Developing A Passion For Selling

My post May 1st identified three components of effective leadership the second one (11) passion and commitment refers to the manner in which a vision is described which can sometimes be as important as the vision itself. It is the 'fire in the belly' and is grounded in a sincere and unshakable belief system. You know immediately when you are in the company of somebody who is passionate about their vision by their mannerisms i.e. level of confidence, tone, enthusiasm, posture, language and drive. A good example here is Martin Luther King's "I have a dream" speech, which succeeded inspiring others for many reasons but mostly because of the passion, it radiated.

I accept that not everybody is performing a job of work that they totally enjoy because many people view their career as a means to an end. They exist in a job because their salary provides them with a comfortable lifestyle and it pays the mortgage. Unfortunately many organisations promote individuals to management positions for a lot of the wrong reasons. An individual that is steady, tows the company line, is diligent, hardworking and reliable is frequently the preferred choice. Organisations who play it safe in this regard are not always unsuccessful but you will find their management regime is usually autocratic and lack the dynamic environment that many sales people require to perform to their full potential.

Effective leaders need freedom and encouragement and to operate in an environment where creativity and risk taking are fostered and promoted. Google who feature in Fortune magazine 100 best companies to work for 2009 describe their culture in the following manner:

"Our commitment to innovation depends on everyone being comfortable sharing ideas and opinions. That means that each employee is a hands-on contributor, and everyone wears several hats. Because everyone realizes they are an equally important part of our success, no one hesitates to ask Larry or Sergey a pointed question in our weekly TGIF meetings, or spike a volleyball over the net at a corporate officer" and further state:

"As we grow worldwide, we continue to look for those who share an obsessive commitment to creating search perfection and having a great time doing it".

Jack Welch author and well known former Chairman General Electric states " Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the vision, passionately own the vision and relentlessly drive it to completion"

Sales leaders who possess strong passion and commitment imbue a similar level of passion in their teams, which in turn inspires customers. In a highly competitive trading climate when customers are faced with what they view as product/service similarity, the deciding factor in their decision-making is frequently dependent on the quality of selling interaction. It is easy therefore to see why passion and commitment are key components of successful sales management.
Back soon, in the meantime feel free to leave a comment.
Regards
Dave http://www.davidquinnandassociates.ie/