“…be deliberate in the type of leader you want to be…”

There are 5 types of sales leaders:

• The supporter

• The fixer

• The “Ah you can do it”

• The enabler

•  And The asshole

The supporter is a players coach.  They are advocates of the team, doing everything they can to support the team for success.  Supporters are popular, the downside is they don’t like to challenge sales people.  They don’t like to rock the boat or call out the elephant in the room.

The fixer fixes, they aren’t VERY proactive, but if something goes wrong they come flying in and fix.  The problem with fixers is they don’t prevent problems very well.  They aren’t too proactive.

The “Ah you can do it” is the hands off coach.  “Ah, you can do it.”  He or she says, as they kick back and let you figure it out.  They provide tons of autonomy which is nice, but there is little supporter before or after.

The enabler looks to enable sales people.  Enabler’s challenge their people to think for themselves.  They provide support designed to help people help themselves.  Enablers empower.  Enablers are very effective but not always the most popular.  They have high expectations and hold people accountable. Not everyone likes to own their shit.

The Asshole. Do you remember Glengarry Glenn Ross? That’s an Asshole.  Assholes are prescriptive.  They don’t listen, they tell their team how to do it.  They manage by activity.  Telling sales people how many calls to make, how many appointments to set etc.  They intimidate, bark and are directive.  There is almost NO autonomy in a Assholes environment.  Assholes suck to work for.  If you’re an Asshole, cut it out.  No one likes an asshole.

So, which type of sales leader are you?

I’m a big fan of the enabler.

Regardless, be deliberate in the type of leader you want to be… it matters.