Do your sales leaders have the proper skills to develop their sales team? Do you have a strategy for measuring and assessing the skills of a sales leader? In this video, Joane Ramsey, Senior Performance Improvement Consultant, is joined by Rick Van Natta, Senior Performance Consultant, to discuss the use of the Sales Navigator 360 multi-rater survey process for sales leadership assessment and development.
Joane Ramsey: 00:01 Hi, I'm Joane Ramsey, Senior Performance Improvement Consultant, and today I'm joined by Rick Van Natta, Senior Performance Consultant, for a discussion about the use of a 360 multi-rater survey process. In this video, we're focusing on the use of this instrument with sales leadership.
Rick Van Natta: 00:27 Hi, Joane. It's good to be here.
Joane Ramsey: 00:30 This is an interesting topic because, when we normally meet with clients, they come to us looking to learn more about this process for their salespeople. When we suggest that sales management can equally benefit from a similar process that is focused on measuring their sales leadership skills, some are surprised. The research is very clear. Salesforce development interventions implemented without manager support have very limited impact.
Rick Van Natta: 00:59 That's so true. We've seen over the years of doing this work that the companies where the same process is modeled by their sales leadership, salespeople more readily accept the feedback they receive, more easily secure development resources they need, and more eagerly make a commitment to take action on personal development. As a result, they're overall more successful sales organizations.
Joane Ramsey: 01:22 So the question then is, what are we measuring when assessing the skills of a sales leader? What if I have sales leaders in different stages of their careers?
Rick Van Natta: 01:33 Yes, those are great questions. When we look at the sales leader navigator, which is our multi-rater process, we offer two brand models. One that's focused on more of an entry-level sales manager or strategic sales leader model, and another that's more focused on when the sales managers have advanced in their careers and are more focused on the bigger picture, our growth sales leadership model.
Joane Ramsey: 01:57 It is important to point out that both are critical jobs within a sales organization. We are able to use this feedback process to help determine the current situation of the organization's leadership and help determine future needs. This is incredibly valuable information because it can help an organization plan their budget for developmental needs with a targeted approach and ensure that their leadership is at par or above their competition.
Rick Van Natta: 02:26 Yes. Years of research have gone into developing these "off-the-shelf" models. You've mentioned that some clients are asked, "What are we measuring?" Plain and simple, we're measuring behaviors. The model we use combines specific competencies or behavior divided into the four roles of the sales leader: the Visionary, the Tactician, the Facilitator, and the Contributor roles.
Joane Ramsey: 02:47 I think to help people better understand, we should dive into what each role represents. For instance, when we refer to the visionary role of a sales leader, we're talking about their ability to guide organizational and individual growth through creation and communication of a compelling vision and strategy. Within each leader's level, the competencies involved will vary slightly, but the bottom line is that they have to focus on ensuring that they are creating and communicating a compelling vision and strategy to their people. This is a critical success factor for a successful sales organization.
Rick Van Natta: 03:25 That's correct. We might measure different behaviors depending on their level, but the overall role they have to play is very similar. When we look at the Tactician role, sales leaders have to ensure their results are achieved by efficiently planning work, delegating responsibility, reviewing performance, and improving systems and processes. No matter what level they are, whether a sales manager or vice president of sales, they still have to follow through on the tactical things that are needed to run a sales department. The nuance has to do with whether someone needs the skills to manage a budget and expenses versus just monitoring sales activities.
Joane Ramsey: 04:06 The same is true when it comes to their role as a Facilitator. This is where sales leaders have to create an environment of collaboration and partnership to ensure effective working relationships. As a sales manager, you might be building a sales team, whereas a vice president of sales, you might be leading the team. The difference is very subtle. One is about identifying and integrating diverse roles and individuals to create an effective sales team. Whereas, the other has to do with knowing how to facilitate our sales team's efforts to accomplish specific objectives.
Rick Van Natta: 04:46 And in all of this, they're still Contributors with individual character traits. As they conduct themselves on the job, they have to create organizational success by contributing their own personal talents, experiences, and abilities around business acumen while displaying their own personal character traits like integrity, compassion, customer focus initiatives, etc. How many times have we worked with clients that are in higher positions but have not yet mastered some of these competencies?
Joane Ramsey: 05:15 You bring up such a good point, Rick. Sometimes people are promoted because they are really good at their current job and show potential, but without really assessing whether they can handle the expectations of the job they are promoted to, the organization, unknowingly, might be setting them up for failure.
Rick Van Natta: 05:34 Conducting a 360 assessment helps everyone – the sales manager in question, their direct reports, and the organization. Once you know where your strengths lie, you're able to leverage them. The same goes for areas of improvement. As a leader, this is great information to have. True leaders are always looking to improve.
Joane Ramsey: 05:54 And the organization benefits so much from it because we know that people tend to leave their jobs because of their managers. That is the number one reason why people leave. Having good leadership in place helps reduce turnover, improves results, and becomes a source of competitive advantage. People want to work for good leaders.
Rick Van Natta: 06:16 That's so true. Good leaders help attract good employees. It's so powerful to really know the strengths and areas of improvement of your leadership team.
Joane Ramsey: 06:26 Rick, thanks for being here today. I hope we were able to provide clarity around our 360 multi-rater for sales leaders.
Rick Van Natta: 06:35 Thanks for having me, Joane.
Joane Ramsey: 06:37 For additional information on improving your sales organization, please visit us at StrategicEnhancementGroup.com.
