2 Rules for Sales Leaders

Sales management is often viewed through the lens of hitting quotas and driving revenue. However, whether you're a part-time sales leader or a full-time executive, effective leadership is about much more than just numbers. It involves growing your salespeople, creating a thriving environment, and ensuring your team is set up for long-term success. Central to this approach are two core principles:

Rule #1: Your job isn't to grow sales; it's to grow salespeople—first in quality, then quantity.

Rule #2: Your customer isn't the end user of your product or service; it's your sales team.

These rules emphasize a people-first leadership approach but don't negate the importance of accountability. A crucial part of growing your team is holding them to high standards and ensuring they deliver on their responsibilities. Let's break down these concepts in detail.

Rule #1: Your Job Isn't to Grow Sales, It's to Grow Salespeople

At first glance, focusing on your salespeople instead of revenue might seem counterproductive. After all, isn't the goal to drive more sales? Yes, sustainable sales growth comes from developing a high-performing team—not just pushing numbers.

Quality Before Quantity: Growing your team means starting with quality. Sales leaders often make the mistake of trying to scale before their team is ready, focusing on increasing output (quantity) without ensuring the quality of work is there. By emphasizing quality first, you build a foundation that can support greater success in the long term.

Training and Development: Invest time in training your team on products and soft skills like communication, resilience, and strategic thinking. A sales team equipped with these skills will be far more effective than one that only knows how to pitch.

Coaching and Feedback: Great leaders don't just manage; they coach. They appreciate your providing personalized, actionable feedback to help them grow. This means spending time with individuals, identifying their strengths and weaknesses, and helping them improve.

Accountability is Key: However, focusing on growth and development doesn't mean giving up on accountability. Holding your team accountable is a critical part of growth. Establishing clear expectations and consistently measuring performance against those benchmarks is mission-critical.

Set Standards: Ensure your team knows what is expected of them regarding performance, behavior, and work ethic. Growing quality salespeople requires encouragement and accountability when those standards aren't met.

Rule #2: Your Sales Team is Your Customer

The second principle might seem unusual, but it's a game-changer. As a sales leader, your primary customer is not the end user of your product or service—it's your sales team. Your job is to support them, provide resources, and create an environment where they can thrive. If your team is motivated and equipped, they will deliver excellent results to your external customers.

Supporting Your Internal Customers: Your team faces daily challenges, from managing leads to overcoming objections. If you treat them as your most important customers, your focus will be on removing obstacles and helping them succeed.

Resources and Tools: Ask yourself, "How can I make their job easier?" Whether that's giving them better CRM systems, marketing materials, or more targeted training, your job is to ensure they have everything they need to excel.

Culture and Environment: Sales can be stressful, so part of serving your team is creating a positive, resilient culture. This doesn't mean coddling your team or lowering expectations but making sure they feel valued, supported, and motivated. A team that feels empowered will go above and beyond to achieve results.

Ownership of Results: While you're responsible for giving your team the tools they need, they are accountable for delivering results. Treating your team as customers doesn't mean avoiding tough conversations. It means addressing performance issues early and being transparent about the expectations.

Leading by Example: As their leader, you set the tone. By holding yourself accountable and demonstrating high commitment, you create a culture where accountability is expected and embraced.

The Balance of Growth and Accountability

While these two principles emphasize personal growth and support, they do not absolve sales leaders from the responsibility of driving performance. A balanced approach to leadership, where development and accountability coexist, is crucial for long-term success.

Empathy and Standards: Show empathy and support your team, but maintain the standards required for success. The best sales leaders are both compassionate and results-driven.

Development with Consequences: While you are committed to growing your team, there must still be consequences for poor performance. Some individuals will thrive with additional support, while others may need to move on if they cannot meet the required benchmarks.

Conclusion: Leading for Success

Whether you're a part-time or full-time sales leader, the key to sustainable success lies in your ability to grow people, not just sales numbers. By focusing on improving the quality of your team first and then their productivity, you lay the foundation for long-term growth. By treating your sales team as your main customer, you create a supportive environment that empowers them to achieve their best. When salespeople feel supported and held to high standards, they perform better—and that's the accurate measure of successful sales leadership.