Strange Expectations in Sales and Inefficiencies

Leaders read and focus on the responsibilities and traits needed to reach the top and succeed.

We are looking at the easily forgotten or the unbeknownst.

First, we looked at “The Comedian,” then we looked at “The Inefficient.”

But today, it’s SALES.

For our Start-Up e-book and LETs video podcast, we touched on how entrepreneurs need to sell.

Now, we are expanding the declaration to all-size entities, and all stages of a business.

No, we don’t mean the C-Suite is on sales calls or part of the sales process. You can only scale when you remove the leaders from that. Numerous small businesses stay small because sales guy #1 is the Founder, and no one else ever brings in leads, negotiates or closes a deal.

Areas where the executives can feel like “The Salesperson”:

Brand
Public Relations
Investors
Stakeholders
Customers
Employees
Lenders
Compliance/Government

A few different ways they can participate can include:

“Face of the Business”
Media
Relationships
Voice of Leadership
Business Development
Volunteering
Forum or other membership or community participation

Each Executive can be a minor player in some areas. But, why would you pay the extraordinary payroll of a leader who doesn’t contribute to one or more of your organization’s essential parts?

When you are petite, that salary likely needs to contribute to one or more of the areas listed above, right?

Leadership isn’t just ‘in the walls’ of the organization. It’s not an inside job. It will suffer if you aren’t seen as a leader outside of your organization.

Examples of areas that won’t amplify without external leadership include:

Recruiting
Referrals
Partnerships
Sales

You want to attract talent. Guess what? For that to happen, they need to know about you and be inspired.

You want to be at the top of mind, so your product or services are referred to and recommended. How do you remind people you exist?

You want to work with affiliates, vendors, and partners who share your values and contribute to the same customer base. How do they learn about you?

And, yeah, you kinda need to earn some revenue, too, right?

A CFO asked the other day,

“How do I get my successors to attend events like these?”

They said that the middle managers were young and didn’t have competing priorities (like kids!) yet were reluctant to network. They were edging on unwilling! They didn’t see it as part of their role, which was a problem.

They identified as:

Too busy
Productive from home (or their desk)
Not seeing value in commuting
Unclear on how external activities are tied to their role, responsibilities, or KPIs
Unsure where they should go or what was applicable or available

In this case, the answer is easy. There are so many CPD and networking events, such as Aha with Amplify events or FEI membership.

We had an Aha on this. Revisit it, and learn more about the consequences of thinking the work is enough:

Aha with Amplify: Personal Branding

Yet, the CFO’s concern is common. Too often, people think the work they do is enough. And, it’s rarely the case. No one succeeds alone, and part of being a leader is bringing credibility, a network, and cumulative expertise. That’s bigger than a single person can do on their own. As you develop that, you get to “sell” your organization, which has exponential opportunities.

If you are an executive with your head down, this is a reminder to get out there. If your middle management doesn’t ‘get it’, you must set a tone at the top and clear expectations and opportunities. And if you’re gunning for the seat, you’d better find your value in sales, too.

(Or don’t – leave the competitive organizations to do it and beat you in the race!)

Signs your Executive, or are you not pulling the executive sales weight?

Stories and celebrations aren’t part of the equation.
You are often referred to as “Oh like, “name competitor,” and otherwise not heard of.
Recruiting staff, vendors, financing, and business partnerships is a challenge.
The Founder does all leads, negotiations and closing of deals.
The C-suite doesn’t understand the marketing and sales objectives, KPIs, or ROI and is skeptical but not participative or helpful.

Next, we discuss the value of being inefficient as a leader.