What Traits Should Inside Sales Managers And Employees Share?
As I think back on the variety of managers I’ve worked with over the years, I began to realize that there really wasn’t much of a consistent theme in terms of specific traits they all possessed. Some were decent motivators with terrible interpersonal skills. Some had great interpersonal skills but had no spine when it came time to fight for their people. Though there was a pretty wide range, I tried my best to pull out the things that helped to contribute to both my motivation as well as my happiness.
What I realized was that most of the traits I was looking for in my bosses more often than not are the very same things they should be looking for in their employees as well. As a result, much of what I look for from my people HAS to be the same traits that I’m exhibiting to my team.
Here are five interchangeable examples that I could come up with:
Knowledgeable:
I’ve listed this first because it seems to be the most obvious one of all. Knowledge as it relates to your product and knowing how to navigate the waters in order to get in front of your prospects should be things we are ALL experts on.
Being Resilient:
Though this can be a challenge for most of us at times, we all know how important it is persevere when you feel nothing you do is working. This certainly applies when you’re making cold calls or trying to run a team making cold calls.
Understanding and Flexible:
I think we all have to recognize that we’ll be thrown a curve ball on occasion no matter what job we’re doing. The folks that were rigid to change and always related everything back to how it will affect them, generally seemed to be the most miserable at any organization I’ve been a part of. Obviously you got to pick your battles but we all need to be open to the fact that even in the best of companies, things will occasionally change. Though it could be painful to you in the beginning, keeping a big picture perspective could help to make it less painful.
Have the ability to make it positive workplace:
Within the best organizations I’ve been a part of, everyone took it upon themselves to add to the culture. Although your boss should help to champion a positive work environment, we can all play a big role in making it easier and more enjoyable to come to work every day.
Always look for ways to improve/never settle:
We all need to be on the lookout for ways to increase our skill set. The more we’re armed with means there is less of a chance for mediocre production.
It comes as no surprise to me that most successful sales organizations that I've been a part of, both employee and managers share many of the same traits. We all have a collective goal as a sales team, the best teams are the ones that work together.