Sales Leadership has evolved to be a very different function since I was promoted to Sales Manager in the 80's. Back then you could simply focus on the numbers and tell your team what you expected of them. You gave them training to bridge any gaps and they just went off and got on with it.

Often Sales Leaders mistake being a good role model for great sales leadership. Being a good role model simply educates your sales team how you do things that work. It gives them strategies to try out for themselves. It's an important part of your role...especially for new recruits. You already know that all sales people have their own personality traits and require different approaches to develop, inspire and motivate them to perform well.

Unless you make time for your own development, your Sales Leadership skills will at best plateau...at worst decline! If every member of your team is a high performer then carry on doing exactly what you're doing because you have a winning recipe. If they are not...then you need to do something different to get a different result...and that starts with you.

Camille Holden and Taylor Croonquist are the co-founders of Nuts and Bolts Speed Training, which is a PowerPoint training agency that teaches professionals how to save time and gain peace of mind.

Are you having the difficult conversations required that create and maintain a great sales team? It's easy to be a great sales leader when things are going well. It's much harder to turn a sales person or sales team around once the rot has set in.

What Sales Leader have you shown up as today? It may seem like an odd question because you probably think you are the same every day. The thing is...that's really unlikely. Yes of course there are constants that you bring to work each day but there are differences too.

Do you expect too much from your Sales Team? What do you expect from your sales team?

It's so easy to fall into the trap of rescuer when you are a Sales Leader. You are judged by your team's performance and when things are not going well its natural to want to save the situation. Be warned...every time you do that, you are making it less likely that your sales person will do what it takes to resolve the situation for themselves.

As a sales leader...how well do you understand your under-performers?

A successful entrepreneur for 20 years, Stephanie Breedlove has made a powerful impact in the payroll industry. On the podcast, Stephanie discusses the myth surrounding "If You Build It, They Will Come" in the sales sector.