A body of men holding themselves accountable to nobody ought not to be trusted by anybody. -Thomas Paine
This applies to sales organizations as well as shenanigans in D.C.
Each salesperson must think about their role differently plus take ownership of their actions and the results. Leaders need to motivate the team to do this with excitement and commit to achieving their own goals as well as the larger goals of the team and greater organization.
The framework for positive accountability is to connect the overall goals of the sales organization to the individual’s goals.
The sales leaders actively create and maintain this culture by analyzing metrics that are leading indicators of performance. Attention Leaders: you cannot accept mediocrity.
So, why do so many sales organizations lack accountability? Because there’s a lot of talk about accountability, yet little direction regarding how a culture of accountability is created.
Until now. Here’s the direction you’ve been searching for.
The Ladder of Accountability from the VennLeader group illustrates the typical steps toward embracing accountability.
No one is on the same rung of the ladder. Everyone must understand their position is critical to reaching the top. Make the climb a positive experience by first focusing on the individuals’ ‘why’; then get them to recognize how being accountable for what they control helps the greater team be successful.
Salespeople have autonomy over their time, what they think about, and their approach. It’s their behavior and mindset and it can be improved with effort and coaching.
Create Positive Accountability & High Performance.
At Helix, we believe there are five elements to successfully create a performance sales culture.
- The sales leaders (and the CEO) must communicate clear business objectives with a Why.
- Leading indicators/metrics must be defined by the sales organization and managed by the sales managers consistently. The right behaviors and activities managed regularly are how we define consistency.
- The sales leaders and sales managers not only talk about the metrics and goals but have their own set of metrics. They walk the talk.
- Roles are interrelated. The entire sales organization needs to understand how it all fits together. There must be effective communication around performance and proper support for each role. This means coaching galore! Coaching around meetings. Coaching for sales skills and mindset.
- Real consequences. Celebrating teamwork and wins as a group is part of this. However, the sales leaders and managers must immediately address poor performance. There must be a plan for corrective action, clear expectations, and change if the individual does not level up.
Looking for direction on creating a culture of accountability?
Let’s start with a conversation. It’s easy – click here.
