The Selling Life: Respect... Demanded or Earned?

In this video, we’re going to talk about respect, and if you’re a sales manager or you plan to be a sales manager one day, you’ll probably want to watch the rest of this video. 

Okay, respect, what the heck is respect? How do I get respect? What’s all this talk about respect? Well, I’m going to tell you and I’m going to make the argument that there are two types of respect in this world. One of the things I really love about sales and a career in sales is that sales is analogous with life, that the things that make you successful in sales also happen to be the same as those that make you successful in life. And one of those things, one of those little ingredients, is respect and how you get respect.  

The things that make you successful in sales also happen to be the same as those that make you successful in life.

There are two types of respect. The first type is what I would call respect demanded. I demand respect because of my position. Either I’m a manager, I could be a higher rank in the military, I could be a parent or an elder, I could be a teacher, I could be a judge, I could be a police officer, I could be a priest. I am in a position where I demand respect because of my position. That’s the first type of respect, the respect that comes with a position. 

I’m going to make the argument here that the second type of respect is the kind you’re really striving for because the first kind, the kind that just comes with a position, is really just superficial. The second type of respect is earned respect. And if you’re going to be a successful manager, sales manager, general sales manager, then you are going to need to earn the respect of your team and earn the respect of your employer. And how do you do that? Well, let me tell you how you don’t do it.

If you’re going to be a successful manager, you are going to need to earn the respect of your team and the respect of your employer.

If you’re the sales manager, and I guarantee there’s a lot of you out there, whether you’re sales, if you’re leading a team, and you’re sitting in an office, and you’re not doing something that involves selling, you’re sitting in your office, you’re watching YouTube, you’re on Facebook, you’re going for smoke breaks, you’re reading the news, whatever, but whatever it is you’re doing isn’t working, and you’re just demanding the respect of your team because you’re a manager and then you’re expecting them to get out there and fight for you to make you money. I can tell you, that is a path to nowhere. You may have some success in the short-term, potentially because you’re a real dick and people really don’t want to disappoint you, but that road will end, I guarantee it. 

The type of respect you’re really looking for is earned respect. What is earned respect? It’s the same in everything in life. Whether you are a sales manager, or you’re a police officer, a judge, a teacher, whoever you are, you earn respect by your actions, by what you do, by how you lead. That is how you earn respect, and that respect is far more valuable because it propels you forward, and that’s how you have success in business and in life.

You earn respect by your actions, by what you do, by how you lead.

If you're a sales manager and you want to earn the respect of your team so that they can help propel you forward in a positive way and earn the respect of your employer, then you need to get out there in the trenches with your staff. You need to spend time talking to customers, talking to and mentoring your staff, making phone calls, closing deals, training. You need to be focused all the time on what you can do to help your team achieve more in doing that, not just demanding it. You want to drag your team kicking and screaming to the point of success.

So if you’re going to be a successful sales manager, you’ve got to get off your ass and get out there with your team and do some work, and not think that respect is something that you can demand, because ultimately, respect always has to be earned in order to be worth anything at all. So if you want to be tortured a little more, subscribe to Zymbyo, and together we can learn.