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When Your Sales Team Wins, You Win

By on October 28, 2014
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Abraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, and considered by many to have been one of the greatest leaders in all history. What can this man teach us about being a successful leader? A lot!

Lincoln is known for surrounding himself with great people. Aware that he couldn’t possibly do it all, or know it all himself, the man built his cabinet of advisors with people who were experts in their field. As explained in the book Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin, he also welcomed, and even encouraged, dissenting views. He kept his focus on the goal at hand, not on his ego.

Within our industry Susan Colvin has a leadership style that’s also impressive. As the President and CEO of California Exotic Novelties and JOPEN, she leads by setting an example. Her expectations are high of herself and she challenges her employees to find their peak level of achievement. Plenty of earned praise and a collaborative environment, means everyone on the CalExotics’ Team shares her desire to succeed—and that desire impacts the bottom line.

How can you, as a retailer, translate these examples of stellar leadership into your business?

Be a coach, not a tyrant, and focus on bringing out the best in people.

When you help your employees shine, they produce at a higher level. Rather than dictate or micromanage, work with them to discover their strengths and focus on building them. If an employee does an exceptional job at merchandising walls, but doesn’t do so well at balancing the books, let them excel at what they’re good at. In this example you can encourage them to use tools like the CalExotics’ Visual Merchandising Plans so they can realize their maximum potential.

Adapt the motto: when my sales team wins, I win.

CalExotics’ has a corporate saying: when you win, we win. You can adapt this philosophy as an individual, too, by giving your employees the tools to succeed. Take product knowledge for example. Let’s face it, sex toys can be confusing—all those buttons and controllers and functions! Yikes!

For those of us who’ve been in the industry for a while, it’s easy to forget how puzzling the products can be to new employees. Use tools like the Materials Overview, product videos, and information on Club CalExotics to train your staff. Talk to your distributor about store trainings for CalExotics’ products. Skype meetings are possible, plus Lupe Martinez, Senior Account Manager for California Exotic Novelties, attends the annual September Road Show in Australia. Retailers are invited to come see the latest and greatest from the manufacturer.

Set goals with your employees and ask them to help you, help them succeed.

As a manager, store owner, or president of the company, you already set goals for your company. Ask your staff to do the same. Find out what they hope to achieve this year as an employee. Collaborating will give them focus and something to work towards. Plus it can help them stay on task. Susan Colvin is a very goals-oriented business owner, and also encourages employees to offer suggestions and feedback. This helps make them feel more invested in the success of the business, plus this model could give you new ideas for improving the business.

Being a team leader, whether you’re the, calls for a multi-faceted skill set. You have to be the organizer, the motivator, and the cheerleader. Remember that CalExotics is there to help you. The company offers support tools to share with your staff and they have a friendly group of people who are ready to work with you, and help you succeed. After all, when you win, they win!

For more information visit www.CalExotics.com.

 

 

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