In helping CEOs execute sales transformation initiatives within their organizations, we regularly see top executives struggle with the effectiveness (or perceived lack thereof) of their chief sales officer.\u00a0 In truth, it\u2019s sometimes difficult to isolate whether the CSO is causing poor sales results or simply suffering from a deeply rooted poor selling model.\u00a0 Nonetheless, it\u2019s the CSO\u2019s job to be the catalyst for the necessary sales change, and if they aren\u2019t being successful they may in fact be the problem.<\/p>\n
Some sales experts believe because the CSO job has become so complex, many sales leaders simply don\u2019t have the skills to execute.\u00a0 \u201cThe new reality of the sales profession has been particularly challenging for sales veterans who came up through the ranks when face-to-face selling was king and product knowledge could get you the sale. And yet these senior folks hold many of today\u2019s sales-leadership roles.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n In the world of sports, great players often fail as head coaches.\u00a0 Likewise, the skills it takes to be a top individual sales performer<\/em> are different than those needed to manage top producing sales teams.\u00a0\u00a0 We often find struggling CSOs are first timers in that position and were formerly an individual performer.\u00a0 Maybe they were promoted internally as a matter of courtesy or perhaps they \u2018interviewed well\u2019 for the job as an outside, but unknown candidate.\u00a0 Regardless, extra caution is required when considering a first timer for a sales leaders position.<\/p>\n Even the right Chief Sales Officer will struggle when other systemic issues drag down sales effectiveness.\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s difficult enough to make your sales number when your team is solid, your sales processes are finely tuned and your well aligned to company strategy and the rest of the C-suite.\u00a0\u00a0 Sales leaders that are hired into broken situations often fail despite doing many of the other things perfectly.<\/p>\n Based on our experiences in real world sales transformations, here are three things CEOs must do to break the cycle of weak sales leadership.\u00a0 Maybe not the easiest or least painful tasks you will undertake, but when necessary they are highly effective.<\/p>\n 1) Wrong Sales Leader? Rip the BandAid<\/strong><\/p>\n If you know you have the wrong person in the role, regardless of how or why they got there, remove them immediately.\u00a0 Struggling sales leaders know they are struggling and can do a lot of damage to client relationships, team morale and future pipelines as they flounder along.\u00a0 Find a short-term way to manage the sales team and start the recruiting process for a new leader.<\/p>\n 2) Address the Process<\/strong><\/p>\n Even good sales processes can be tuned to perform better.\u00a0 Look at these key areas:<\/p>\n These areas can be improved even while you\u2019re looking for your new leader.\u00a0 It will be one less issue they have to deal with when they join the team and shorten the time they\u2019ll need to generate positive momentum.<\/p>\n 3) Engage the Full Leadership Team in Sales Improvement<\/strong><\/p>\n For the new sales leader to be successful they will need the support of all departments and functions.\u00a0 Make sure each of your company\u2019s operations understands their role in the sales process and do what they can to improve how they engage with and enable the sales team to succeed.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re a CEO facing a challenge in the sales leadership role the sooner you resolve the issue the better for your company.\u00a0 Perhaps it\u2019s not the CSO on their own that is the issue \u2013 or perhaps they are in fact the problem.\u00a0 Either way, the situation must be dealt with decisively and with the right approach.\u00a0 If it is, you\u2019re on your way to breaking the cycle of poor sales leadership.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In helping CEOs execute sales transformation initiatives within their organizations, we regularly see top executives struggle with the effectiveness (or […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7920"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7920"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7920\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8167,"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7920\/revisions\/8167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7920"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7920"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.matthew-j-smith.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7920"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Top Sales Reps Don\u2019t Always Become Great Sales Leaders<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Broken Alignment, Poor Selling Culture or Weak Sales Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Breaking the Cycle of Poor Sales Leadership \u2013 Three Steps for CEOs<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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