In my long career in sales, I have spent a considerable amount of time as a field sales representative. During this period, I have learnt that salesmen despise sales managers who blame their sales team for underachievement. At the time, I and my colleagues were looking for a sales leader who would take on the challenge and guide us to success rather than blame us for failures and encourage us to do better. As young and forceful salesmen, we yearned for a leader who could be trusted and be right there in the thick of things.
I have many times explained how hard it is to endure a career in sales. In any organisation, salesmen are the most pressured group of workers, as they are collectively responsible for keeping the organisation afloat. A professional salesman, in the field and retail, goes through gruesome experiences, with constant rejections, fatigue, mental stress, fierce competition, and so forth. Therefore, having a sales leader who leads by example is one of the most desired criteria in sales management.
Leadership is the process by which one person affects the actions and attitudes of a group of others. Setting a good example enables others to anticipate obstacles and take quick action to overcome them. “Leading by example” involves modelling the behaviour you want your team members to exhibit. When you lead by example, you actively show excellence rather than merely encouraging team members to strive for it.
Leading by example is the difference between stating, “You can do this,” and “We can do this together,” since the latter fosters connection, teamwork, and trust while the former offers support and encouragement. By taking on some of the responsibility themselves, those who set an example for their team show that they appreciate the team. Because leaders actively show that they are invested in their team’s initiatives, this leadership style fosters high levels of engagement.
Let us analyse the key characteristics of managers who lead by example. Exemplary leaders always get involved in things related to their team members. Setting an example by leading from the front rather than the sidelines is the simplest way to show your subordinates that you are actually there for them. By doing this, you visibly establish that you value their efforts, recognise their value, and appreciate their time by participating in the team’s initiatives.
Stress
Leading is not merely managing an assembly of people. Good leaders motivate and inspire their team members through thick and thin. Leaders who lead by example put their team first as a matter of priority and constantly look out for them. They make sure a team member, individually or the team as a whole, gets the credit where it is due. Great leaders look out for burnout due to stress or workload. Also, they constantly preach and practise teamwork.
By setting an example, you show your team members how to behave. Your team will not always follow your instructions to the letter. Frustration, lack of enthusiasm, or even fatigue might result from trying to manage team members in every minute detail. You must trust your staff to do their best job instead, and be there to help them if and when they do. Even better, great leaders push their teams to experiment with new approaches.
This does not preclude you from coaching and providing constructive criticism as needed. Good leaders are constantly looking for opportunities to coach their subordinates effectively to obtain better performance. Rather than telling their team members and colleagues what to do, they demonstrate the work ethic they want to see from them.
Adaptability is another key feature of leaders who set examples for subordinates. Most often, effective leaders allow room for flexibility. Since everyone is aware that circumstances can change and even the best-laid plans occasionally fail, flexibility is a crucial leadership quality.
Plans may need to be adjusted from time to time, along with priorities and deadlines. You can fail to meet a goal or need to reconsider a performance indicator. You can develop excellent leadership skills by learning to roll with the punches and, more significantly, by encouraging your team to roll with unprecedented obstacles. Make sure you stay in touch with your staff as well, so they have the knowledge and context to produce their best work. Fostering empathy is one of the key elements of successful management practices.
An empathetic leader can create an encouraging and enjoyable work atmosphere even when things go wrong and are gloomy. Hence. Great sales managers pay attention to comprehension. Listening can be divided into two categories: listening to respond and listening to understand. By listening and getting hands-on with their issues, the manager’s communication with the team improves immensely.
Active listening is listening with the intention of understanding. Instead of listening to answer with your own perspective, you listen to fully understand what your team member is saying. This is crucial if a team member approaches you with suggestions. It is normal to become defensive when someone gives you feedback, but remember that your subordinate is giving you this constructive criticism so you can get better. Great leaders compassionately and empathetically listen, welcome criticism, express gratitude for the insight, and use it to improve.
Trust
You must always remember that, as a sales manager, you are working with an extraordinarily clever group of people, usually smarter than others in the organisation. They will easily detect if you are honest or fake. Many leaders are afraid to be open or acknowledge that they might not know the answer. I have discovered that being honest and forthright about a particular topic builds trust and frequently invites more discussion. Direct communication helps you and your team come up with solutions together.
Participating as a player is of paramount importance to inspiring your team, in addition to being their coach. When I was a sales manager, I never asked my team members to perform any task that I would not perform myself. I have always been committed to working as a team member, being available and present to dig in alongside the team. This is because they could see and feel supported and empowered.
Sales managers must encourage acceptance and appreciation. One essential value of every role is advocacy for the opinions of everyone on your team. You may want to make sure almost every day that the team’s goals are in line with its mission and values. That way, everyone on it may succeed in their jobs, be appreciated for their skills, and expand their influence.
Great leaders not only adore their jobs but inspire their subordinates to foster the same enthusiasm. When the managers are passionate about what they do and show it to their team, it creates a culture of curiosity, connection, and knowledge of how each member’s contributions advance the company’s goals. Leading by example always pays back and would create work that the team can take pride in collectively.