Jason, a newly appointed sales manager, had just received a promotion in one of the largest software companies in the world – moving from individual contributor to a sales management role. He also inherited a newly formed (and handpicked team) focused on selling to executives. Jason and his team were assembled from scratch as a sales experiment. He was 3-days into leading a brand-new “skunk works” sales team, and his job was to crack the code to make executive sales conversations more consistent. From his view, Jason had moved from a high-performing seller to a leader of high performers with the goal of – “Hey Jason, you need to figure it out!”
He’s always been highly focused on communicating value to customers, so the challenge before him is simple: Help our company evolve the sales conversation to match our capabilities. He’s been asked to sell more solutions to customers and higher.
That got me thinking. For this sales manager to be successful, he has to have a lot of customer empathy, and he’s been successful in his own right. Indeed, he can figure out what needs to happen to help his people drive the right results. But our question was, “While Jason possesses the right know-how—does he have the ability to affect the changes in his people and, more importantly, affect the changes necessary in the organization that supports his team?” What does it take?
Through our work with leaders worldwide, we have come across many who have been asked to lead something new. They have been asked to lead change. They have been asked to create something new. But, if some managers can succeed and have access to the management tools provided by the company, what else do they need? In other words, if a new manager has the skills, passions, and tools, are there other intangibles that will help them succeed?
Through our work in transformational efforts, we have found four critical intangibles required for success. Leaders who possess these intangibles can overcome tough internal challenges and drive the necessary change in themselves and their teams.
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Intangible 1: Grit
Grit is passion and perseverance over the long haul. It is ongoing long-term tenacity over a long period (over months and even years). We have found that the most successful managers possess grit. It’s important to note that their grit isn’t about “making money.” Instead, it’s the grit to “make the customer successful.” Or the grit to “add the right value.” This is often a paradigm-shifting statement that many top-performing managers internalize, believe in, and live out.
We have found that the most successful managers have gone “all in” on making their external customers successful, and they translate that to their team. They refuse to let their team get isolated from drawing a direct line to customer value. They are so highly focused on the customer that they break down internal barriers and build relationships to help their customers succeed in solving problems. In many instances, in the face of internal friction, undocumented processes, or even confusion, it seems they would expend every last drop of human effort to move things ahead for their customer. On top of that (call them crazy), they EXPECT difficulty and believe they can overcome it.
If you’re in a management or leadership role, here’s a question: Do you have grit? Are you willing to do the work to help your customers succeed? Or do you find yourself wishing things were easier? To develop grit and achieve sales success, you must enter challenging situations and overcome internal friction to help your customers succeed. Do this, and you (and your team) will become unstoppable.
Intangible 2: Problem-Solving
Let’s face it. Customers are changing. Businesses are changing. That creates a lot of problems that need to be solved. Problem-solving is an incredibly impactful skill for managers because it allows them to overcome internal complexity and provide clarity to the team. When paired with grit, problem-solving is an enormous success accelerator. Problem-solving never goes unnoticed by the customer (even though it usually goes unnoticed internally). Problem-solving with (and for) customers requires learning quickly and repeatedly. This type of “learning agility” is something that many managers don’t proactively do – let alone seek out. But, we have found when managers (and their teams) focus on solving customer problems and working together on those problems, their passion for solving the problem drives action that correlates to business results. Learning agility is often fueled by an endless curiosity about the industry, new trends, or (better yet) the customer’s reality. Successful managers usually try to learn something new about specific customers daily. And when it comes to solving problems for those customers, they become collaborators, tweakers, and idea generators internally to find workarounds, develop new approaches, and look for solutions.
Successful managers also use this problem-solving intangible to face what seems like insurmountable obstacles. It’s almost like they become addicted to learning about customers, the customer’s industry, and their capability—so much so that they believe their success is dependent on learning enough.
Do you put yourself in confusing, broken, or impossible situations as a manager? What problems do you believe exist with your customers and company? What can you do to become more successful? Leaders need more managers with this problem-solving intangible.
Intangible 3: Self-Awareness
The economy has changed, and many businesses are struggling to grow. As a result, some managers have found themselves in positions where their past approaches don’t work. Today’s successful manager has taken the time to assess their strengths and weaknesses in leading their team. Most of them realize that their past results haven’t necessarily set them up for future success. They have also figured out how to get out of their way. From our perspective, we find managers are the most successful when:
- They are focused on impressing the customer (Not impressing some important person in their life, for example, their parents or even themselves).
- They are trying to help their customers succeed. (not trying to help themselves or only their company)
- They embrace productive friction, where people may disagree or multiple perspectives don’t align. (not seeking to “make everyone happy”)
- They cope with stress.
The question that the most successful managers ask themselves is pretty simple, but it requires some humility. The question they ask? “Is there a gap in understanding?” Additionally, they realize and embrace that they likely have no idea their blind spots probably exist. They don’t see them. So, they build a network of trusted colleagues and demand realistic feedback on their performance. Since the enemy of self-awareness is overconfidence, successful managers look ruthlessly for blind spots and root them out. They understand those blind spots can harm their growth, so they take proactive action to inspect their limitations. Executives need more people with self-awareness to lead teams to achieve new levels of success.
Intangible 4: Self-Sacrificing Concern for People
The working environment is more challenging since today’s customers are more demanding. As a result, successful managers realize their people will likely need help to leap to the next level. More specifically, they must close the gap between their solutions and the customer’s definition of value because they understand that gap seems to be growing daily.
Successful managers also realize they must make themselves available to their people and build trusting coaching relationships to train, empower, and inspire their people to overcome complexity at the point of sale. More importantly, they take the time to help align individual salesperson passions to business outcomes and goals. Successful managers realize that their team consists of human beings and express genuine concern for each person. Managers who can serve their team make suitable investments in those team members. And more importantly, they empower their team members to solve problems. Managers can accelerate success by leading with a deep respect for their people.
So there you have it—the four hidden intangibles of management success! If you are a manager who believes you’re living out these intangibles, we encourage you to ask your team how well you’re doing. If you haven’t thought of these intangibles before, give one a try, and let us know how it goes!
After delving into the intricacies of the four hidden intangibles of management success, you’ve gained a unique perspective on what propels leadership to new heights. These intangibles can transform your approach and amplify your team’s performance. But here’s the real question: Are your sales messages reflecting these intangibles?
If you’re a sales and marketing manager who believes you embody these intangibles, it’s time to test your beliefs. Reach out to your team and inquire about the impact you’re making. Their insights will provide a deeper understanding of your effectiveness and illuminate areas for refinement.
And if the concept of these intangibles is fresh to you, don’t hesitate to take that leap. Pick one intangible that resonates with you and infuse it into your approach. Observe the ripple effect it creates within your team, and share your experiences with us.
But here’s the exciting part: Elevating your sales messages to mirror these intangibles doesn’t have to be a daunting task. Our cutting-edge Sales Message Management platform is designed to integrate these principles into your communication strategy seamlessly. Craft messages that resonate, inspire, and ignite curiosity while fostering growth, collaboration, trust, and transparency.
