Why Your Sales Reps Need the Freedom to Fly
Point your team in the right direction, use systems and processes to scale, train your reps well, and never take away their freedom to fly.
“We need results!” says the CEO.
“But we’re bustin’ it.” replies the sales leader.
Business is cutthroat. At the end of the day, if you’re a for-profit organization, great results mean everything. But it doesn’t mean you disregard your own people or that everything is all about the client—it is possible to create an elite organization that also believes in and develops the people that drive the results. There are many great companies that do good for the world while making sure their employees are happy and engaged.
While “bustin’ it” can get you far, you need more than sheer will to drive results. I’ve talked about how to 10x your sales organization, so you probably already know that it takes process and structure to scale and drive results. So, whether you’re a startup, have a lean sales team, or run a large sales machine, you need to understand that process helps with scaling, but: too much process and structure can stifle a sales reps’ sense of freedom and creativity when it comes to selling. And this affects their confidence and results.
You’re probably pretty good at providing direction
Sales reps want to be a part of something special and awesome. They care about individual achievements and money, but if you ask any sales rep: “If your results were always great, would you rather be a part of a winning team or a losing one?” The answer should be obvious.
Direction means: defining the bigger picture, aligning your sales team to that vision, and feverously reinforcing it (even if it needs to change down the road). It’s like saying “This is where we want to be. Along the way we may encounter obstacles, but we’ll adapt and continue moving forward.” This illustrates clarity and adaptability.
Everyone should be committed to winning, for a reason bigger than personal reward. And they need to be prepared to handle changing markets or be confident with new opportunities (this goes back to ensuring reps are always well-trained).
For some CEO’s and sales leaders, freedom is a scary thing. But it shouldn’t be.
Freedom means: allowing your sales reps (and sales managers) the flexibility to figure things out for themselves. If they can’t spread their wings, you could be stifling their development and self-confidence. Having process and structure is key to becoming an elite sales organization, but allowing for freedom fosters creativity, innovation, and decisiveness when it comes to moving things along in a sales process.
The best sales reps are highly in-tune with what’s happening during the sales process and know how to adapt quickly. And they feel a sense of freedom to move things in a certain direction as needed. Without freedom (mainly because we’re worried sales reps will abuse it), sales reps can become robotic and too scripted. This is a problem. Because if they encounter a situation that is different than their training, they get stuck and revert to their scripted talking points (even if it’s not relevant) which may just lose the prospect or opportunity.
The difference between freedom and no freedom
Years ago, I played for a decent division one soccer team. Good guys, systematic and concise coaching, and we busted it every single day. Yet we didn’t finish on top. So, what was missing?
When I was invited to play in a US Olympic Soccer Festival, I found the answer. These elite players from the top collegiate programs felt empowered to make their own decisions, which led to better decision-making both on and off the field.
They had tons of direction, but just as important, they had lots of freedom.
Their goal (direction) was to win championships. They knew they needed to train hard, study the game and their opponents, and rise to the occasion constantly.
But they also had a lot of freedoms: to watch films if and when they wanted, do extra training if they felt like it, and consume a libation or two. How’s that for freedoms? These top collegiate programs trusted that by giving more freedom that players would rise to the occasion, be more mature, and work to improve themselves every day. And so they won more championships than anyone else.
Why freedom works
When you’re in it to make money, the focus on rep production can trump everything. Many times, the focus turns to telling people to keep pedal to the metal, follow the process, and stick to the script. But this inevitably leads to more dependence and less creativity, which leads to less self-confidence and poor results.
Take a page from any elite performer (sales rep, soccer player, you name it) on how they “get it done”. They are focused, mature, and sharp. They read situations and adapt as needed. And they never forget their foundational training.
If your organization is looking to grow and scale, you need process and structure, but that doesn’t mean you strip away all the freedoms from your reps. It’s all about balance.
With that, here are some things to think about: Do you require your reps to show and say the exact same thing to every prospect? If yes, you’re stifling your reps. Is your discovery process highly scripted? That’s good for foundational learning, but prevents reps from being adaptive. Does your sales training involve no scenario or no script situations? It should! The more you encourage freedom for your sales reps to fly, the more it will empower them and you just might be surprised by the results it brings.