5 Keys to Being a Consistent Leader
“The salesman of quality is forever consistent. He’s solid. He sets the pattern for the entire sales force. His performance is of importance in establishing sales policy. Every salesman is judged by the standards he sets. The consistent salesman endures and prospers wherever he may be.” - There’s Science in Selling, Robert Palmer Corp., 1959
Maybe a bit dated, but in every profession, there are those front-runners who show flashes of greatness, but then ... nothing! We can’t count on them. We know that there is something about them (their work habits, their approach) that makes us prefer to bet on the consistent, steady, methodical performer.
As an Executive Sales Leader, do you recognize your role, have the tools and demonstrate the necessary behaviors to drive consistency across your organization?
It isn’t difficult to be consistent; however, there are key ingredients that must be maintained to be successful.
Diagnosis
How long has it been since you took an outside looking in view of your organization? Have you performed an honest assessment of client acquisition and retention process. Are you keeping pace with the rapidly occurring changes in the marketplace? Buyers are entering the sales process much later and have become less dependent on salespeople to influence their buying decision.
Training
Although I took you back to 1959, please tell me that you have and continue to update your training initiatives, again to keep pace AND to keep the good people that you have hired. Start with your onboarding of new sales people. Are you creating a learning environment clearly demonstrating your commitment to develop talent?
Tools
Consistency could be described as simply stating, "This is how we do things around here!" Specific processes for: Pre-call planning; Client discovery, Strategic selling; Sentiment analysis; Client retention and Quarterly Business Reviews. What is your data-gathering tool/process? Are you getting the most effective data from CRM and social media?
Repetition
This is how we do things around here! Not once, not twice, but all of the time. Spurts of brilliancy are interesting, but that’s not covered in our play book. Do we let our process slide because our QB is Peyton Manning? NO! How do you think he got to be Peyton Manning!
Opt-in Culture
As the sales leader, you must carry this message, not only to your teams, but also to executive management. This is how we do things around here. No one gets a pass on the process; not your salespeople, not you, not your CEO.
Bottom-line: Consistency and your commitment to consistency works. It pays dividends. It sets you apart from your competition. It positions you and your team to be dependable producers, realizing far better results that directly influence your balance sheet.
This is what we do at Butler Street. Our core business is helping our clients develop these tools and processes to yield industry-leading performance. Our clients benefit from embedding a structured, repeatable and consistent process. Give us a call to learn more about our proven, time-tested client development programs.
- Categories:
- Business Management - Marketing/Sales
Frank Costantino is a Managing Partner at Butler Street, a leading management consulting, training and research firm that focuses on client and talent development. Prior to joining Butler Street, Costantino accumulated over three decades of successful sales and executive leadership experience. His passion for sales discipline and process has driven practical solutions for sales organization development, revenue and operating profit growth.
Costantino has been recognized with numerous sales and sales leadership awards. He has also received top honors from his peers and direct reporting teams in VOA rankings, and has also served on the Advisory Board of Target Account Selling. He holds a B. S. in Business Management from NYIT.
