From lone wolf to pack leader

RUTA MISIUNAITE advises on the journey from being a self-sufficient salesperson to a successful team leader

Did you know that an average person will have around 12 different jobs in their lifetime?

In sales, everyone starts off as lone wolves, laserfocused on developing skills and smashing targets. You know the type: competitive and ambitious self-starters, who prefer to prowl on their own, but can always be counted on to bring home the big game.

At that point, climbing up the career ladder simply means going after bigger and higherprofile clients. Indeed, prowling on your own can feel thrilling and daring. And the best part is, you’re in control of your own destiny.

That said, sooner or later you will be faced with a choice. You can either continue your career path as an individual contributor or pick a new challenge and step into a leadership position. Gone are the days of wandering around the business development woods on your own. Now, you have a chance to become the leader of the pack.

TRANSITIONING TO TEAM LEADER Perhaps you have been anticipating this career move for a while. After all, there comes a time when even the biggest wins no longer bring as much joy into your life as they used to. Or maybe the opportunity was thrust onto you after yet another restructuring.

Whatever the circumstances, the transition from a sales rep to a team leader is not easy. It requires a completely different set of skills and behaviours to succeed. Plus, I hate to break it to you, but no amount of training will ever prepare you for the real deal.

The good news is that I am about to share with you five easy strategies that you can implement in your first few weeks as a team leader. They are simple, effective and will make the whole process a much smoother and more enjoyable experience for all the parties involved.

1. PUT YOUR TEAM FIRST I have always been a big believer that if you look after your people, they will look after your clients and in return, the money will follow. So, it will come as no surprise that your number one task as a newly appointed leader is to get to know your team.

If you’re not sure where to start, put some time into your diaries to have an informal chat over tea or coffee. Ask your team about what they love most about their job and what they would like to change; find out about their career development goals and what they like to do outside of work. Most importantly, discuss how you can best support them. Then, listen carefully to their answers.

Doing this regularly will not only help paint a better picture of how your team operates, but will also aid in understanding how to get the most out of them. In return, your team will be more likely to trust your decisions and buy into your vision. A great example of how important it is for a leader to have a strong relationship with their team can be found in the music industry. For instance, I often imagine myself as an orchestra conductor, who guides her ensemble into delivering an exhilarating evening full of wonderful music. When you think about it, it’s really not that different from leading your sales team to greatness. The priorities of an orchestra conductor and a sales leader are alike. First, you need to assemble an elite group of talented players and make sure they work well together. Then, you need to set the tempo by establishing clear goals and expectations. Next, you need to control the interpretation and pacing of the music by introducing “Your team will look at your behaviours rather than training manuals to determine what is OK or a clear set of rules and processes that define best practice. Last but not least, you have to listen not in the workplace” critically and shape the sound of the ensemble by coaching and training your team to help them reach their full potential. If this sounds like a walk in a park, pause now and listen to the presto movement of Summer in Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons concertos. You’ll soon find out that it is a fast-paced, aggressive and rather turbulent piece of music. In my opinion, it is one of the best examples of what a year in sales feels like. You could be the best conductor in the world, but if your team does not believe in you and does not want to follow your lead, even playing something simple will turn into a disaster. Remember, people buy into the leader before they buy into the vision.

2. LEAD BY EXAMPLE Like it or not, your team will copy everything you do. There is no way of escaping it. This includes the way you talk to your clients, how you treat your colleagues, and your overall work ethic. As a leader, you set an example of what good looks like in your company. The truth is, your team will look at your behaviours and not training manuals to determine what is OK or not in the workplace.

It is important, therefore, for you to model behaviours that you want to see. For example: l If you want your team to stay calm under pressure, don’t let them see you lose your cool when things get tough l If you want your team to follow internal processes, make sure you don’t cut corners either l If you want your team to be accountable for their actions, always do what you promise. Also, don’t be afraid to admit when you make a mistake and show how you can learn from that experience l If you want your team to invest in their personal development, let them see you do that regularly too.

It sounds elementary, but it’s easier said than done. The trouble is, many managers can talk the talk, but true leaders must be prepared to walk the walk, no matter how difficult it might be at times. This means that you may need to start getting rid of your own bad habits.

The alternative can be detrimental to not only your team’s sales performance but their morale as well. If your actions don’t match your words, your team will quickly lose trust in you. Every single one of your decisions will be questioned and they simply won’t follow you as enthusiastically as they would otherwise. Why should they? No-one wants to work for a sloppy boss with double standards.

Hence, in your first few weeks as a team leader spend some time identifying the behaviours you want to see in your team and then make sure to lead by example. Remember, you can’t demand excellence if you’re not modelling it.

3. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY You will learn pretty quickly as a team leader that effective communication is vital. Never assume that you and your team are on the same page if you’re not in constant dialogue with them.

Sure, now you get to make the rules and tell people what to do. But are you getting your point across and do they understand what it is that you want them to do? More importantly, is your team interested in what you have to say? At the end of the day, if you’re not able to inspire your team to take action, can you really call yourself a leader?

