It’s been said that to be a successful salesperson, not only do your listening skills have to be great, but your closing skills have to be even better. However, I believe that while these skills are helpful, they are not essential. In my opinion, to be a top-performing sales professional, you must be a great leader. It is a fundamental character trait.

© memo | stock.adobe.com

Although we have all known salespeople who have had stellar years based on the luck of a few great clients, those with sustained, long-term success always exhibit great leadership skills.

What is a leader? Leaders are people who empower others to do seemingly impossible things, whether individually or as part of a group. They help people see issues and opportunities they would not normally see themselves. Most important, they instill a level of confidence in people that makes them pro-active in dealing with situations they otherwise would be hesitant to handle.

Leadership Traits

These leadership traits are essential for top-performing salespeople to exhibit on a daily basis. By demonstrating these qualities to your prospects and clients, you are communicating your value to them. They will see that you have their best interest in mind and are not out to just “make a sale.” You will create the confidence they need to desire to do business with you.

Salespeople who see themselves as leaders are far more likely to provide the client with the services necessary to help them achieve their long-term goals. For example, a salesperson who is a leader will wisely show a 25-year-old the significance of buying life insurance both as an investment tool and a “peace of mind” policy.

Top-performing salespeople understand how positioning themselves as leaders can further their success, their sales motivation and their profits. You will increase your profits by selling more to an existing customer, so it only makes sense to display leadership to them.

In addition, because the best new clients often come from referrals, your existing customers will be much more apt to confidently recommend you. In my experience, I have observed that salespeople who behave as leaders are less likely to need multiple closing techniques to make a sale. I firmly believe that the higher the degree of leadership in a sales professional, the less time spent on closing the deal. Similarly, the opposite holds true, and the result is a loss of valuable time.

Over the years, I have come to believe that “sales is leadership and leadership is sales.” The more I work with salespeople, the more I confirm the validity of this statement. Although it’s important to work on both your ability to listen and your closing techniques, fostering your leadership skills is far more essential. Begin today to set yourself apart from the competition by positioning yourself as a leader to your employees, your clients and your prospects. Your sales motivation is worth it.

Who Really Achieves Sales Success?

Success in sales does not go to the one who has the lowest price. Nor does success in sales go to the one who has the best customers. And, success in sales does not go to the one who has the most intelligence.

Who really achieves success in sales? The people who practice integrity with every person with whom they come in contact. There is no substitute — no alternative — to consistent integrity.

Several years ago, I left my corporate career working in sales management for a Fortune 100 company. I began traveling the globe, working with salespeople across more industries than I can even begin to count. Over the years, I’ve personally met with thousands of salespeople, each with their own level of success and failures. I also have met with hundreds of sales managers, VPs of Sales, CEOs and others from the “C‑Suite.” All those interactions and opportunities to learn about so many industries have revealed to me more than ever what it takes to remain at the top.

People who are at the top year in and year out are those who walk and breathe integrity in everything they do. This is true in good economic periods and bad economic periods, through global upheavals and company chaos. The consistent factor to success is not an external circumstance, but rather an internal commitment to a high level of integrity. These are the people who do not necessarily close every deal or land every new big hot account that comes along. However, in their actions and attitude, 365 days a year, they walk with integrity.

Defining Integrity

How would you define integrity? I would define it as adhering to strong moral and ethical standards, regardless of the situation or result of such commitment. In other words, integrity is not a commodity you can casually use when it benefits you, and carelessly throw aside when it doesn’t. Consistency is one of the hallmark signs of true integrity.

As a consultant for more than a decade, I have had the opportunity to watch several people over the course of not just weeks or months, but years. If you have been in sales a long time, you too have had the unique perspective of spotting the people others trust and want to follow. Sometimes this person holds official capacity as a leader, but often the “leader” is not high up in an organization. Regardless of a leader’s “official” position, they likely wield much influence because of their integrity.

Integrity starts with allowing yourself to be personally and publically accountable for everything you do and everything you think. In fact, integrity is more about holding yourself personally to a higher degree of accountability, because the real onus of integrity is how it guides you each day in your actions and activities. Accept 100 percent responsibility for how you carry yourself and do so with a high standard.

When it comes to strengthening integrity, here are some points to consider:

• No one can be forced to operate with integrity. It’s completely an internal choice that is reflected in external actions.
• It’s never too late to start. If you have struggled with integrity in the past, begin today to set a new course. In small ways and big ways, begin to line up your actions and attitudes with a strong moral and ethical standard.
• Accept the fact that you may not close every deal, because you are not willing to compromise your standards.
• The real measurement of integrity is what you do when nobody is looking and when nobody will ever find out what you have or have not done.
• Learn from those around you who live and breathe integrity. Become a student of their approaches and reactions — not just when the circumstances are good, but particularly when the circumstances are hard. As much as you can, surround yourself with these people. More than likely, they will not only have the highest degree of integrity, they will also be the most optimistic.

Whether you have been in sales a short time or for years, you owe it to yourself to achieve a level of success that is rooted in integrity. That kind of success cannot be matched. You will find yourself experiencing long-term success, and best of all, it will come in ways you least expect it.

MANA welcomes your comments on this article. Write to us at [email protected].