What is the main difference between a leader a salesperson? What comes to mind spontaneously? I often ask this question during training sessions with customers and find the discussion extremely surprising: the question usually sparks a real battle among the seminar participants. The respective leadership and sales camps sort through their arguments and gradually gear up. The leadership faction cheekily likes to adorn itself with the halo that sales is beneath its dignity. The sales faction counters that nothing in the company would work without sales and that the business would have gone bankrupt long ago without these skills. While these different perspectives are understandable, they do not promote personal development.
In practice, we trainers often find that leadership and sales are viewed in isolation. I often wonder why this is the case and what the point of it is. leader you refer leader a leader as a salesperson or a salesperson as leader , you leader yourself extremely unpopular. There is uncertainty when these two terms are not clearly differentiated. However, the similarities between the two areas are extremely striking. That is precisely why I advocate no longer viewing this separation so strictly.
Similarities between leadership and sales
If we look at the results of leadership and sales, we discover many overlaps: both try to influence people positively. Leadership aims to develop people so that they become the best they can be. Sales influences customers so that they buy the best product and recommend it to others. In both cases, the aim is to empower people and demand results.
In both areas, however, this effect is only possible if both the salesperson and the leader self-management (pillar 1: How do I manage myself?) continuously develop themselves further. But who really does that? Who deals professionally with the following topics:
- What are my values?
- How can I consistently increase my commitment?
- What habits do I have, and which ones diminish my impact?
- How can I deal with problems effectively?
- What is the purpose of a crisis? How can a crisis become an opportunity?
- How can I improve my concentration?
- How do I deal with fear?
- What does stress mean to me and how can I deal with it?
In my experience, very few people bother with it!
But the similarities go much further. Because:
A leader who cannot sell is not leader effective leader a salesperson who cannot lead is not an effective salesperson.
What lies behind the idea
Every day, a leader trust, belief, ideas, tasks, projects, development opportunities, responsibility, etc. leader their employees and colleagues. The more effective a leader is leader a salesperson, the more effective or motivated the employees are and the better the results. A leader who is not aware of this should take a close look at their role.
In customer conversations, salespeople act as leader. They guide the conversation, themselves, and their arguments. In every customer phone call, salespeople must guide the customer, otherwise they will end up selling nothing at the end of the day. However, many salespeople still have enormous potential for development, particularly in the area of self-management (pillar 1: How do I manage myself?). This is particularly true when it comes to cold calling on the phone. For fear of rejection, many salespeople prefer to wait and see instead of actively acquiring new customers. But waiting does not produce results. What do you think would be possible if salespeople learned to manage their fear instead of being managed by it?
So there is still a lot that the two disciplines can learn from each other.
What can management learn from sales?
- gain more self-confidence and give yourself even more justification to lead
- In the event of rejection or failure, simply continue and do not bury your head in the sand.
- Even stronger Result Orientation results are the only measurable indicator
- Fun, enthusiasm, and identification with companies and their products
What can sales learn from leadership?
- Even more structured preparation for customer appointments
- Not only and not too much closeness, but also distance in customer communication—so that a respectful partnership on equal terms can develop.
- Maintain leadership throughout the entire sales process, especially with difficult customers, and close the deal.
What developments are needed in both disciplines?
- Ask more questions/say less: "He who asks leads!"
- more genuine interest in people
- Let go of the worldview that leadership and sales have nothing to do with each other and consistently learn from the "other side."
- learn, fall down, reflect, grow, and develop further
- Consciously and appropriately choose a professional attitude in the respective role
By accepting each other's perspective, the two areas of leadership and sales can be dissolved as rigid poles (worldviews). This creates professionalism. Depending on the task and challenge, top results are achieved in leadership and sales.
Implementation task:
- What are the key takeaways you have learned from the other discipline? Why do you want to learn and implement this?
- How can you implement this immediately?
- Which person or what helps you with this?
- How can you tell that something has changed?
Continue to develop yourself as a person and you will become more effective in leadership and sales!
That's why you're not really happy.
Why success and fulfillment have nothing to do with each other.
