I heard an interesting philosophy recently which can be paraphrased as ‘What you do will have very little impact on the superstars, with or without you, they will be successful. Our job is to make the average great – to help them hit the next level’

Very interesting thought. I have been thinking about it in this manner – what are the things that make sales leaders great and how can I (as a leader) make those things programmatic in the business to help the broad team raise their performance? A few thoughts come to mind:

• Great account planning. Ensuring that each team has a great plan – without that, how can you attain your goals?
• Programs that drive relationships. Help the team keep in touch with their customers and partners in a meaningful way. Often these programs are taken from the superstars .. who did them on their own.
• Clarity: Make sure that everyone understands what is expected internally and that those demands are minimized. Free them to sell while ensuring that they know exactly what is required to meet corporate reporting goals (This really relates to forecasting and the like)
• Recognition: Make sure that people say thank-you to their customers and that they are thanked for going that extra mile. It is easy to thank for the big things, it has impact when you thank for the little things.

Interesting thought.