A good salesperson is the ideal sales leader

"A good salesperson is a bad manager"

I hear it all the time. Only the opposite is true. I actually say:

A good salesperson is the best sales leader.

“Huh. Why?” I hear you thinking.

Well, because he understands what a salesperson goes through. In good times and bad. He's not an office worker, hidden away in an Excel spreadsheet. He goes with you to clients. He knows what you need to perform.

The first time, he demonstrates the conversation. The second time, he intervenes along the way. And the third? He's there for nothing!

He acts from 2 angles:

→ He balances between challenging and inspiring his team so that they get the best out of themselves

→ And makes sure he can replace you so that the customer is happy and continues to order when you are not there.

He brings the right mix how to develop you:

→ Not the team meeting where “going through lists” takes precedence, but challenging each other on how to develop customers

→ Because he joins you on visits, he gives you 1-on-1 feedback on your behavior ⇔ How else can he assess your performance at the end of the quarter?!

→ 1-on-1 he inspires you in sales coaching, not only on skills but especially on customer tactics because, with you, he understands what happens within customer organizations

Who better to do this than someone who's been in the field themselves? Beware of sales managers who...

• Having too many “other tasks” or

• Only “joining if things are going really well at the client or the relationship is very warm” or

• "Understanding team behavior but never meeting a customer"

Stop this outdated belief.