What are the key things one needs to keep in mind to be an effective sales leader? In this episode of Lance Rants, Lance Tyson dives into the realm of sales leadership, emphasizing the importance of human connection while maintaining a keen awareness of time management. As a leader, striking a balance between approachability and execution is key. Lance prompts us to ponder: Do we have the optimal talent onboard? Is our team primed for success? Can we cultivate a culture of coachability? While acknowledging the necessity of setting boundaries, Lance underscores the transformative power of assembling the right team—a catalyst for success not only for oneself but for the entire organization. Tune in for invaluable insights into navigating the intricate dynamics of sales leadership!
Lance is the bestselling author of 'Selling Is An Away Game,' and 'The Human Sales Factor.' You can purchase these books at: https://lancejtyson.com
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Lance Rants: From Dependence To Autonomy - Lance's Top Tip For Leaders
You don't want to appear that you're not available. That wasn't the point. I'm not saying you're saying that at all either. It comes from a philosophy of, “My door is always open.” You'll realize as parents, your door is not always open. You realize that your parents are probably doors that don’t always open relative to whatever is in your life. However, you're racing. That doesn't matter. You can't have total availability. I get smart-asses all the time and say, “What if I'm in a cube?” Metaphorically, maybe you're not getting what I'm saying. You can't always be available because it doesn't do anybody good, then everything bottlenecks with you. It's lethargic and it's slow.
Remember and this isn't a criticism of the generation. It is though a little bit. You guys come out of a generation. I'm not saying my generation is any better like I'm not going to be the old guy that go, “Look at the Millennials. Look at those ears.” Screw it. Like you got a generation that had everything was instant gratification. You go watch a whole seasonal Netflix and binge-watch to get in line for the movies.
What it really comes down to is profitable action. It's not how much you get done. It's what's profitable.
Your Job As A Sales Leader
You've witnessed or you've participated in these helicopter parents who have told every one of your friends and maybe you, I've parented this way at times, that you're special, that you are special and now all of a sudden they're in a corporate environment maybe they're not special, that they have one participation trophies, which devalue things like everybody gets a trophy. It devalues the trophy at some level. It is not good because it destroys the steam and everything else. All of a sudden, they're in a corporate environment.
You have a group of people that will come to you because every time they have a sniffle, somebody's wiping their nose. I'm not saying that makes people soft. I'm saying they were mismanaged because corporate environments do not equate playing Rec League soccer and getting a trophy. I remember my kid was playing Tim Horton's soccer and all my kids played hockey. They were playing soccer this year and this one year, I said to one of the parents, I'm drinking a coffee next. I'm like, “What's the score?” He looked at me. He goes, “We don't keep score. We don't believe in it here.” Apparently, this guy is like Commissioner Blake. I go, “Right on.”I'm not going to get into a fricking social conversation with him because who knows what awkward thing he's into.
My fat little kid comes over sweaty with a red face. I go, “How are you doing there?” He goes, “Good. Can I get some Gatorade?” I go, “I'm holding it right here. What's the score?” He goes, “Upper by nine points. I got three.” I'm like, “Who doesn't keep score? Everybody keeps score.” It’s what we do. We're humans. We know how many berries we collected for the long winter.
Here you are on your parents' cell phone plan. I'm not criticizing you, but they're still on your parent's cell phone plan. They're doing their thing and they get checked in all the time. You have that group of people. You have some people who are independent. They're going to knock on your door and you can't kill them on it because you don't know, maybe from a mental health standpoint, they're struggling with something. Maybe they have low self-esteem. You have to weigh it out a little bit. You don't all in, sell out to it, but you have to manage your own time. Derek will tell you through the pandemic, he was probably a social psychologist during the pandemic. That's the role we were playing as leaders.
If your people aren't at some level worried that somebody may take their job, then they would get lazy.
Understanding Motivation
People have bad headspace, and you guys know it. Be human. Connect with the human, but you also have to execute and evaluate your people. You got to say, “Do I have the best people here? Do I have the right team? Can I train them? Are they coachable?” Trust me, every single one of you, including myself. You will F up and make bad decisions. You'll make horrible decisions. It happens all the time. The key is to make a decision, sell out on it or whatever you do.
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