By Jeff Beals
Sales leaders must take many steps in order to develop an effective selling strategy for their companies. One of the first steps is to determine “who you are” as a sales organization. This also means “who you are not” and “who you never want to become.”
Strategies simply are not as effective if your organization hasn’t created a culture. Determining what you are and why you want to be that is hard work. It can be tedious and sometimes argumentative if there are conflicting opinions among the leadership.
In order to determine who you are and create a healthy selling culture, leaders must set their philosophies and beliefs. Ultimately all sales and marketing efforts should rest on a philosophical foundation.
Philosophy and beliefs are your unshakable, solid foundations. They are crystalized by focusing on values, mission and vision.
First, sales leaders should record their core values. These are the qualities that mean the most to them, the lines they will not cross, the expectations they will not compromise.
Once these values are agreed upon and recorded, it’s time to develop a sales-team mission statement. A relatively short written passage, the mission statement summarizes your purpose, your reason for existence. Almost as important is the vision statement, which is a description of where you will be or what your organization will look like at some snapshot point in the future.
Core values are a big determinant of any organization’s culture whether it may be a sales team or an entire company. These are the commitments that drive you each day. Core values indicate what is truly important to you. On a broad level, these values are related to your beliefs and philosophies. More narrowly, they relate to your behavior. Core values are important to success because they keep your inner self and your outward actions synergized.
If you know where your sales team stands philosophically, you are more likely to make decisions in harmony with your organization’s true character. Acting this way will enhance your team’s long-term success.
Before taking your products and services to the market, understand what actions you will not tolerate, what corners you are not willing to cut and what ethical boundaries you are not willing to blur.
Jeff Beals is a professional speaker and award-winning author, who helps professionals enjoy greater success through effective sales, marketing and personal branding techniques. He delivers energetic and humorous keynote speeches and workshops to audiences worldwide. To discuss booking a presentation, go to JeffBeals.com or email at info@jeffbeals.com or call us at (402) 637-9300.
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