How to be a Successful Sales Leader

BE CALM

Being calm around the team brings an air of control. The calmness means the team are able to better process what you are saying. Scattergun or knee-jerk reactions bring unrest. You don’t want to be stressed yourself or get your team stressed. Stress does all sorts of bad things to our bodies and mind. It down regulates genes and brings on disease. 

Stressed, you literally can’t think straight on ‘where did I put my keys’. This is because most of your cognitive decision making along with how you choose to behave, act and feel comes from the prefrontal cortex. This brain part also handles intellect, concentration and self-awareness, which all function hunky-dory until stress comes along. 

Another part of your brain that overrides all cognitive thoughts and reactions when you experience intense emotions, is the amygdala. This is where your emotions are processed into instinctive reactions. I.e. freeze in terror when overcome with fear. 

When you are stressed you may react by being cranky, depressed or anxious. The very fact it’s an intense emotional state means the amygdala has been triggered causing every part of your being to become concentrated on the issue. All the constructive energy from the other brain parts, like your prefrontal cortex, are now drained so that the deepest, almost central part of your brain, the amygdala, is getting all the action. This leaves the rest of the brain performing poorly. Your prefrontal cortex – decision making, behaviour, intellect and concentrations – is now depleted of resources, basically it’s running on empty. That’s why your IQ drops in stressful situations. 

Don’t put such an emphasis on targets if the team get stressed, rather put your emphasis on building relationships and getting in front of new clients etc. Think about what has the best effect on their positive mental health and performance. 

 

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What to do

Practice being seperate from the workload, breathe deeply, smile

Learn more

Read: ‘successful leaders – ‘hands on or hands off’ >>>

Watch the recording of our live Sales Leadership Webinar held 14 September 2021 >>>>

 

Smarter Selling is sales and mindset coaching for high performing leaders and teams