Top Tips for Sales Leaders
Top traits, habits, and personas to look for and develop in your journey as a sales leader
Happy Wednesday friends!
As mentioned last week, I’m going to try something new this week.
The goal here is to condense the content and tidy things up just a bit in hopes of optimizing impact.
In this week’s edition of Stretch Weekly -
Joubin Mirzadegan talks with Mike Wolff, - SVP Global ISV Partners, about the early days of SalesForce, starting out as an SDR and moving up the ranks as a sales leader.
Jason Lemkin gives us his list of the 7 things the best sales reps do (and what mediocre ones don’t)
Plus another slight tweak to snippets this week as we hone our craft as sales leaders and coaches.
THANKS for reading!!
And hey - shoot me a note (you can just reply to this email) and let me know what you think about the slight format change. Love it? Hate it? Don’t notice a difference?
-Grant
And lastly - as always, if you find this newsletter valuable- subscribe or share it with someone who might as well 👊.
STRETCH SHARES
Tips for Becoming a More Effective Sales Leader
Go To Market Grit has quickly become one of my most-listened-to podcasts. I love how Joubin navigates his guest’s journey as a sales leader but also highlights struggles, triumphs, and takeaways. If you haven’t already - add this to your subscription.
This one with Mike Wolff, - SVP Global ISV Partners talks about the early days of SalesForce, starting out as an SDR and moving up the ranks as a sales leader, and is fantastic.
Highlights:
How Mike landed a job as a sales development rep at Salesforce during the company's early stages in 2002. (1:13)
The factors that led to Salesforce’s rapid growth in the early 2000s. (9:02)
The interview methods Mike uses when hiring salespeople. (16:19)
How Mike ended up in sales leadership after working as an individual contributor. (19:39)
The importance to be constantly adapting. (22:40)
How dealing with difficult personal experiences can make you a better and more resilient person. (26:00)
The importance of having clear values as a business and an individual. (30:33)
Authenticity, transparency, and communication: The leadership values Mike tries to embody. (34:44)
“Your team is always watching you”: Why leaders need to stay even-keeled and focused. (41:01)
Why Mike conducts a 'chronological interview' when hiring salespeople. (43:32)
Listen to the full podcast HERE
7 Things The Best Sales Reps Get Right
I’ll never shy away from slinging Lemkin lessons - especially when it comes to sales. As we recruit, hire, coach, and lead our teams I thought this post on what separates the best sales reps was fitting. In Jason’s mind, the best reps:
Listen to actual problems and show the best solution
Help demo, pilot, or try the product
Fluent in, and honest about the competition
Honest about product gaps and weaknesses
Don’t play games with pricing - will be fair from the start
There AFTER the deal
They’ve done research BEFORE the first call
Compare this list with his listed examples of what a mediocre rep does and see where we can get better.
STRETCH SNIPPETS
✅ Curiosity, Storytelling, Scrappiness, Resilience, and more. Ring DNA published their top 7 habits of highly successful salespeople. What else would you add?
🧐 Increasing sales begins with building a strong sales team, and doing that begins with establishing effective training strategies. 15 members of Forbes Business Development Council share their favorite techniques for sales training.
📊 Sunnie Giles presents findings from her study of over 195 leaders across 30 companies on the most important leadership competencies. Results? Strong Ethics & Safety, Empowering to Self Organize, Fostering a Sense of Connection and Belonging, Openness to New Ideas & Learning, Nurtures Growth.
🤳 “The very best sales hires are self-aware”, says Amy Volas. Leaders AND individual contributors alike. Check out her top 10 list of skills and traits to look for when interviewing.
💼“ I say dance, they say ‘How high?'” You can learn a lot from success, but you can learn even more from failure. No one embodies this truth like Michael Scott—the king of paper merchantry, the greatest manager Dunder Mifflin ever saw (or so he’d like to have you think). Jackie Goudreault gives us 8 Sales Lessons from Michael Scott.
🧠 Mindset Matters
Thanks for reading!
My hope is if you find this valuable, consider sharing it with friends (or signing up if you haven’t already).
— Grant 👋
About stretch vp: confessions, learnings, and insights from sales leaders in SaaS
Compiled and aggregated from a network of sales leaders in SaaS, Stretch VP showcases learnings, insights, and experiences as well as best practices to overcome common hurdles, obstacles, and setbacks in your quest for excellence as a sales leader in SaaS.
Are you a VP, Director, thought leader, or content producer in the SaaS space? We’d love to have you contribute. Contact Me HERE.
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