If you’re a sales leader, you set the tone for your entire team. Your sales reps watch how you communicate and handle challenges. They notice how you celebrate wins and respond to setbacks. That’s why strengthening your own leadership skills is so important. When you want your team to be resilient and disciplined, you have to model those behaviors first.
Sales Gravy’s Kayla Kilch believes leadership is what makes or breaks a team. Even with the most talented promo pros and a solid sales process, performance can stall without effective leadership. If you want to drive your team to the next level, Kilch recommends mastering 5 critical leadership skills. We share her thoughts in this issue of PromoPro Daily.
- Clear communication. If a team fails, it’s usually not because of a lack of talent but because of unclear expectations. Kilch says if your reps don’t know what you expect, how you measure success or where they’re falling short, you’re setting them up to fail. Make sure you define priorities, eliminate ambiguity and give feedback in real time.
- Effective goal setting. Sales leaders should focus on building direction, not just ensuring their team hits quota. Kilch says effective goal setting means tying team goals to companywide strategy. It requires breaking big objectives into manageable benchmarks and painting a picture of what success looks like so reps can envision themselves winning.
- Meaningful coaching. Micromanagers kill momentum, Kilch says, while coaches create it. As a sales leader, don’t just tell people what to do but coach them so they can do it themselves. According to Kilch, great sales coaching should include things like call reviews and regular one-on-one sessions that focus on skills and pipeline health.
- Adaptability. Markets shift, customers evolve and strategies that used to work won’t guarantee tomorrow’s success. That’s why you should view challenges as opportunities, Kilch says. Adaptability looks like adjusting sales strategies with confidence and staying ahead of industry trends.
- Accountability and recognition. Leaders should strike a balance, Kilch says. They shouldn’t be cheerleaders or tyrants but enforce accountability while recognizing wins. Hold reps accountable and address performance gaps while also celebrating progress and achievement.
When you master leadership skills like communicating clearly and balancing accountability with recognition, you don’t just earn respect but inspire action. In time, you’ll see your sales reps respond with sharper focus and stronger results.
Compiled by Audrey Sellers
Source: Kayla Kilch is the marketing and operations manager for Sales Gravy.
