The Modern Seller by Amy Franko

Author:Amy Franko
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Baker & Taylor Publisher Services (BTPS)

How to Practice as a Modern Sales Leader

Approach your team goal setting differently. I’m on the board of directors for an organization with 22 board members. When it came to goal setting for board members, our initial approach was centered around individual goals, with each of us independently setting two goals. I led the committee in charge of tracking our progress. Doing some quick math, that spiraled to 44 goals that became diluted and untrackable. I’d say we achieved less than five percent of those goals, and the ones that were achieved, if we’re being honest, didn’t create any big impact. As the leader, I was accountable to those results.

That lesson helped us to take a different approach. We’re now focused on one larger, more courageous goal that also leverages our individual time and talents. We can now rally around the goal, track progress more easily and envision the impact we’ll have when we reach that goal—together.

Similarly, sales is often viewed as a set of individual contributions that make up a larger goal. But what would your team look like if there was one big goal you were committed to achieving together, in addition to individual quotas? The key is something meaningful. When time is invested, it matters to everyone and there is an impactful payoff.

Rethink individual development plans. At the individual level, consider lowering the number of goals your team members are putting into their development plans. Most of us can tackle one or two big goals each year, broken down into smaller tasks. This may not sound like a lot. But, when they’re meaningful, they create much more momentum than lots of smaller goals.

Let’s say you’re leading a team of 10 people (the average team is between eight and 12 people). Imagine the power of time invested into 10 meaningful goals to the business. And the time saved in not chasing three times as many little goals, just to fill up a development plan.

Leverage macro planning and micro planning in each team member’s territory. Ask each team member to develop a macro plan for their territory, and then micro plan activities. This is an opportunity to brainstorm and be creative. How can we take different approaches from the past? Different approaches from our competitors? What’s untapped? What’s working well that we can amplify in other territories? How can we better leverage our ecosystem of resources?

This exercise considers your long-term growth goals, and not just the quarter-by-quarter snapshot we’re so used to tracking for shareholders. Envision sharing with senior leadership the macro plans for your geography, in which each of your team members has an ownership stake. While each macro plan may have some “blue sky” elements to it, it will also be grounded in micro planning, because you took the time to lay out the high-value activities that will pave the path.

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