E2: How to Lead 100% of the Sales Team to 100% of Quota with Mike Wingfield

Timestamps:

1:07 - How to help a Sales Team succeed
4:15 - First 90 days of a Sales Leader
5:34 - Three areas of focus in giving feedback
7:30 - Top traits to check in hiring top talent
10:20 - Achieving the 100 x 100 Club
11:46 - Handling someone's underperformance in Sales
17:33 - Ramping up a team member for success in the first 90 days
20:37 - Creating and retaining a great Sales Culture

Mike Wingfield, a high-performance sales leader who has worked with scale-up companies like Marketo, New Relic, and Twilio, is a part of the rare "100 x 100” Club. He has achieved the rare feat of leading 100% of his sales team to a 100% quota not once, but twice. We'll dive into Mike's insights on how to build and lead a high-performing sales team.

Drive the recruitment process relentlessly

One of the keys to building a high-performing sales team is to be relentless with hiring. You cannot achieve such a feat without the right team. Mike emphasises that you must source top-down and be relentless in the hiring process. Building a world-class team is the sales leader's responsibility, and you cannot settle. Mike recommends focusing on hiring traits and building a fair and equitable team.

Hire people who care about succeeding

When it comes to hiring, Mike believes in the power of references. He seeks out genuine references from people whose opinions he values. He looks for self-motivated individuals who are driven to succeed and ask thoughtful questions about how they can be successful. During the interview process, Mike evaluates whether candidates make the easy things seem easy, whether they are proactive and resourceful, and whether they play well with others.

Structure territories that are fair across the board

Once you have the right team, it's crucial to create an environment for them to be successful. As a leader, Mike believes that coaching is crucial to help your team reach their full potential. A leader must remove any barriers that are in their way and make it easy for them to be successful. For example, if there are issues with sales operations, it's essential to work on fixing them. Mike spends a lot of time with sales operations to ensure that territories are fair and equitable, which is crucial for his team's success.

Build a positive sales atmosphere

Mike believes that a positive sales culture is essential for success. This means creating an environment where sales reps feel comfortable sharing their successes and failures, and supporting one another. Sales leaders should encourage reps to learn from each other and celebrate wins together. This will create a culture of empathy, where reps feel comfortable asking for help and supporting each other.

Create a culture of learning

Creating a culture of learning is essential to building and leading a high-performing sales team. According to Mike, when people learn from each other and coach each other, it sorts itself out. It's crucial to inspire others to lift up and celebrate the little wins. Recognising and celebrating little wins can help the team stay motivated and lead to more significant victories.

Give feedback across behaviour, effort and results

When it comes to giving feedback, Mike looks at three areas: behaviour, effort, and results. He celebrates exceptional indicators and looks at the areas that need improvement. Feedback should be given in a way that recognises people's preferences, as some people may not like public recognition. Coaching is a crucial element of building and leading a high-performing sales team. According to Mike, coaching is about observing and reflecting your observations back to the team. It's essential to communicate your plan and observations to the team and get everyone on board with it.

Craft a Vision for Success

Beyond the first 90 days, he focuses on crafting a vision for success and ensuring that everyone on the team is aligned around that vision. He sets clear team goals and encourages his team to aim beyond their targets. He also emphasises the importance of tracking progress, celebrating wins, and keeping the team updated on progress towards the vision.

Manage performance through behaviours

When it comes to managing underperformance, Mike emphasises catching it early and providing clear feedback. He puts in place coaching plans to help course-correct behaviour and improve performance. He believes that most performance improvement plans are about pipeline generation and quality, and he looks for leading indicators rather than focusing on final results. He also asks himself tough questions about whether he wants to see the person succeed and whether he has faith that they can survive the performance improvement plan. Mike believes that PIPs should be a last resort. Instead, sales leaders should focus on coaching and providing the resources that reps need to succeed. This includes training, support, and feedback.

Be brilliant at the basics

Mike believes that being brilliant at the basics is crucial to sales success. This means focusing on product knowledge, practicing pitches, and building the right kind of pipeline. Sales leaders should provide reps with the resources they need to master the basics of sales, while also encouraging them to be creative and go beyond what is expected.

Maintain momentum throughout the year

Sales leaders must maintain momentum throughout the year. This means consistently checking in on reps, providing feedback, and celebrating successes. It also means ensuring that reps are focused on the right goals and have the resources they need to achieve them. By maintaining momentum, sales leaders can ensure that their team stays focused and motivated.

Summary

Building and leading a high-performing sales team is a challenging task, but with the right strategies, it's achievable. Mike's insights on hiring, creating an environment for success, building a culture of learning, and coaching can help you build and lead a successful sales team. Remember to celebrate the little wins, recognise exceptional indicators, and give feedback in a way that aligns with people's preferences.

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