“If people know you care, you’re just going to have so much more of an effective relationship with your people that report to you.” – Tim Zielinski in today’s Tip 1377
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Join the conversation below and go check out the full interview with Tim!
Dynatrace
Tim Zielinski on LinkedIn
Sell with Swagger: The Quick-Hit Guide to Crushing Your Quota
Tim Zielinski on Sales Success Stories Interview
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Transcript
Scott Ingram: You’re listening to the Daily Sales Tips podcast and I’m your host, Scott Ingram. Today’s tip is a clip from my most recent interview on the Sales Success Stories podcast with Tim Zielinski. Tim went from being a top-performing individual contributor to the top team leader at Dynatrace. Here’s what he had to say about his style and his evolution as a leader:
Tim Zielinski: When I say take a step back, I can’t be the one that comes in and takes over. I don’t want to be that person. And when I first became a manager, that was just my natural inclination because I was an individual contributor for nine years. So I just want to come in and take over deals that reps would bring me. But over time you start to pull back and realize you can do more if you’re enabling people.
So I’d say now it’s a question-based approach. And when salespeople come to me, it’s kind of questioning them or talking with them through questions to get them to come about the answers they need to, instead of just sales reps will come to me all the time and say, “Tim, what should I do here? What should I do there?” And it’s so easy for me to just give an answer like, “Oh, you should do this.” But I’ve realized I just need to pull back. And instead of saying, “You should do this,” questioning them and saying, “Well, what do you think you should do in this situation?” Or sometimes you might even start answering and saying, “Well, hold on, what do you think you should do? Or how do you think you should go about it?” And when you ask salespeople those questions, it causes them to really come up with the answers themselves. And at the end of the day, they’re going to learn faster doing that than just watching me do it.
So going back to your question, I think I’m trying to. And the best way I can use questions to help my sales reps become the best they can be, but also being very understanding and empathetic and kind of knowing where they’re at. And not just being a dictator sales leader, but someone that’s understanding and cares, being curious, cares about them not just as a salesperson, but also in their personal life and being a true friend.
I know it’s a lot of things, but I don’t just want to be that sales leader. I do want to have a personal friend relationship with people. Because at the end of the day, like I said, if people know you care, you’re just going to have so much more of an effective relationship with your people that report to you.
Scott Ingram: For links to connect with Tim, his book: Sell with Swagger, and of course to our full interview, just click over to DailySales.Tips/1377. Once you’ve gone over there, be sure to come right back here for another great sales tip. Thanks for listening!