Every company hopes and strives for a successful sales team that is productive and profitable. However, hiring top talent isn’t the only thing you need in order to make your sales team successful: you also have to lead your reps to success. Without proper leadership, you’ll never see the positive results that you’re looking for.

In the past, the sales manager’s job mostly centred on monitoring sales activities, managing the sales process, and focusing on the numbers. However, the role has recently changed with a shift towards leading by inspiring, training, coaching, and empowering the sales team on an individual basis.

Here are some concepts you should adopt in order to lead your sales team to success.

Let Them Do What They Do Best

Sales people want autonomy. They want to be able to provide results in their own ways, without rules and regulations to follow. A great way to lead your team is to let your reps do what they do best without obstacles or barriers. If your reps are great at selling, don’t force them to be bogged down by paperwork. If some are best at writing enticing proposals that get you new clients, don’t force them out into the field where they’re likely going to fail. And never tell them what they can’t do—let them work how they need to in order to get the sales they’re after. Let them work off their strengths, and you’ll see your sales targets being met every month. Sales people thrive in environments that are free from restrictions.

Be a Coach

Telling your sales team what to do will only lead to frustration and resentment, especially for your high performers. Instead of telling, ask, and start conversations for possible options and solutions to problems instead of demanding that they do anything. Learn about your reps individually and work with them separately to overcome their weaknesses and build up their strengths. No two sales reps are going to be alike, so you must adapt your coaching methods to their individual personalities and selling methods. As a coach, you shouldn’t be micromanaging; instead, you should be providing them with all the tools and knowledge they need to succeed, and then letting go of the reigns.

Recognition

A sales team that doesn’t feel appreciated will eventually slow down. Without proper recognition, your reps will start thinking that their hard work isn’t being noticed, so why should they continue busting their butts for nothing? Recognition isn’t all about monetary incentives. Your sales team will appreciate the respect they get from a simple pat on the back when a new client is acquired or a sale is closed.

Lead by Example

Your sales team will look up to you, which means you need to lead by example. Of course, this doesn’t mean selling more than them, it means showing them loyalty to your company, believing in what you’re doing, being ethical and honest in all of your work, and having a positive attitude free from pessimism. If, as a sales manager, you’re showing your team that it’s OK to lie, complain, slack off, or disrespect your company, your sales team will follow in your footsteps, which can only lead you down a black hole that will be hard to recover from.

Strong Leadership They Can Count On

To create a successful sales team, you must provide strong leadership that your reps can count on. Take a break from analyzing the sales numbers and give your reps the time they expect and deserve from their leader. Let them do what they do best, coach them, provide recognition and appreciation, and lead by example. When you consider these tips, you’ll build a successful sales team that can eventually learn to fly by itself. Your company’s profits and productivity will soar to unimaginable lengths when your sales team is strong and confident.