's certainly tempting to consider restructuring how you're going to market.

Perhaps you got excited when you read the first part of the headline.

I got excited too, wishing there was a list of “magical” questions that could be asked of any prospect with a great result. The problem is, such a list does not exist.

Sorry to burst your bubble.  

With the new year here,  many sales managers and executives are planning to make certain they have a plan in place to equip and prepare their sales teams for a good year.  

Certainly the changes in the selling environment we have all experienced in the last 20 months or so have exposed some areas for improvement as well added new expectations for how business is done. 

So, how can we best identify the needs of the sales team?  Here are two methods to consider.

Recently, Borrell and Associates, a leading media research firm, conducted their annual survey among those people who buy advertising for their businesses and asked them what traits they seek from media salespeople. 

Here are the top four results.

Driving, maintaining, and developing consistent revenue growth is a top concern in every organization.

Taking care of employees, meeting goals, trying to exceed goals, and keeping your business afloat during challenging times is a lot to manage. If your revenue growth remains stagnant — or worse, slows down — it's easy to lose focus and start panicking.

If you're struggling to develop consistent revenue, this article is for you.

How much time do your salespeople spend selling?

It’s been our observation that it’s probably less than you think. Data suggests that it's as little as 30% of their time. And when you talk to salespeople all the time, as we do, they confirm that. 

So, to get a bead on just how much time your salespeople actually spend selling, you should start with a definition of selling.

Only 12% of employees agree that their organization does a good job with employee onboarding — a process where new hires acquire the necessary skills and knowledge in order to become effective and efficient employees.

When it comes to onboarding employees, first impressions last forever. It's your opportunity to introduce the company's mission, value and personality. If you fail to fully communicate everything a new hire needs to know, they’ll likely leave the company. 26% of American workers have quit a job simply because they were unsatisfied with either the training or the onboarding process. 

To retain quality employees and maximize their productivity, it's imperative that you take the onboarding process seriously. Make your new hires feel welcome in your company by properly discussing their new roles, the company's mission and vision, and everything else they need to know.