Your team can sell more.
🧠 What Most People Think
Today, I could quite easily cite a million examples of how the modern salesperson is a lone wolf, prowling their territory and fiercely guarding their leads. And I’ve worked in teams with these lone wolf types.
Movies and stories of glory show this cutthroat, every-person-for-themselves mentality. Jordan Belfort, Gordon Gekko and the likes are particular standout examples
But in today’s complex and interconnected business landscape, is the lone wolf approach really the most effective way to meet and exceed sales targets? I’d say no.
Going against popular belief, sales is not a solo sport but rather a team game that requires the collective skills, efforts, and strategies of an entire team to truly succeed.
🐺 The Lone Wolf
The lone wolf in sales is that stereotypical suited, booted and loose tie(d) ‘yuppy’ (does anyone use that word anymore) who speaks too loudly on the phone in the quiet carriage and looks to close deals on a Friday afternoon when everyone else wants to chill and get to the weekend - whilst there is absolutely nothing wrong with this, the lone wolf has his place. Granted, its normally alone and it’s not normally in a successful sales team but I guarantee that every inexperienced leader/manager has this persona in their mind when they go to hire a new sales rep.
The thing is about the Lone Wolf is that they are damaging to any team - if they succeed then they probably have shafted someone to get where they are and if they don’t succeed then the damage to the team morale is already done.
All that glitters is not gold.
I have lost count of being in a sales team or a company where someone has parachuted in a sales ‘hero’ to boost the team sales.
The problem is that it’s likely the following things will happen -
You pay your sales hero too much - the risk/reward for the sales hero is too much and the chances are, failure will do more damage (and is more likely) than the reward if they succeed.
The sales hero only works well for a short period - they have a finite network to lean on, that network which boosts their net worth and delivers a ‘guaranteed’ level of sales - once they’ve rinsed through that, they move on.
The sales hero ruffles too many feathers - the ego goes out of control. You see, they know they’re the big dog and they want to show it.
Does any of this ring true? Do you think it delivers results - possibly in the short term but for long term success you need a diverse and widely experienced team.
👀 How I build my team.
My sales closing rate in the USA/Canada is 85-90%.
Genuinely. Read that again.
For every meeting I take, I close 85-90% of them.
Now that’s a lie.
I don’t close anything - our small team closes the deals. Whether you’ve met myself or you’ve met Julio (my North American Sales Manager) then you know that we have our own distinct and different skill sets.
And that’s the power of a diverse team - I can guarantee that Julio knows a lot more about valves, pressures and chemical compatibility than me but I know a lot more about commercial arrangements, sales techniques and how to generate leverage than he does - this is why we compliment each other so well.
The dynamic in your team should allow you to share responsibility and it’s important that the sales leader (me in this example) understands the benefits of being open and allowing others to take the lead - especially in meetings. A sales leader should be there to underpin the efforts of a salesperson, not take over and ‘shine’.
In every sales team that I’ve managed, I’ve sought to have a variety of experiences - whether it’s someone who is completely new to the world of sales or whether it’s the seasoned, experienced rep who ‘get’s it’, it’s important to get the balance right.
The benefit of having someone new in your team is that they open your mind up to things you could have forgotten, the benefits of having someone experienced is that they reinforce the correct behaviours when you’re not there.
Can I share two examples?
1️⃣ Example No1 - The Youth Approach.
A few years ago, I attended a meeting with a younger member of our sales team - this guy was up and coming and had recently passed out of our graduate system - they were taking over a key account and I was coming along to a meeting to sit in, get a sense of the potential of the account and have a day out in the field with my rep.
We were due to meet a head of estates at (let’s say) 11am but at 12 midday, we’d still not been seen and we’d walked around the premises trying to find the guy - it was turning into a farce as we went from building to building. We’d booked the meeting, the guy had accepted and my impatience was rising.
This is where my lesson came in - my sales rep didn’t get flustered, he showed patience, resilience and continued to be polite to everyone we spoke to.
Finally, after almost two hours of wandering around, we found our guy.
My fury was close to boiling over but.. again, my sales rep was polite, courteous and at the end of the meeting he secured a new purchase order.
A bloody purchase order for just one more hours work - which wasn’t really work.
My default position was to become defensive but my sales rep’s immediate response was to remain enthusiastic - lesson learned.
2️⃣ Example No2 - The Experienced Head.
Every leader needs to take a holiday. I’m one of the worst at actually shutting off and allowing myself time to relax but recently, I went on holiday to Wales with my family and made the decision to actually go ‘off grid’.
The thing about going off grid, away from work and having any control is whether the team will continue to operate.
I am a full hands on leader, I like being involved - not interfering but supporting where I can. If someone needs advice, mentorship of they want to let off some steam, then I’m there.
The support I try to give my team is such that I want them to feel like they can open up and be themselves.
The wonderful (and organic) thing that has started to happen in my current team is that when I am not available, the more experienced members of my team step up - they offer the support and guidance in the same way as I would because we’re all moving the same direction.
The most recent example of this is when I was off, and I left my team to ‘fend for themselves’.
The most experienced member of my team stepped up and supported the most junior member of the team - leading the charge and giving the advice that was needed. It may not seem like a lot but when you lead in the style that I do, it’s everything. ❤️
⭐️ ‘Closers’ are in the movies.
“ABC - Always be Closing”
It’s a line from Glengarry Glen Ross - spoken by Alec Baldwin, and in some senses he is right but you should only be closing the parts of the deal that you’re competent in.
The old saying that you stronger together is totally true - and the quicker you realise that, as a leader, you need to release some of the responsibility to your team then the quicker the team will grow.
You don’t need to be a hero closer.
Your team don’t need saving, they need supporting and they need space to allow them to grow.
🎯 Actions to Take.
1. Diversify Your Sales Team:
Action: Evaluate your current sales team and make efforts to diversify it. The longer term strategy should be to recruit individuals with a range of skills and experiences—some who are experts in the technical aspects of your product, and others who excel in relationship-building or sales techniques.
Why: A diverse team allows for complementary skills that enable more effective closing of sales. For example, Julio and I cover each other's weak points with our own strengths, which leads to a highly successful close rate.
2. Foster a Culture of Support and Collaboration:
Action: Instead of being the "hero" in your team, focus on being a supportive leader who encourages team members to take the lead when appropriate. Make yourself available for advice and mentorship, but also give your team the space to make decisions and grow.
Why: Sales is a team game. Lone wolves can be harmful to the team culture and can risk team morale. You should underpin the efforts of salespersons rather than take over, to create a supportive and collaborative environment.
3. Re-evaluate Compensation and Reward Structures:
Action: Take a look at your current commission plans. If you’re disproportionately rewarding the top performer (“the sales hero”) in a way that’s causing tension within the team, consider restructuring rewards to encourage team-based achievements.
Why: There are clear pitfalls when bringing in a "sales hero" who may generate results in the short term but could potentially upset the team dynamics and leave when they’ve maximized their own gains. A balanced compensation plan could help avoid these pitfalls and promote long-term success.