Categories: Front-line Managers | Sales Leadership | Economic Change
Changing course to weather the economic storm is a little like other initiatives that require leader visibility. To pivot successfully, you’ll need to rally the troops and build buy-in around the shifted approach. But unlike a launch, your plan for steering the ship through choppy waters comes with added background noise. Tightened budgets, longer sales cycles, and “not right now”... the realities of today’s market can take a toll on morale.
In a challenging economy, it’s critical to retain and maximize the talent you have by providing support. In an environment where your sales organization may be asked to do more with less, you don’t want to risk losing your A-players. Without a clear understanding of your company’s future and plans for how you’ll move forward, economic challenges can make employees feel insecure. Your strategies to hit your revenue goals in a down economy can only be impactful if your workforce is committed to making them a reality.
Maximize Your Talent: Lead From the Front
It’s important to take a visible role in your company’s initiatives and communication to ensure buy-in from your managers and reps on the front line. We call this “leading from the front,” the act of showing staff the relevance and value of each initiative with more than words; it’s about demonstrating your commitment through priorities and action.
Leading from the front is essential to driving your organizational goals forward. Set the tone for how you’ll address economic challenges by working with front-line managers to adapt your sales message for alignment with what matters most to customers. Take the time to ensure managers see the value of your objectives and how they will benefit specifically. Achieving buy-in from sales managers positions them to lead from the front, too – creating a cascading effect of commitment and conviction that runs downhill to customer-facing teams. Front-line sales reps gain motivation and empowerment when coached with executable strategies and tools.
Your sales staff is your greatest investment and top resource for ensuring organizational success through a down economy. Use these questions and action items to ensure you maximize the return on your talent with your plan for addressing today’s market.
Questions to Examine
- How has our internal communication strategy been updated to reflect changes in our external economic environment?
- What activities in our internal communication cadence encourage commitment over compliance?
- Who bears the responsibility of sharing the “why” behind everything our sales organization does?
Action Items
- Create a cadence for communications about economic change and how it affects your company’s initiatives
- Lead from the front – provide the “why” behind leadership actions and take a visible role in company initiatives
- Provide skill support and enablement to help your sales force be prepared to achieve what’s being asked of them
Create the outcome you’ve envisioned. By leading from the front, you can enable a higher level of personal investment from your sellers, leading to higher sales force productivity across teams and greater ROI for your organizational strategies.
More Strategies & Action Plans for Leaders
We’ve assembled a playbook for sales leaders with five key strategies for creating revenue-boosting outcomes during an economic downturn. Along with leading from the front, we identify the top objectives and outline your plan putting each piece into motion. Download your free copy of Cut Through the Noise: Your Playbook for Sales Success in Economic Change to access the strategies and action items designed to help your team be successful today.
