The worst VP of Sales I've worked with

The worst VP of Sales I've worked with:

- Managers were scared of him

- Could never get honest feedback from reps

- Only lasted 10 months

The best VP of Sales I've worked with:

- Managers loved him

- Always got honest feedback from reps

- Been there for 3+ years and counting

The difference between the two?

The better VP of Sales avoided these two mistakes:

⛔️ Making questions personal

It’s hard to give a person feedback. It’s way easier to give feedback to a process.

“What feedback do you have for me?”

vs.

“If you came up with this process yourself, what would you do differently?”

⛔️ Responding poorly to feedback (especially in group settings)

I've seen this over and over again.

A rep or manager shares feedback in a group setting. The senior leader gets heated and shuts them down. Now the entire team is afraid to share feedback.

When you get feedback, thank the rep or manager (regardless of their delivery). Restate back what you heard in your own words. And then share how you’ll use the feedback.

Here’s an example:

Rep: “I’m finding this new territory plan difficult. And I wish we could go back to the old system. I’m confused about exactly who owns the upsell/cross-sell because the BDR/AE/AM relationship isn’t totally clear with existing business.”

Leader: “Thanks for sharing. So, you’re finding the new territory plan difficult. I’m guessing that you might be worried about the time it takes to implement this, and how it might affect your performance. And you want to avoid overstepping your bounds with your teammates?”

Rep: “Yep.”

Leader: “Got it. Totally legitimate concern there. Candidly, we’re still working out the kinks as a sales org. This is new for us. And it’ll likely take another quarter or two for everyone to feel comfortable. But what I’m hearing from you is that if we laid out a better process for exactly when and how you’ll interact with the BDR and AM assigned to your accounts, that’ll help you do your job. I’ll take this back to the rest of our team and come to the next all-hands with a clear plan. Sound good to everyone?”

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If you want more trust and feedback from your team:

1) Encourage it

2) Respond well to it

3) Implement it

Agree or disagree?

#sales #leadership