Servant Leadership Unleashed: How Adding Value Builds Relationships and Fuels Success (Excerpt from "The Show Must Go On")

The Show Must Go On, AVAILABLE NOW! serves as the comprehensive follow-up to Salesman on Fire : an extensive guide on sales strategies, personal development, and leadership.

It provides insights into building a successful sales career, overcoming obstacles, and achieving personal and professional growth en route to the story of how LinkedIn, AI and a Moneyball approach to sales has generated over $1B in revenue.

Carson V. Heady discusses the significance of personal branding and how it can differentiate a salesperson in a competitive market, the role of a leader in fostering a collaborative and empowering environment for team members, strategies for dealing with setbacks and failures, and methods for effective prospecting, including leveraging social media, AI and personalized messaging to connect with potential clients.

Pick up your copy of THE SHOW MUST GO ON here:

Servant Leadership: Adding Value and Building Relationships

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Early in my career, I believed I was an effective leader and seller, but the turning point came when I realized the immense power of proactively seeking out ways to add value for and better everyone around me. Instead of merely focusing on personal success, I started seeking opportunities to contribute more broadly in ways that I could have more impact. This shift fundamentally transformed my career for the better.

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Understanding all of the parameters in play was important, specifically when it came to how I could better serve my colleagues. Knowing how my teammates and team members were compensated, understanding their aspirations and knowing every detail of what my own manager cared about informed how I could best be of value to them.

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Proactively aligning myself with the goals of everyone around me greatly strengthened my network and brand.

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Think about it: everyone has priorities and an agenda. If you make it your sole focus to help them all get there, what do you think happens? You become known for your approach of leveling up everyone you touch.

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Challenges can arise when everyone is clamoring about their own priorities and not plugged in to what matters to others around them. This is when miscommunication or lack of communication can derail the relationship before it even leaves the station. By intentionally seeking out what matters to everyone in your sphere and working to unite and unify the efforts of people working toward a common goal or outcome, you can truly do something special.

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The same principles extend to customer interactions. Customers want to win. Their wins may look different than ours (efficiency metrics, earnings reports, retention, employee engagement, new lines of revenue) but the concept is the same. How can you in your role as a networker or evangelist of your brand or a custodian of your customer relationship provide value to your customer?

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It's short-sighted to think that the answer is always going to be in your product or service. If you want to be a true valued partner and trusted advisor, you’ll comb your network, experiences and resources to extend any value you can that furthers their goals. I’ve seen that some of my customer executives have very prolific thought leadership and style – with the podcasts and other ways I can amplify them, why wouldn’t I if I want to truly invest in the relationship?

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Furthermore, every customer joined their role looking to have an impact and leave their mark. One of my favorite discovery questions is, “What do you want your legacy to be in this role?” If you learn what matters most to them, selling your product to them isn’t always the answer but perhaps a deal becomes the byproduct of you investing other resources to see their dream come to fruition.

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Understand the “why” of everyone you touch, seek to serve it with everything at your disposal, and continue to create and invest in relationships. You’ll be amazed by what happens. I always have been.

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Being the voice and advocate for the customer within my organization became a critical part of my role. It meant understanding their pain points, exploring their priorities, and aligning internal resources to cater to their needs effectively. It's not just about selling a product; it's about collaborating, partnering, and, most importantly, bringing genuine value to the table. Furthermore, if I know the mission and priorities for my internal company stakeholders, and I can go out and find customer projects that fuel their fire, it is of immense mutual benefit if the service I provide is an introduction.

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Selling my internal stakeholders on why my customer should matter to them and delivering new valuable relationships to my customers is often the greatest service or value of all. I don’t need to be the hero – my customers and colleagues do.

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The mindset shift from a seller to a servant leader and brand evangelist was transformative. Recognizing myself as the customer's advocate, I approached deals with a collaborative mindset.

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Deals, I realized, aren't sealed by presenting a structure and price; they happen through innovative collaboration by two teams or organizations that realize they really want to work together.

