Team Alpha 375

Achieving Sales Leadership
By 1^st Lieutenant Eddy Mayen

Are you a leader, a follower, or both? When you hear the word "leader", what one image or thought comes to your mind? Whether it is the military or sales, the word leadership usually produces an image of an individual standing in front of a group of people giving instructions or direction.

However, when I ask a sales team if they consider themselves to be leaders or followers - 99% of them consider themselves a leader and only 1% would call themselves a follower.

I am sure this does not come as a surprise, but what might surprise you is this: The answers above are only half right.The 1% that answer " followers" is usually a prior member of some branch of the US Armed Forces.

The United States Armed Forces produces leaders every day! So, how is it that soldiers answer "followers" when asked the question? Their answer comes from their training. Every soldier is taught that:

1. To be a leader, you must first learn to be a follower
2. To be a good leader, you must first learn to be a great follower
3. To be a great leader, you must first learn to be a superior follower

You see, I believe that people do not want to be followers, but they want to be led. To be a follower one must be humble, patient, disciplined, persistent, and confident. Ironically, these are the very same qualities we seek and expect to find in our leaders. And it sounds a little like the chicken or the egg theory.

Understand that when I talk about Achieving Sales Leadership, I am not talking about your ability to recruit, train, and motivate your own sales force. I am simply talking about your ability to lead the most important person in the world… YOU! In order to be a leader of ‘you’ you must first become a follower of ‘you’. Simply put, can you follow your own lead?

Your answer is critical, because in sales YOU is the most important word. The sale begins and ends with YOU.

While you are at it, let me share with you Jeffrey Gitomer’s YOU assessment from The Little Red Book of Selling:

Rate yourself in each category from One (poor) to Ten (the greatest) and see how great you are.

1. Your Image - How do you look?
2. Your ability to speak - can you convey your message?
3. Your ability to establish rapport - can you make your prospect feel at ease?
4. Your attitude - not what you say, but how you say it will make the sale.
5. Your product knowledge - Do you know it cold?
6. Your desire to help - are you willing to help others?
7. Your preparedness - do you prepare for every call?
8. Your humor - laughter will break through the thickest of ice shields.
9. Your creativity - what separates you from your competition?
10. Your sincerity - Shows through either way.
11. Your reputation - what do others say about you?
12. Your glue - how strong is your bond that holds the first 11 together?

How did you score? A perfect score is 120.

110-120 - You are a great you!
99-109 - Pretty darn good you
70-98 - You’re not as hot as you think
50-69 - You are mediocre at sales
49 and below - Walk, run or drive to the nearest store and buy a stronger deodorant because your friends are afraid to tell you that you stink!

Achieving Sales Leadership is not about putting up the numbers, winning all the contests or making all the money. Achieving Sales Leadership is about your personal journey in achieving 120 on the above assessment. Let me assure you that the closer you get to scoring 120 the more sales you will make, the more contests you will win and the more money you will make.

Now, let me re-phrase my question: Are you a leader, a follower, or both?