3 Ways I Could Have Been a Better VP of Sales (And You Can Too)
As a sales leader, you work hard, you lead, you press on. And you probably seldom ask for help outside of your inner circle.
Like many sales leaders, that was my exact mindset for many years, unfortunately.
You may be thinking “Well, that doesn’t make any sense.” Crazy, I know.
Going beyond my inner circle at the office or reaching out to a consultant was low on my priority list. I guess I had preconceived notions: I had no “time” to network and consultants were either super expensive from large consulting firms or an independent person who may not understand my world.
There were lots of unknowns too: how would I grow my network or even find the right consultant? And when using a consultant, how would we measure ROI, and how would people perceive me if I needed a consultant to do my job? I mean, shouldn’t I have all of our strategies and answers figured out myself?
In hindsight, it was all nonsense. And after talking with other sales and business leaders, it seems many have felt the same way.
You may be thinking “What about asking your inner circle for ideas?” I’m with you, but…
Your inner circle may be people “cut from the same cloth” and they might not have the expertise or time needed to solve critical business challenges.
My inner circle was strong and comprised of solid leaders, many of whom I worked with for years. And my CEO was a visionary, he was inspirational, and he helped build my decision-making and leadership skills. But in my opinion this just meant that we were advocates for relying on each other (our inner circle) and not leveraging potential resources available outside of our office doors.
If I Had to Do it All Over Again
There are a number of things that I would do differently. In retrospect, here’s what I would suggest to any other SaaS sales leader today.
1. Expand your thinking (consistently)
Read books on a consistent basis (at least one new book per month). Here are three of my recommendations:
The ONE Thing by Gary Keller It’s all about getting extraordinary results in every life and business situation
ProActive Sales Management by William “Skip” Miller So much day-to-day advice for sales management
Traction by Gino Wickman It covers everything about running your business but also is great for sales leaders running their teams
Follow technology thought leaders that interest you, If you’re in SaaS I’d recommend this guy:
Jason Lemkin, he’s the founder of SaaStr and provides great advice for both founders and sales leaders
Consume high-impact blogs with lots of fast-reading articles and advice. Here’s a few I like:
HubSpot Blog (here’s one article with sales motivated videos)
Don’t forget to check out these other sites for more great stuff TEDTalks, GaryVee, Tim Ferriss, Foundr (some of these resources are great for motivation, ideologies, and tactical advice which is good when you’re leading a team)
2. Grow your network
LinkedIn without question is the #1 resource (over 500M people are on it) and it’s one that I previously did not leverage nearly enough. I always felt it was more of a recruiting platform than a resource tool intended to meet like-minded leaders and learn new strategies. First bit of advice, make sure you get your profile in order (see how). Secondly, carve out time to actually grow your network. When you “connect’ with people, customize a reason for the connection request.
Attend more events outside of your niche industry, there are great general tech events (of every sort and size) in every city. I recently attended Techweek LA and met some amazing people who shared so many new ideas. Don’t be afraid to go solo or grab a colleague. And you should budget for this so you feel more compelled to do this.
3. Try a consultant
If you don’t have the time, resources, personnel, or expertise to address a key business challenge or opportunity, then I’d recommend you speak with a consultant. Be open to it and know exactly what you would want them to help you with. Spend a little time asking your LinkedIn network for any referrals or don’t be afraid to google and find someone that way.
While there are costs associated with using a consultant, they could save you a lot of time and money in in the long run by developing the right plan for you.
A great consultant will want to truly understand why you are looking to use them, and not try to sell their services on you.
Ask to test them out and start a consulting engagement on one thing only. This gives you an opportunity to see how you collaborate together.
So after taking time to reflect on my sales leadership career, I now realized I could have done more to expand my expertise and leverage outside viewpoints.
I’ve always believed the answer to one’s own improvement lies in their mindset and being proactive about it.
Successful sales leaders relish in hitting their numbers and seeing their team develop. But sometimes they need fresh ideas to take things to the next level.
Hopefully this article gave you some new ideas and encouragement to grow your network and try some new things that will lead to greater success. And the cool part is, it’s never too late to start.