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It was also a great service I could provide my customer to let them know the strategic levers we could mutually pull in constructing a deal – levers my company cared about that could unlock resources or discounts – while still aligning closely to my customer’s priorities and budget. This has helped me leave the bargaining table many, many times with deal results where everybody won and everyone was as happy as they could be.

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Social selling isn’t a silver bullet – nothing is – when it comes to staying at the pulse of customers, but it certainly helps; it shows when your customers talk about something they care about, or their company posts something or news is occurring that serves like a Bat-signal calling you in to serve.

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Staying on the radar of the people you want to matter to while staying abreast of what matters to them can be aided and enabled by e-mail news alerts, following them on LinkedIn and ringing the bell to follow all posts, and customizing your Sales Navigator feed.

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In the age of information, staying informed and actively engaging with customers is paramount.

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When I started my career, much of my focus was on me. As an individual contributor in a call center, it was about my results. There was a lot of sharing best practices with others, but everyone fended for themselves; if one of us got put on a performance plan, nobody else was going to bail them out.

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Moving into corporate enterprise sales taught me how to work as the quarterback of a very highly functional and savvy extended team and every role was valuable. I’ve had great business partners and lackluster ones, but my journey has taught me that true success is far from a solo endeavor.

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When I've thrown myself into investing 100% in relationships with people and optimizing my process, I've never had to worry about my results; they've always been there.

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Marrying this approach to my “swarm game” or “Moneyball approach” has led to significant success. I’ve discussed my probability-focused mentality and how I control the quality of message, quantity of outreach and consistency by which I execute the outreach process. If you infuse a unique offer of value into your outreach and send this to a broad number of your target audience, the chance of response is greater. Period.

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When you get a response, it’s then time to gravitate toward the next step: getting your response and potential first meeting right.

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I cannot control if the CEO or Board or CFO or COO respond to my message; in fact, if that’s all I reach out to, I’ll likely go 0-for-the-room. We’ve all been there. I’ve messaged our marketing leads or webinar attendees one by one hoping for a response and yet hardly ever getting one; it doesn't mean that our outreach and passive education isn’t working! In sales, you never know when the planets will align, you never know who is paying attention and you often won’t see an immediate return on investment. But you keep executing, planting hopeful and valuable seeds in all the right places.

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If I want the C-Suite and VP relationships, I know that there is strength in numbers. Reaching out to nearly 10 times the number of influencers than who I want and need relationships with gives me a much higher probability of success. You just need that first domino to fall and then you have momentum on your quest for a groundswell of influence.

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Expand your sphere of servitude and your circle of influence will expand.

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The ability to meaningfully engage others and complement your own presence with those of other difference-makers is a superpower.

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The speed to value is often much more profound than it was previously. In today’s world rich with many virtual meetings to complement what we do in person, you can elect to add people in real-time to conversations as opposed to waiting weeks for a scheduled follow-up that may be postponed. Be resourceful in how and when you add unique value.

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Additionally, as part of that broader team, you can in essence read the minds of the people you work with! By starting and leveraging back-channel messaging chats, you can get very grounded on desired outcomes, ideas, and even running commentary during and after calls.

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Customers are smarter and better armed with data and information than they have ever been before, but with the tools at our disposal, we can meet and serve them like never before as well.

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Servant leadership also looks like how you show up with teams and people you lead or influence.

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Very few individual contributors need their boss to step in and do anything, much less everything, for them. As a longtime leader, I’ve had to come to the conclusion that while there are a number of ways to do a task, it’s not my job to step on toes or jump in and impose my will or way on them. It’s far better to serve, which requires first determining what that service should look like.

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If someone is in a role, they’ve earned the right to be there. It’s not up to me to tell them how to do the job; it’s up to me to ensure they have the training and ongoing support and resources to be successful. Much of my time is spent plugged in with my teams understanding what matters to them, understanding their unique superpowers that I can help them share and replicate elsewhere in the team and organization, and observing.