This applies both to your expectations around key performance indicators (KPIs) as well as the type of behaviours that would cultivate a highperformance culture. To overcome this challenge, focus on the following three key areas the next time you’re communicating with your team: l CLARITY: Make sure to set SMART (specific, measureable, attainable, relevant, timely) goals. There is simply no place for vagueness or reading between the lines when it comes to sales management. Always make sure that your team is crystal clear when it comes to understanding business priorities as well as your expectations. l TRANSPARENCY: Your team wants to know what’s going on with the business. Make sure to update them on both the successes and the things that don’t go as planned, as well as the big picture projects that are discussed at your senior leadership meetings. If there’s anything you’re not free to share, simply say so and move on to another subject. This will not only build trust but will make your team feel part of something bigger. l CONSISTENCY: As a leader you want to be predictable. Whether it’s strategic priorities,

performance KPIs, or something as seemingly Every leader should have a succession plan in place. trivial as your mood, you should never leave your For example, if you have a sales rep who is team guessing what might be coming next. Just currently acing their pitches, give them an think back to how frustrating it was when your boss opportunity to work on a client that you would changed their mind about an important decision normally assign to someone more senior. It will be a after you did all the work based on their previous stretch assignment and they will most likely need a choice. You just wasted weeks and you’re back to lot of hand-holding at first. However, it will help square one. Sure, you might want to switch your build their confidence, broaden their horizons, and sales tactics occasionally, but they should never give them an invaluable opportunity to start distract your team from the long-term goals. learning the ropes of their future role early on. 4. FOCUS ON WHAT’S IMPORTANT AND DELEGATE THE REST 5. CELEBRATE SUCCESS Learning how to delegate changed my life. It truly is When you celebrate, your body releases chemicals one of the most important skills you must develop called endorphins into your body. At that moment, as a leader. Why? Because you simply can’t do you feel incredible. Suddenly, you get an everything yourself – so don’t even try. extraordinary surge of motivation to go after

As a leader, your time should be spent on strategic another one of your key accounts. The momentum planning, performance evaluation, coaching, starts building and you keep closing one deal after removing roadblocks to help your team progress another. Success breeds success. deals and, finally, motivating your employees. Yet, we have been conditioned to move Everything else is priority number two and can be immediately on to the next goal instead of delegated to your team. celebrating our wins. Often, leaders brush off their

“Time is money” may be a cliché, but it’s true, team’s victories as them simply doing their job. A and you need to spend your time in areas that will salesperson is supposed to sell, right? Technically, drive the highest return on investment. After all, that’s true. However, there’s so much more to sales why would you waste all that time and energy on management than just hitting your monthly recruiting and training your sales superstars if you numbers. You need to motivate your team and end up doing their job yourself anyway. That simply make them feel appreciated. You need to show that doesn’t make sense. their work matters to you and the business. That’s

It’s simple if you’re new to the company and can how you build loyalty and create a high-performing start afresh from day one. It’s more challenging if culture. If you fail to properly celebrate your team’s you’ve been promoted into a leadership position. accomplishments, you are essentially telling them Chances are, you probably that what they are doing hate the idea of handing over your favourite clients to less experienced team members. After all, you “As a leader, your key priority is your team. From now on, focus on supporting them isn’t all that exciting and important. As part of my team’s personal development spent years getting to first and foremost” plans, I ask them to know them and building come up with a list of the relationship, so it’s just easier all round if you champagne moments. It’s a collection of their key keep looking after them in your new role as well… career ambitions, such as winning their first client,

I’m sorry to say this, but you need to learn to let booking the first £1m of revenue, getting a go. As a leader, you will not have enough time to promotion and so on. It doesn’t have to be sales manage all your prospective clients and effectively related. Once they hit that goal, we make sure to look after your team at the same time. From now pause, savour the moment and celebrate. on, your key priority is your team. Focus on Sometimes, it’s something as simple as a high five supporting them first and foremost. or a bottle of whisky. You don’t have to be

If your role also requires you to pursue any extravagant to show your team you care. prospects on your own, make sure they match your Think of it as an investment in their future. level of skill and expertise. All other accounts can be NOW, REAP YOUR REWARDS left in the capable hands of your team members. So, there you have it – my five tips on making the Remember, deciding on what not to do is just as transition into your new leadership role a lot more important as deciding what to do. successful and enjoyable. There will be a lot of trial

If you’re still not convinced, let me tell you this: and error during the process, and things will not delegation provides opportunities for growth. This always go your way, but if your true passion lies in means that you should anticipate your team’s career uncovering your team’s talents and unleashing their paths and provide them with opportunities to full potential, then a leadership position will be one develop skills needed to qualify for a promotion. of the most rewarding roles of your career.

RUTA MISIUNAITE (LISM) is senior business development manager, mid-market, at IRI, which provides integrated big data, predictive analytics and forward-looking insights on technology platform IRI Liquid Data. In 6 years, she has progressed from junior salesperson at IRI to leading her own team. She is dedicated to continuous personal development, and to helping fellow sales professionals by sharing her knowledge and experience in blogs, webinars and, of course, Winning Edge articles. Visit: linkedin.com/in/ ruta-misiunaite