ABell profile picture
ABell profile picture

ABell

sales recruiter

Good Citizen
Fire Starter
Contributor

Top 5 qualities of great sales leaders

Throughout my years of sales recruiting, I've learned that a strong sales leader is crucial for having a successful sales team. In your opinion, what are the top 5 qualities of great sales leaders?
🧢 Sales Management
15

33 comments

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ChumpChange
Politicker
10
Channel Manager
Sales leader here with a team of 15. Here's what I got for you....

1.) Transparency - Lose the team's trust and you're SOL.

2.) Clear and Direct Communication - Less is more. No hand-holding or micromanaging people. Set expectations and guidelines.

3.) Anticipation - Understand what's in motion, what needs to be done now versus what has to get done when time permits. Everything can't be an emergency.

4.) Empathy - Shit happens. Be there for them when it does. This is where lifelong relationships are built on.

5.) Courage - Knowing when to stand your ground internally/externally for your people. You're their voice and their voices must be heard.
justatopproducer
Politicker
4
VP OF SALES -US
You hiring?
ABell
Good Citizen
2
sales recruiter
Not at the current moment. I’m actually looking to join a startup as a sales recruiter/ sr. recruiter.
I_LOVE_WINE
Executive
2
Enterprise AE
I think he was asking @ChumpChangelol
ChumpChange
Politicker
2
Channel Manager
Negative @justatopproducer. Just like most of the tech world... we had to lay some people off last week. One of the worst weeks I've had in this position. I'm working diligently to find them some landing spots that can use quality sales professionals.
I_LOVE_WINE
Executive
2
Enterprise AE
I like this, I would change empathy to compassion (compassion = empathy + action)
ChumpChange
Politicker
1
Channel Manager
Agree 1000%. Great call out.
ABell
Good Citizen
1
sales recruiter
Love it! Thanks for sharing!
Arzola
Valued Contributor
0
Business administration
Agree!
sales101
WR Officer
0
Head of Channel & Alliances
+1 to empathy (obviously in moderstion)- you’d be surprised how uncommon it is in sales leaders and just how much it makes a difference!
Fenderbaum
Politicker
5
Retired Choirboy🪕
Just remember the Golden Rule. The other four don't matter.
CuriousFox
WR Officer
4
🦊
❤❤❤
ABell
Good Citizen
1
sales recruiter
Got to love the Golden Rule!!!
nomdeguerre
Executive
3
Account executive
Adding being good at hiring and coaching.
ABell
Good Citizen
1
sales recruiter
true story!!!
TennisandSales
Politicker
1
Head Of Sales
What level are we talking? sales director? VP? Manager?
ABell
Good Citizen
2
sales recruiter
the sales leader who is directly involved with managing a sales team.
TennisandSales
Politicker
9
Head Of Sales
ah ok cool. so IMO here are the 5:

1. Makes an effort to understand EACH AE and how they like to be managed. (doesnt treat everyone the same)
2. Is always looking for ways to remove roadblocks for their team.
3. Trusts the team to get the job done (no micro managing)
4. Can help develop skills in the team to make the team better over time.
5. Handles everything in an ethical upfront manner.
ABell
Good Citizen
1
sales recruiter
Those are some of the most common responses that I hear from AEs. I wish that all sales leaders possessed those qualities!
TennisandSales
Politicker
0
Head Of Sales
Hahah yeah for real!
ABell
Good Citizen
1
sales recruiter
But most great sales leaders share the same qualities regardless of their level.
TennisandSales
Politicker
2
Head Of Sales
hmm i guess this is true to a certain degree.
jefe
Arsonist
1
🍁
Here's 2 - integrity & transparency
aenima
Celebrated Contributor
1
Principal Account Manager
Only one that matters:

Realizing their value is no longer playing IC trying to “close” deals, and focusing on field enablement.
IYNFYL
Politicker
1
Enterprise SaaS AE
Care about your employees they aren’t numbers, be a Leader, learn from your team and give them resources if you can’t help, LISTEN and Coach!
VFG
Good Citizen
1
SDR
#1 quality in a sales manager to me is emotional stability. You don’t want an emotionally erratic sales manager. Their teams end up as collateral damage.
finboi
Notorious Answer
1
Fi-nance
1. Integrity
2. Mission driven
3. Transparent
4. Proven track record (experience+ education)
5. Humility
6. (Cheating but I need to add this) curiosity
1995
Valued Contributor
1
Customer Success Manager
Transparency
Communication
Vision
Someone who is willing to fight for you/has your back
No ego
Xthanthus
Good Citizen
0
Professional Territory Manager
I think the biggest quality is having a leader that knows his top performers are and gets out of there way. Instead of micro-managing them on field rides, they use it as a way to pick their brain to bring value to his under-performers.

Also, someone with the ability to actually fight for their salesforce when dealing with home office / executive leadership is huge.

triflin
Good Citizen
2
-
I love the last part. I had to pick apart the brain of my colleague who was doing twice the production of the rest of us and now I'm so much better. If our manager just mass-sent his script originally, we would have all been top performers by last month
Kosta_Konfucius
Politicker
0
Sales Rep
That’s key, if you have a rock star get the fuck out of their way and support them need they need approval on deals or alignment
Xthanthus
Good Citizen
3
Professional Territory Manager
It was a great feeling earlier this year when my manager said on a field ride that he has nothing more he can really “teach me” and he will travel with my slightly less and use the travels as a time to just catch up and learn from me… he and I get along pretty well as a result.
SaaSguy
Tycoon
0
Account Executive
Service: commitment that extends beyond my own self interest; personal humility for the sake of a greater cause.
Humility: a sense of humbleness, dignity and an awareness of my limitations; open to perspectives different from my own
Gratitude: Being aware of and thankful for the good things that happen; taking time to express thanks
Transparency: being honest with team, feedback
Integrity: not being a dirt bag

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