I recently presented a webinar for Contact Science called The Art, Science, Game of Sales. Which not surprisingly has spawned a Chip off the Block newsletter series – if you missed the first installment The Art of Sales check it out.
I’ve always thought of sales leaders as being the conductor of an orchestra, with the individual contributors on the team being the musicians.
The conductor doesn’t play the instruments for the orchestra; instead he is up in front cajoling the right sounds, keeping time, eliciting emotion.
Consider sales results, the music that a masterful conductor brings out of orchestra. The conductor doesn’t create the music but conducts a conversation between what is written on the score and the musicians.
If we think of you as the conductor and salespeople playing the instruments in your orchestra, then you will realize:
- The conductor doesn’t need to be an expert at playing all the instruments in an orchestra to be successful.
- Each salesperson, like each instrument in the orchestra, has something different to add to the team.
- Many people in an orchestra have never conducted and most don’t want to.
Expert
You have probably heard discussions and perhaps been involved in conversations where one person says only the most successful salespeople will make a good manager while others will share the exact opposite point of view.
If you see your role as an inside sales manager in the same light as a masterful conductor, this debate becomes almost meaningless.
Certainly anyone who is an inside sales manager needs to understand;
- The traits needed to be a successful inside salesperson
- What daily challenges inside salespeople face along with ways to overcome them
- Sales in general, the sales process of the organization, and buying process of the customers
- How to have conversations with prospects and customers under difficult circumstances
A conductor must understand music, the challenges of each section in their orchestra, the language of each instrument, and more. No one in the orchestra expects their conductor to be able to jump off the podium and play their particular instrument as a virtuoso.
They do expect the conductor to walk out on stage in front of the entire audience and lead the orchestra to a successful concert. Leaving at the end to an ovation and the echoes of “Bravo.”
Differences
Every quartet, jazz band, orchestra, etc. is made up of different instruments that together make beautiful music.
As you look at your team, although everyone is part of your inside sales orchestra, the instrument they play and the section they belong to will be different.
Trying to fill your team with first chair violinists is not only difficult, but perhaps impossible.
Instead begin to look at the people on your team as individuals. What are their talents, where do they have room to grow, and what areas are they competent in?
In an orchestra you can’t compare the way an oboist plays their instrument to the technique of a cellist. Yet you can tell if they are both successful and realize that there are similarities in what they need to do to achieve their success.
Determine what the similar success factors are for your team and talk about those in the group. Ensure you have measurements that will not only give you an idea of activity, but also precision.
If both the oboist and cellist practice for 4 hours daily, but only the cellist slows down and corrects their mistakes, the imprecise oboe practice will not make the oboist better at their craft or more successful in their career.
The Art of Sales Leadership
The art of sales leadership is about recognizing the beauty each member of your team brings when THEY are play perfectly, having the ability to draw out the best in people, letting them shine.
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