Leadership in Sales: A Hard Skill Companies Want from You

Leadership is one of the most attractive skills anyone can possess in business. Being a leader makes you well-suited for several roles within a company, regardless of your current position. In particular, possessing leadership in sales is a great asset if you’re trying to advance your career. 

Sales leadership refers to a range of sales-related skills that enable an individual to generate maximum revenue. The combination of skills can be challenging to master. But, they are learnable. 

Here are some of the most important leadership skills to strive for in your own career.

Important Sales Leadership Skills

Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence refers to your ability to handle not just your own emotions, but others’ emotions as well. This is a vital skill to possess for sales leadership, or any type of leadership, for several reasons. 

First, it is important to understand and remain in control of your own emotions during fast-paced or stressful periods. And second, navigating the emotions of those you work with is often instrumental in achieving the desired results.

You can practice emotional intelligence by tracking your own emotions, seeking feedback from others, and practicing mindfulness, among other habits.

Communication

Communication plays a vital role in every facet of sales. Whether you’re communicating with your own team, or with a client, effective communication is crucial. Communication for sales leadership needs to be assertive, clear, and informative. In addition, being charismatic is also a big help when it comes to inspiring others. These are crucial sales leadership skills.

Two common tips for communication as a leader are to be active listeners and to focus on body language. Leadership communication does not simply refer to your own ability to convey information. It also requires that you can listen to others and assure them that their opinions are valued. Meanwhile, body language often plays a big role in coming across as both assertive and charismatic. Firm eye contact, proper posture, and open or receptive body language are all signs of a confident, charismatic communicator.

Innovation

Sales leadership often involves being able to think outside the box. Honing and developing your own creativity is something you can do to build this leadership skill. Generating sales is often an exercise in problem-solving, and in many cases, innovation is required.

There are many ways to practice creativity and innovation. Seeking out inspiring things, changing routine habits, or stepping outside the office are a few simple steps you can take at work.

Leadership Qualities: What’s the Difference Between Leadership and Management?

One thing that often gets misunderstood about leadership is that it is distinct from management. Being a leader in the workplace does not always equate to being a manager or supervisor. Leadership qualities can be found in any worker in any position. So, what exactly is the difference between leadership and management?

As it relates to sales, a sales manager is responsible for overseeing the operations involved in sales. A manager might be in charge of ensuring that certain figures are met and standards upheld. They might also be in charge of training employees and other official operations procedures.

On the other hand, a leader is anyone who possesses leadership qualities and can inspire those around them. Leaders can influence others by coaching them directly, or simply by being a powerful role model.

Important sales leadership qualities involve having a comprehensive view of company goals and strategies, along with the skills mentioned above.

There are many ways to become a leader while working as an administrative assistant. To learn more about leadership skills for assistants, consider taking ASAP’s webinar, Resilient Leadership for Today’s Assistant. Or, browse ASAP’s full inventory of professional training resources for administrative professionals.