Sales vs. Leadership

[eastfwd]

I have a solid sales background, yet I find myself running a company with three partners and a handful of employees. Small as we are, I still run into leadership issues like how to motivate our people to do their best, and to maintain an overall culture of success and dedication. I wonder how any of you with similar sales backgrounds have combined management skills into your bag of tricks...

 

[Linda Buquet]

Well I have 15 years of sales, sales management and upper level VP responsibilities.
I now choose to work alone (except for Larwee's help) and run my own company.

The great majority of people here are solo entrepreneurs too. Many of us are because
we either aren't very good at dealing with people, or don't really want to deal with corporate any more.

I can appreciate where you are at. Being a good leader is really hard!
Wish I had some words of wisdom.

 

[Julia15]

In my experience and opinion, the key to fostering success and dedication amongst employees is creating a positive work environment that inspires loyalty.

Fun, friendly workspaces where employees are rewarded for their efforts and are friends with team. My best (and longest) office experiences have been where I'm friends with my co-workers, sort of the 'work hard, play hard' mentality.

Lastly, show that as boss you work hard as well, and while being authoritative, still remain accessible and don't seem 'above' your employees.

Just my thoughts.

 

[strangbad]

Nothing is more important than demonstrating your personal commitment to your enterprise. Lead by example! This is not assumed by your employees, and even if it is, it does not inspire them to work harder. I recently came across this great interview of Domenico De Sole, former CEO of Gucci, where he puts it so very well: Set the Tone!

GotVMail Gary's Notepad - Entrepreneur Video - Former Gucci CEO/President: Set the Tone

 

[GettingRicher]

I believe giving bonuses to your employees is a great way of motivating them For example, the employee who works the most gets a candy, a horse, a new computer, 10 dollars, I don't know I find people to like competition when there exist incentives like these (especially the horse )

 

[Darwin]

I have found that just showing sincere appreciation goes a long way towards developing loyalty and happy employees. Especially if done in public in front of their peers.

Just a few words, such as, "good job today", or "good work on that project.' Things like this. Also if somebody does something wrong don't reprimand in front of others especially. Try to get them to talk through what happened and solve the problem themself, then send them back to do the same task again.

I have found this works better than bribes but surprise bonuses are a big help too.

 

[NicheGooRoo]

Interesting.. Last week my partner and I were asking eachother the same question! We were wondering what we can say or do to make our partners understand the importance and seriousness one needs to succeed Online.

I realized that some people will always need direction and you cannot count on them to take control and set there own daily agenda.

Leaders must lead by example.. It is important to make the work place feel comfortable yet, known that this is a place for Business and we are all here to Make Money!

 

[frugalwench]

Fun, friendly workspaces where employees are rewarded for their efforts and are friends with team. My best (and longest) office experiences have been where I'm friends with my co-workers, sort of the 'work hard, play hard' mentality.

Lastly, show that as boss you work hard as well, and while being authoritative, still remain accessible and don't seem 'above' your employees.

This is basically my theory. The complaints I hear most about management is that they are out of touch with those beneath them. It's hard to believe that some managers actually rose up from the bottom, because they seem to have forgotten how to talk to those people. The most successful managers are those who can find a way to be friendly and encouraging without being too personal. You don't want to be buddy it up with your employees, but you want them to feel comfortable coming to you with concerns, etc.

I have a store manager who rewards us by giving us things that other managers didn't give us, like an awesome Christmas dinner when we had none the year before. We were even encouraged to bring family members. There was a ton of food and a lot of socializing among departments, which doesn't happen a lot in this particular store.

One thing we don't get enough of is pats on the back when we get a verbal compliment from a customer. If it's in writing, we get recognized, but it would be nice to have a manager say that they've heard good things about you from customers, and make you feel valuable.

People who are made to feel valuable within the organization, and feel that their contribution is appreciated and noticed on a daily basis are those who will strive harder for the company.

Like Oprah once said "Everyone just wants to be acknowledged."

 

[purdue512]

There are entire disciplines dedicated to answering the question you've just posed here in this forum... I'm not saying it's a bad question. In fact, it's a great question to be asking. I applaud you for thinking along these lines and recognizing the role that leadership plays in an organization and it's culture.

However, you will not find the answers you need here... Sorry. Like Linda, I too have over 15 years of leadership experience. Have worked in the "C suite" as a COO and had to inspire large groups of employees... It's no easy task.

There are many group books and consultants who will work with you if you think you have a serious problem in your organization.