Empathy, dialogue, and the ability to play a key role within the sales cycle are essential, if not necessary to conclude a sale, even if they are not enough to grow within companies.

Those who occupy managerial roles within the sales area know well what lies at the basis of transversal skills and what allows them to grow professionally: leadership.

Beyond the schools of thought that consider leadership either an innate quality or one that can be refined over time, there are some common factors that belong to all leaders, which can be summarized in seven points.

Vision

Leaders have a clear idea of ​​where they are going and what they are trying to accomplish. This quality is one of the most differentiating: having a clear vision allows you to better frame objectives, foreseeing what the future will be like thanks to past experiences, and exceeding what needs to be done to finish the job.

Resilience

One of the most important skills of a good leader is the ability to keep getting up after falling down. Having resilience means being willing to take risks to achieve your goals, even after failing.

All the greatest leaders have had at least one failure and it is essential not to get discouraged and to get up as soon as possible to achieve your goals. Nanakorobi Yaoki is a Japanese proverb that says, “even if you fall 7 times, you get up 8” indicating the fact that behind every success there are many failures and unsuccessful attempts to learn from. It doesn’t matter, therefore, how many times we face failure, the important thing is to move forward.

Honesty

A fundamental aspect for holding top management positions is honesty towards employees and colleagues.

Total honesty will allow you to develop trustworthiness: this requires you to always tell the truth and be clear and transparent in every situation.

This quality is the basis of the confidence necessary for the success of any business or professional figure

Humility

Humility leads to results: the more we manage to contain our ego, the more realistic we will be about our problems.

By learning to listen and admitting that we do not know all the answers, we will show a strong, rational and empathic attitude, which will allow us to recognize our mistakes, and then resolve them.

Cooperation

The ability to work and collaborate with everyone is essential for success.

Great leaders manage to select and convince people to work for them, exposing all the benefits they would derive from it.

It is also essential to get the cooperation of others by committing to get along with each person and motivating them to give their best, every single day.

Psychologist Daniel Goleman in his book Emotional Leadership explicitly speaks of a management style based on the ability to leverage emotions rather than on a system of norms and impositions.

Curiosity

Curiosity is the engine that allows us to stay constantly updated on the world around us, allowing us to go further to confront ourselves with figures not similar to our own, analyzing situations and drawing ideas to solve possible future problems.

Alan Watts, one of the greatest exponents of modern English philosophy, also addressed the theme by saying: “By replacing fear of the unknown with curiosity, we open ourselves to an infinite flow of possibilities. We can let fear rule our lives or we can become children again with curiosity, pushing our limits, stepping out of our comfort zones and accepting what life puts in front of us “.

Positivity

All leaders are optimistic.

They see opportunities and possibilities in everything that happens, positive or negative. They seek the good in every situation and in every person.

They understand the valuable lessons of every problem or setback, never considering failures as definitive, but instead as “learning experiences”.

All these factors must be analyzed and applied every day in the world of sales to achieve a good level of leadership.

Leadership is in fact an attitude and a stimulus that accelerates the functioning of an organization and that can inspire an entire community with thoughts and actions directed towards a common goal.

At the basis of a company’s success, in addition to the preparation and competence of each professional, there are leaders who are able to create value both for companies and for people.

Takeaway:

• Soft skills play a key role within the sales cycle and are essential for concluding a sale, even if they are not enough to grow within companies.
• Those who occupy managerial roles in the sales area know well what underlies transversal skills and what allows them to grow professionally: leadership.
• The task of a good leader is to know how to mix the skills of his own resources, make the most of them and thus obtain results both in the company and with his collaborators.