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It's important for me to earn my team’s trust and earn the right to be a fly on the wall in their extended team meetings they lead. Not so I can speak or butt in or take over, but so I can observe their leadership and provide coaching and guidance so they can get even better.

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Taking over every meeting or call is not sustainable nor is it wise, but if you can positively impact and influence the process of your team member, you are ensuring that a higher percentage of their actions are effective.

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Also, I spend a great deal of time looking for ways to eliminate legitimate barriers to success or to take things off their plates so they can do more of what they are great at and what they are paid to do. In many roles, I have in essence created a demand generation engine with social selling leveraging our partner ecosystem, smart technical folks, marketing lists and materials and the knowledge of our extended team to single-handedly drive hundreds of new leads per week. This alleviates a painful, disjointed and also quite different process that everyone on my team may have and doesn’t enjoy while replacing it with something easy for me to execute that saves my team time and makes them money.

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A while back, I interviewed Annette Brackin. She said something that resonated with me a great deal – we help our teams “see around corners.”

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In my experience, the fact that I’ve done the things they are facing and have grappled with the same challenges makes me valuable to them. The fact that I can illuminate and illustrate things they care about deeply but do not know enough about – like how to maximize their career and paycheck, or create an award-winning sales process – makes me valuable to them. These are the things I double down on.

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The greatest service I can provide to my team is to be available, understanding, empathetic, and a champion for them when they’re not in the room. Recognizing them, getting them paid and promoted makes me a good fit for them.

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There is also a broader question here – when you manage to create an audience (enhanced by social media and publications) that includes customers and competition, how much should you reveal or share about your process, best practices and stories? Sharing valuable insights may seem counterproductive if they can be used against you or are viewed by an audience member who is put off by them.

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Many people use this as a reason they hold back on proactive sharing of content or amplification of their personal brand. I’ve been fortunate to work for leaders who have encouraged my growth and realized the benefits my brand brings in the way of results and attracting talent. I recognize this may not be the case for everyone (as it was not always for me). ?

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I’ve tried to apply an abundance mindset here. Game respects game. I am perfectly fine putting my experiences and stories out into the ecosystem in the hopes they speak to someone as a person and professional who wants to improve. That is a value and service I can easily provide, and it’s paid dividends in spades: relationships and connections around the world that have been enriching, brought opportunities and furthered my own learning.

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While there might be concerns about competitors or procurement teams scrutinizing our profiles or content, I assert that the love of mastering our craft and maximizing potential for our organizations and customers should drive us and the pros outweigh the cons. Has someone at some point made it harder for me to negotiate or navigate because of my public persona in sales? That is OK.

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There is enough room for everyone to succeed. If my competition uses all of my tactics, I’ll still bet on me.

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The wealth of opportunities in the sales landscape ensures that sharing insights won't take away from our success. The hope is that by sharing experiences and being forthright, we inspire others in the sales community, fostering a collaborative and supportive environment. In the end, the belief in the abundance of opportunities and the potential for mutual growth is the driving force behind navigating the fine line of sharing sales insights.

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So whether it is being more informed about our customers and people and colleagues so we show up better or it’s thinking bigger about how we can be resourceful and really mine our resources to make a difference for someone, servant leadership and taking an approach of service can change the game when it comes to relationships and results.

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Key takeaways:

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·?????? Shift focus to adding value for others, not just personal success.

·?????? Learn colleagues' goals and align with them to strengthen relationships.

·?????? Focus on customers' wins and offer value beyond your product.

·?????? Use your network to support customers' goals and thought leadership.

·?????? Be an advocate for customers within your organization.

·?????? Approach deals with collaboration, not just selling.

·?????? Stay informed about customer needs using social selling tools.

·?????? Expand influence by offering value to a broader audience.

·?????? Empower your team and remove barriers to their success.

·?????? Share insights openly, trusting in the abundance of opportunities.

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