Ep 27: How VPs Can Drive Revenue by Building 360 Degree Relationships with CROs and Teams

Timestamps:

00:38 The Many Faces of a VP: Understanding the Role

02:25 Climbing the Leadership Ladder: From Level 1 to Level 3

03:39 The Transformative Power of Coaching in Leadership

06:51 Building Followership: The Heart of Effective Leadership

10:09 The Critical Role of Strategic Conversations

13:10 The Delicate Balance of Communication and Influence

15:48 Building a Strong Relationship with the CRO

Sales leadership is more than just hitting targets—it's about fostering a culture of growth, collaboration, and influence. In this blog, we delve into the insights shared by Keith Payne, a high-performance sales leader with a remarkable track record at companies like SAP Concur and Nintex. His journey from a first-line sales manager to a VP with cross-functional responsibilities offers valuable lessons for aspiring leaders. Let's explore Keith's strategies for building followership, the benefits of coaching, and how to create a strong relationship with your CRO.

The Many Faces of a VP: Understanding the Role

In today’s corporate landscape, the title "Vice President" or "VP" is ubiquitous, yet its meaning can vary significantly across organisations. Keith Payne breaks down this title's layers, explaining how VPs can range from first-line sales leaders to those overseeing entire regions or even multiple functions. 

For Keith, the journey to becoming a VP of Sales at Nintex has been marked by incremental steps of increasing responsibility. From managing individual sales teams, he progressed to overseeing larger groups and eventually taking on strategic regional responsibilities. This progression involves managing sales and revenue, fostering a positive culture, and ensuring seamless cross-functional collaboration. These multifaceted roles highlight the dynamic nature of the VP title, where the scope extends beyond hitting numbers to shaping the organisational ethos and aligning diverse teams toward common goals.

Climbing the Leadership Ladder: From Level 1 to Level 3

Keith outlines a clear path for those aspiring to climb the sales leadership ladder. He identifies three levels of leadership growth: managing individual contributors, managing managers, and taking on cross-functional regional responsibilities. Each level requires a distinct set of skills and awareness.

 At Level 1, the focus is on direct coaching and deal management. Leaders here are close to the action, guiding their teams through daily challenges. Progressing to Level 2, leaders need to shift from hands-on management to overseeing managers, requiring a strategic outlook and the ability to inspire and align multiple teams. At Level 3, the role expands further to encompass cross-functional collaboration and a broader regional strategic vision. Here, leaders must understand how different parts of the business contribute to customer success and organisational goals while focusing on driving revenue.

 Keith’s journey underscores the importance of continuous self-improvement and adaptability. He emphasises that each step up the ladder demands a heightened awareness of one's leadership style, the ability to influence at senior levels, and the courage to make impactful decisions.

The Transformative Power of Coaching in Leadership

Coaching has been crucial in Keith Payne’s development as a high-performing sales leader. It provided him with the self-awareness and strategic insights needed to navigate his journey from frontline sales management to overseeing an entire region. Through coaching, Keith learned to adapt his leadership style, emphasising the importance of empathy, effective communication, and understanding organisational dynamics. This helped him refine behaviours that worked at earlier stages but required adjustment at higher levels of leadership.

The structured guidance from coaching enabled Keith to enhance his influence and foster a culture of high performance. By employing tools like empathy assessments and strategic communication techniques, he was able to connect deeply with his team and drive organisational success. Keith's experience underscores the profound impact of coaching in cultivating the emotional intelligence and strategic acumen essential for leadership.

Building Followership: The Heart of Effective Leadership

In Keith’s view, effective leadership is deeply intertwined with the concept of followership. Leaders must manage their teams and inspire them to join the journey toward shared goals willingly.

Keith stresses the importance of the initial 30 days in a new leadership role. During this period, leaders should focus on diagnosing the organisation’s current state, understanding its challenges, and listening intently to their teams. This diagnostic phase is crucial for identifying what changes are needed and how to implement them effectively.

He believes fostering followership involves creating a journey that resonates with the team. It’s about ensuring everyone feels heard and understood professionally and personally. For instance, young leaders often face significant life changes, such as starting families or buying homes, and acknowledging these milestones can build a strong empathetic connection. 

Keith notes that the trick is to create a journey that everyone can connect to—one that acknowledges the difficulties and celebrates the successes. By normalising the ups and downs of the journey, leaders can win over the crucial middle ground and build a solid base of followers.

The Critical Role of Strategic Conversations

Strategic conversations are key to aligning teams and driving success, a principle Keith Payne highlights in his leadership. In his role at Nintex, Keith ensures his team’s goals resonate with the company's broader vision by starting with thorough listening and diagnosing during the initial phase. By asking the right questions and engaging in meaningful dialogue, he aligns his team’s objectives with the corporate strategy, fostering a unified direction.

 These conversations also extend to regular check-ins with senior leaders like the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). This cross-functional dialogue ensures that his team’s efforts align with the company’s goals, securing buy-in from all stakeholders. Keith’s focus on continuous, open communication empowers his team and cultivates mutual respect and collective effort, which are essential for high performance and long-term success.

The Delicate Balance of Communication and Influence

Effective communication is a cornerstone of successful leadership, but as Keith points out, it’s not just about being heard. Leaders must balance speaking and listening, ensuring their contributions are impactful and timely.

Keith shares a valuable lesson from his time at SAP, where he learned about "level five listening." This concept involves the discipline to either remain silent or focus solely on asking questions during meetings. For leaders, especially those in sales who tend to dominate conversations, this approach can be challenging but ultimately rewarding.

 As leaders advance, the need to be the loudest voice diminishes. Instead, it’s about making strategic, impactful contributions at the right moments. Keith emphasises that sales VPs, often large characters, must learn to avoid "sucking the oxygen out of the room" and instead focus on fostering an environment where everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

Building a Strong Relationship with the CRO

A robust working relationship with the Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) is essential for a VP of Sales. Keith attributes much of his success to his strong partnerships with his CROs over the years.

 He believes this relationship starts during the interview phase, where alignment on vision, strategy, and operating style is established. Keith’s approach involves a clear, data-driven framework for decision-making that aligns with the board’s goals and provides regular updates to the CRO.

 Regular check-ins and open communication are key. Keith’s interactions with his CRO include both strategic discussions and "speed dating" sessions to address operational issues quickly. This structured yet flexible approach ensures that both parties are aligned and focused on common objectives.

 Keith’s current CRO exemplifies this dynamic by frequently asking, "What do you need from me now?" This question demonstrates trust and reinforces a collaborative environment where the VP’s decisions and actions are supported and aligned with the organisation’s broader goals.

Conclusion: Mastering Consultative Leadership

Keith Payne’s journey from frontline sales to VP of Sales at Nintex underscores the transformative power of strategic leadership and continuous self-improvement. His insights reveal that effective leadership extends beyond managing numbers; it involves fostering followership, mastering the art of communication, and building strong cross-functional relationships. Through his experiences, Keith emphasises the importance of coaching, strategic conversations, and maintaining a balance between speaking and listening, all while navigating the complexities of high-level sales roles.

As Keith’s story illustrates, true leadership is about inspiring others to join you on a shared journey. Keith has successfully cultivated environments where everyone feels valued and motivated by focusing on understanding and connecting with his team. His approach offers valuable lessons for aspiring leaders: listen more, act strategically, and never underestimate the power of empathy and genuine connection in driving success.

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