Enhancing communication skills as a Sales Leader is crucial for successful sales outcomes and how we communicate with our teams can make or break our teams’ success.

Throughout my career as a Sales Leader, I consistently learned and adapted my communication style to match the individuals on my team and found that the more I focused on this flexibility in my approach the better collaboration and accountability I got from my teams. As an example, if someone on my team was fast-paced and spoke in high level concepts, I too would adapt to this way of working and thinking.

Here are my top 5 tips for enhancing your communication skills as a leader:

✓ Active Listening

Actively listening builds trust and understanding. 

You can show your engagement by maintaining eye contact, avoiding interruptions, and periodically paraphrasing what you heard. When you listen to understand your team’s challenges you can provide tailored support.

I recently had a salesperson tell me how much she appreciated how I listened to her challenge with a customer. She said that she felt she had the right solution but appreciated being able to articulate it and get my input.

✓ Clear and Concise Messaging

Communicating in a straightforward manner will ensure your team understands your vision, goals and expectations. 

To improve your messaging ensure you stay focused and be specific.  Organize your thoughts and be direct.  Your message should be logical with a clear beginning, middle and end.

Reinforce important information by repeating it at different points in the conversation, and ask for feedback to ensure understanding.

✓ Empathy and Understanding

We’ve heard this before, but really think about what this means to you and your communication skills. To me, it’s putting myself in the other person’s shoes and looking at the issue from their perspective. This really helps to build stronger relationships with each salesperson who reports to you.

Showing genuine interest in your team and sharing your relevant experiences and feelings will help build a deeper connection also.

Read More: Strategies For Effective Sales Coaching And Training

✓ Feedback

Providing constructive feedback in a positive way will foster an environment where that feedback is welcomed.

Focus on behaviour versus personality, be timely and stay objective. Invite your team to share their thoughts and engage in the conversation.

During a recent one-on-one with a salesperson, I provided feedback on a behaviour that was negatively impacting the rest of the team. I asked open-ended questions to understand what was behind this behaviour which allowed us to collaboratively come up with a positive approach to the issue going forward. He told me later he felt heard and appreciated and not called out and embarrassed.

Read More: The Value Of Regular Performance Reviews For Sales Professional

✓ Consistently Communicate

Keeping your team aligned and informed on a regular basis is key to maintaining a motivated team.

Schedule regular team meetings to provide updates, recommit to goals and help to resolve challenges.

Be transparent and share successes and setbacks with your team.  Highlight specific examples and the impact these wins or setbacks had on the organization.

Share tips on setting achievable goals and celebrating progress.

Great Sales leaders inspire, motivate and guide their teams toward achieving organizational goals by communicating effectively. Open and honest communication will drive your success as a Sales Leader.