There’s no one size fits all approach to managing a team of salespeople or wholesale distributors. There are a number of different types of sales leaders who use varying strategies to inspire and motivate their teams. Here are some of the most common types of sales leaders:
Star Player
The Star Player sales leader is driven by one thing and one thing only: numbers. This leader doesn’t sleep until his team has not only met, but surpassed, all sales goals. He may have even been a salesperson or wholesale distributor before rising to the top, since he’s a smooth talker and can be very persuasive. Although this type of leader will push his team to meet commission goals and score huge payouts, he has high expectations and wants his team to work around the clock to get the job done.
General Manager
The General Manager acts as both a sales leader and project manager in his day-to-day activities. He is detail-oriented and focuses on the bottom line over all else. This leader is not swayed by heartfelt emotion and won’t make a decision without analyzing the numbers to see what risk is involved.
The Veteran
Just like this leader’s name suggest, the Veteran has been in the business for a long time and believes he has seen it all. He does business the old fashioned way and is loyal to his team to a fault. In fact, his loyalty may sometimes get in the way of making the best decisions for the business. Although he is loved by his team, his one downside is his adversity to change and slow adoption of new technology that would make his—and his team’s—jobs much easier.
The Coach
Unlike the Star Player, the Coach sales leader does not concern himself with numbers and instead focuses on following his gut to lead his team. He is not afraid of taking risks and understands that not every decision that he makes will be the right one. But, he always learns from his mistakes and keeps moving forward to achieve the “big picture” goal.
Team Captain
Every sales leader should strive to be more like the Team Captain, who is loved by all of his employees for his “all for one, one for all” attitude. Team Captains have the power to bring people together, even when they don’t agree or get along with each other. The only downfall of this type of leader is once a decision is made, there’s no deviating from the course, even if it is apparent that it was the wrong decision.
Hall of Famer
Who can salespeople call on when they’re in need of help with closing a sale, sweet talking a client or making tough decisions? The Hall of Famer sales leader, of course. This overachiever was born to be a leader and exudes confidence and passion. It may be difficult to impress the Hall of Famer, but once you’ve won this leader over, you’ll be an ally for life. But, even the Hall of Famer leader is not perfect. These leaders tend to take failures personally and find it hard to recover quickly and move on.
What type of sales leader do you think you are? Is there another type that you wish you could be? Share your thoughts in the comments below!