Many salespeople seek to grow into management positions. However, many of these same people don't act like a leader or a manager in their day-to-day activities. In the future, High Leadership will require a salesperson to understand who they are and what they stand for while consistently exceeding revenue quotas and customer satisfaction expectations.
Once a salesperson understands who they are, and they consistently exceed the High-Character sales expectations of the future, they begin to influence others in a more impactful manner. In other words, they are in tune with their clients, their own company, and more importantly they know what they stand for. In short, they begin to exude leadership -- leadership at the corporate edge. As a leader in the future they must understand how to synchronize sales processes with marketing messages while providing top-notch services. All of this requires them to be fully engaged with individual buyer processes -- and displaying leadership to buyers as well.
Achieving consistently high sales productivity requires a hands-on approach that is engaged and aligned in a common organizational direction. Sales, marketing, and services professionals must understand their personal and organizational goals and how to achieve them.
They must invest their time in the right accounts and the right activities. Growth efficiency requires skilled and focused leadership. It also requires leaders who can mobilize their team members, employees who work for them, and even their own management teams to achieve a common goal that meets the strategic and financial goals of the firm while providing the absolute best service and support to the customer.
Future salespeople will be asked to lead, no matter what position they hold in their sales organization! Their position, at the corporate boundary, will require it. Once salespeople fully embrace the High-Character, High-Leadership paradigm, they must understand what is required by all these critical stakeholders and be a solid rock of product knowledge, subject matter expertise, and consultant.
