Development of Essential Leadership Skills

Vision, Strategy, Belief, Drive, Pressure, Targets, Communication Skills, Negotiation Skills, Knowledge, and Planning.

What do all the above have in common?


They are all necessary Traits / Characteristics /Skills of a good /great Sales Person.

Let's look at three of them this morning.

1.  Vision
Without of Vision of what you want to do, and the discipline to regularly visualise yourself doing it, it is fairly unlikely that you will actualise it.

The best Sales People not only have a vision of where they want their vision to take them, but also regularly visualise their journey / path to their destination.

It's the Vision of where you're going that gets you through the many difficult moments that you're more than likely to come across on your way there.

Money can disappear or be taken from you in seconds. But a Vision can never be taken from you.

2. Strategy
No matter how amazing your service or product is, you need an effective Strategy to roll it out - A Sales Strategy. Quite often this means working in sync with the Marketing Department, Accounts Department, and even Human Resources - in terms of human capital and talent management.

In other words good Sales Leadership demands an ability to Strategise and Communicate effectively with other departments so as to get everyone pulling in the same direction.

Finally, you may well have the most amazing Strategy in the world, but it's very unlikely that you alone can implement it. The best implemented strategies are those that are executed by the right people. In other words, a good Sales Leader needs to be able to Hire, Place, Delegate and Assign effectively.


3. Communication Skills

What good is a great Vision if it can't be Communicated to colleagues effectively?!

You cannot actualise your Vision / Strategy / Plan on your own. Not only do you need the right people but you need them to believe / buy into where you're heading. This takes Listening, Supporting, Inspiring, Influencing, and Persuading; all key components of Communication.


And what do ALL the above have in common?

They are all necessary Traits / Characteristics / Skills of great Leaders.

One of the many reasons a Successful Sales Career is the best preparation for Leadership is because it prepares you for Encouraging, Managing, and Inspiring people.