Establishing trust with your sales team
Sales managers need to both trust and be trusted by their sales team. Here are a few of the most important ways in which this can be established:
- Being respected is more important than being liked – No sales manager can expect to succeed if they are universally disliked by their sales team, but being liked should never be their top priority: it is far more important to earn their salespeople’s respect, because this will lead to being liked, but for the right reasons.
- Lead by example – Sales managers must always reflect and embody the behaviours they expect from their team. They must establish clear standards and expectations, and demonstrate honesty, integrity, and transparency in every aspect of thoughts, actions, and communications.
- Reward truth-telling – Sales managers must insist on telling and being told the truth: salespeople must be encouraged and rewarded for truth-telling, even when the facts are uncomfortable. It is impossible to run an effective team when reality is ignored or “swept under the carpet”.
- Deal with issues as they arise – Significant issues must be dealt with as soon as possible after they arise, rather than ignored or put off until later. Salespeople need to believe that their manager is on their side, has their best interests at heart, and will deal with any issues that might be holding them back.
- Refuse to tolerate bad behaviour – If salespeople see others getting away with inappropriate behaviour, they will question the need to comply themselves. If any individual salesperson consistently refuses to comply with established guidelines or processes, they must either be brought in line or removed from the organisation.
