Earlier I told about a CEO named Bill, who was a panel member discussing the question,
“What are the characteristics of a good sales training program?”

He brought up the idea of “leading” versus “managing” a sales organization.

When I talked with Bill after the panel, he emphasized that sales leaders focus on results. They don’t get bogged down in the minutia of the business, but, as he put it, “lead from the front.” They insure that the sales force has the skills necessary to sell – not just today, but also for the marketplace tomorrow.

Sales leaders will make mistakes, but they will correct as they go. Then he mentioned the classic “bell curve” that seems to appear in measurements of all types, including selling performance. There is a bottom X% and a top X%, with the majority being in that big rising bell shape in the middle.

He made an interesting observation: a manager tries to work with the people in the “bottom” of the curve to move them up. A leader invites those folks to succeed elsewhere, and works with the middle the curve to move them to the top.

One more thought from Bill: he sees some warning signs that someone might be abdicating leadership.

1. They don’t look ahead. Example, they hire sales people just like they did two years ago, without thinking of the direction of the market and how that will impact the corporate vision and the steps necessary to get there.

2. They fail to anticipate change.

3. They do not have the ability to influence the corporate direction.

Bill’s success as a sales executive and now as a CEO, demonstrates his ability to lead the way he described it.

Academic studies show there is validity to his points. Dr. John P. Kotter, of the Harvard Business School, has built a portion of his career teaching about the differences between “leading” and “managing.”

Oversimplifying, I glean from his books that leading is about people, and managing is about processes. Kotter makes the point that leadership and management are not mutually exclusive. It takes both sets of skills. But it has been my experience that leaders are more difficult to find than managers.

You can decide to become a sales leader, and begin to capitalize on that goal.

Sell More — Serve Better

J. Mark Walker