This fabulous article is by Mark Tewart, whose websites include: www.marktewartlive.com,
www.marktewart.com and www.howtobeasalessuperstar.info
He’s on a virtual tour for his book, How To Be a Sales Superstar.
1. Manage things and lead people
Processes should be defined and managed daily. People should be lead by example daily. Management by strict control inhibits star performers and eliminates creativity of intelligent people. Feelings of manipulation are caused by strict control. Control, manipulation, and disrespect keep many dealerships from moving to another level of performance.
2. Speed of the boss = speed of the team
If the boss has a sense of urgency, the team will, too. The leader sets the tone. Great leaders create an attitude and atmosphere of winning. The leader sets the stage for the proper belief systems necessary to succeed.
3. Coach people more than you manage deals
If you spend your time coaching people through training, one-on-ones and positive feedback, your people will become less addicted to you. Spend 80% of your day with your team and your customers. The rest can wait.
4. Create a Stop Doing List
To find out what to do, you must also define what not to do. What are you doing everyday that you should either, stop doing, delegate, or do less of, or at a different time?
5. Practice the 4 D.s of action management
Dump it, Defer it, Delegate it, or Do it. With proper action management, you will spend less time in crisis and emergency mode.
6. Recruiting is an ongoing process
Determine an ongoing action plan for recruiting. What channels will you use to recruit and how much time each week to do it. What automated systems can you set up through web sites, job boards, college placement centers, military posts, etc. can you set up to increase potential candidates? Don’t wait until you need people to dig through the drawer to find the help wanted ad that everyone else uses.
7. Set clear expectations
People need and desire clear expectations of their job functions, behavior, and performance. The days of hiring people and showing them the inventory, their desk, and telling them to get busy are over. For a greater chance of success, people cannot succeed without written and communicated expectations.
8. People don’t change that much, so stop trying
Do not try to put in what God left out. When a person has reached adulthood, they primarily tend to repeat the patterns either they have created or that are based upon their nature. Grow a person’s strengths, and stop trying to fix their weaknesses.
9. Educate and motivate daily
Good people want continuing education. Educate and motivate every day. Educating daily creates results; periodical training never does. If you have people rejecting education, then you must reject them. Would a great coach allow certain players to not practice because they didn’t want to?
10. Listen, listen, listen
Nothing inspires people more than when they feel a manager will actually listen. People need to be respected and heard. A manager’s best customers are the people they coach.
11. Get out from behind the desk
Lead the team. People want to know that their leader is one of them. Desks can become huge barriers to communicating.
12. Don’t forget emotions
Behind all goals, dreams, achievements, and failures are emotions. Learn to tap into each team member’s pleasure and pain motivators to better guide them. Coach each team member with this in mind – thoughts become words, words become actions, actions create habits, habits create results, and they are all seeking emotions.
Great leadership is essential in creating great teams. Expect more of yourself and your team will follow. The leader is the final reason for success or failure.
To read the first chapter of How to be a Sales Superstar and to receive several FREE bonuses from Mark Tewart, visit www.marktewartlive.com.









