How to Make Your Number (A Note to the Sales Leader)

If you want to reach your big goal as a leader, here is the recipe. It’s simple, but it isn’t easy.

Start with hiring: Field the very best team you can. There isn’t anything that is going to help you more than starting with good people who care about and take pride in their work. What you want most of all is a set of positive, healthy beliefs and positive attributes. You want strong character.

Give them meaning: Your role as a leader is to instill the work with meaning. The mission needs to mean something more than making the number. How does it provide growth? How does it provide contribution? How does it make a difference? This is part of the work a leader does, and it is the leader’s obligation. It’s the culture she creates and protects.

Develop your people: Making your number doesn’t end with hiring well. It isn’t enough. It’s never been enough. If you want to make your number, you need to coach, train, teach, and develop the people you hired. You want to improve their skills from week to week, from month to month, and from quarter to quarter. The world keeps changing and it’s your job to help them keep up.

Give them great leaders: The role of sales manager is a leadership role. You don’t want sales managers who manages their team; you want sales managers who leads their teams. Leaders serve their people. They provide the vision and mission, and then help provide the resources and remove the obstacles. If you want a great team, give them a great leader.

Give them the tools and technology: If you want your people to succeed in making their number, give them the tools and the technology they need. Give them a good sales process. Give them good methodologies. Give them good nurture tools they can use to open new relationships. And give them the hardware and the software they need.

Engage with your team: If you want your team to make their number–and your goal–you need to engage with them. You need to communicate with them. You need to spend time with them. You need to help them with their obstacles and with the decisions that only you can make. Making your number means your engagement is necessary.

Which part of this recipe are you missing?