Creating Sales Thought Leadership and The Value of Sales Mentoring

At its very core, a sales rep’s job description is to lead. Outside of transactional sales models like retail and e-commerce, deals are not signed unless a sales rep leads a prospect to a buying decision. Sure, the ability to lead customers is a must. But some of the most successful salespeople have already realized that being a true leader extends beyond the ability to influence deals.

In our latest eBook, we asked some of the top sales and lead generation experts to reveal their biggest productivity secrets. Several experts touted the power of building a community of sales leaders within your sales organization.

The Value of Sales Mentors

Sure, some reps will always have a cavalier, everyone-for-themselves attitude toward sales. They don’t care who else hits quota so long as they do. But the best sales reps have already recognized the power of helping others to succeed. The best B2B sales environments are highly collaborative. Weak links in the chain  can have detrimental effects that permeate through an entire business organization.

Consider that according to figures from CSO Insights, only 57% of companies hit revenue targets. Is a business that’s struggling to stay afloat going to be quick to hand out large bonuses and other incentives? Are you likely going to get a more favorable comp plan if revenue isn’t coming in overall? Of course not. But helping others can indirectly help you. And besides, you never know when someone you helped will return the favor.

In our new sales leadership eBook, we spoke with Elay Cohen. Cohen, who authored Saleshood: How Winning Sales Managers Inspire Sales Teams to Succeed, is  known as  one of the most effective sales coaches on Planet Earth. Cohen believes that the most successful sales organizations are those in which salespeople are quick to share best practices with each other: “Sales managers who inspire salespeople to learn from each other, and share best practices in weekly sales meetings, end up on the beach in Hawaii.”

Build a Community of Sales Thought Leaders

Thought leadership tends to get stereotyped as a function of marketing. But in today’s quick-paced, ultra-competitive business environment, the best salespeople need to also be great communicators. For our new eBook we spoke with Dayna Rothman, an expert in content marketing and lead generation, about how effective it can be to position your company’s salespeople as thought leaders.

According to Rothman, who authored Lead Generation for Dummies and handles content marketing for Marketo, “Your sales teams are on the front line with prospects every day. They should not only be armed to become an expert resource for their prospects, but you should also position them as thought leaders in your industry. Buyers today are making purchases based on trust and thought leadership, so why shouldn’t your sales teams be educators?”

Rothman recommends that sales reps regularly draft thought leadership blogs and contribute to your business’ social media efforts. She pointed out that at Marketo, sales professionals are responsible for some of the company’s most reliable and thought-provoking content. At the end of the day, this doesn’t only help generate net-new leads, but also can help your sales reps close more deals.

“Imagine how much more powerful your company can be if your sales executives can point to their own thought leadership to answer a prospect’s question. This increases trust and relationship building. And in today’s new buying landscape, thought leadership can give you a huge competitive advantage,” stated Rothman.

Check out our free eBook 20 Top Sales Leaders Reveal Their Biggest Productivity Secrets for more winning strategies that can help your sales organization succeed!