Sales Leadership Competencies
Sales leaders have different views of what leadership looks like depending on their personality style. What each style values in leadership will help them understand where they need improvement.
As I’m sure you know, a great salesperson does not necessarily make a great sales leader. How many of you have worked for someone who fits this description? The skill set and competencies of each are different.
The high-Blue sales leader is focused on their relationship with each salesperson. Their strength is honest and transparent communication and the ability to give each person the time and attention to develop their skills. People are loyal to the Blue leader because of the personalized attention they receive. Blues are empathetic and passionate, and they focus on pleasing their people and clients. A Blue will always give their salesperson the benefit of the doubt when performance needs improvement. You know you’re working for a Blue leader when you feel relaxed about your day to day activities.
The high-Gold sales leader is very decisive, well organized, on top of the numbers and direct in their communication. They have no problem delivering a tough message on performance issues. The Gold Leader is disciplined and structured and expect their salespeople to follow through on their commitments. Golds are committed to their people and will be loyal, even as their top priority is delivering results to the company. A good example of a Gold leader is having scheduled weekly calls on a regular basis going over activity.
The high-Green leader is futuristic, great at problem solving and breaking down obstacles for their people. They help their salespeople develop a winning strategy for tough sales opportunities. A Green leader asks the right questions. You know you’re working for the Green when they want to get into the details of every opportunity.
The high-Orange sales leader is the cheerleader for their team, are the most optimistic and are risk takers. They’re enthusiastic and move at a fast pace, always focused on winning. The core competency of the Orange is strong relationships with their people and their clients. Oranges focus on the big picture and details might bog them down. They are action oriented and bottom line driven. You know you’re working for an Orange when there is a lot of energy and excitement on the team.
An important part of being a great sales leader is understanding who you are. When you leverage your strengths, it minimizes your weaknesses. It’s critical that you show your people that you are committed to their success. Blues focus on relationships, Golds on organization and planning, Greens on the future and problem solving, and Oranges on energy and winning.
Good selling!
Stu
Stu Schlackman is the Relationship Selling Expert. After more than 20 years in corporate sales, Stu formed his sales training firm to focus on helping his clients achieve superior sales results. Leveraging his competitive nature, he focuses on training and coaching sales and service teams to reach peak performance.
Before starting his own company, Schlackman was instrumental in increasing revenue and growing the client base of large corporations such as Capgemini, EDS, and the former Digital Equipment Corporation. His focus on relationship building led his sales teams to exceed sales projections by more than 30% percent annually.
Today, Schlackman uses his “Four People You Should Know” Personality Perspectives Process to help companies build high performance teams and increase sales by connecting with the four different personality styles.
He received the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) award from the National Speakers Association, their highest performance-based designation.
Stu Schlackman
National Speakers Association, CSP
www.StuSchlackman.com
Stu@StuSchlackman.com
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