back in 2015 I was proud to be a part of Crush Your First 90 Days – Advice from 15 Sales Leadership Experts which included some fantastic advice for New and Emerging Sales Mangers from the experts.
My advice? You just became THEM
I was so excited the day I got home after learning I had earned my first promotion into inside sales leadership. Beaming I shared the great news with my husband.
After celebrating for a while, he looked me in the eye and said “You know when people at work complain about THEM, it’s you now…. Right?”
We laughed about it, yet the truth was – he was (and still is) right.
Now that you are a sales leader, you are part of THEM.
You are held to a higher standard
Now people in the organization will look to you for guidance. That guidance will come more from how you conduct yourself than what you say. Walk the walk, show your team you do activities every day that support the direction you are asking them to go in.
You will not be invited to happy hour
If your social group has made up of the salespeople who are working in your company, you are bound to notice you aren’t getting invitations to go out after work as frequently. Let’s face it, it will be hard to complain about THEM when you (aka THEY) are in attendance.
You have to support upper management’s decisions
There will be times when someone who knows you will forget for just a moment that you have become THEM. Complaints about unfairness, changes, something will be uttered. It is your responsibility to step up (remember that higher standard) and support the company’s decisions. Don’t be caught in silence, it will be seen as agreement with the complaint.
It isn’t really BAD news that you’ve been promoted. There is great news about being part of THEM.
You now have a whole new group of support. The other leaders in your organization are where you go if you need to vent or get ideas on being the best sales leader you can be.
Pick out the people you want to get to know better but never had the opportunity to before, make a new circle of colleagues to go to happy hour with – pick a different watering hole than where the crowd will be.
Congratulations on earning your place as one of THEM!