Business owners and managers often ask what trait is most important when it comes to inspirational leadership, and Dr. Croner always give the same answer. Confidence! 

In this episode, you will learn:

The psychology around confidence is extremely powerful. Listen in to learn more.
  
 

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For more on effective sales leadership, check out our blog posts: How to Become a Better Sales Manager and 7 Daily Habits of Highly Effective Sales Managers.

When hiring salespeople, it is important to understand the different between Confidence and Drive. Learn more in our blog: How to Separate a Candidate's Confidence from Drive.
 
 

At SalesDrive, LLC, we help companies perfect the salesperson hiring process by offering a variety of tools, like a sales assessment and psychologically-based interview guides, that aid companies in never hiring a bad salesperson again. SalesDrive was founded in 2005 based on the single biggest frustration many companies face, selecting sales candidates who interviewed well, only to flame out when placed on the line. Dr. Croner reviewed more than 80 years of academic research as well as his own work in conducting intensive behavioral interviews and discovered that high-performance salespeople shared three innate personality traits. After identifying a gap in the marketplace, he went on to develop The DriveTest® sales assessment. The only sales assessment to measure the three non-teachable traits necessary for new business acquisition.
 
If you are hiring salespeople, request a free DriveTest assessment today: https://salesdrive.info/free-trial-request
 

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[00:00]  Katherine Abraham: Hello and Welcome to the Sales Psyched podcast, where we discuss strategies for leveraging psychology within the world of sales. Each episode is hosted by Dr. Chris Croner, who has a PhD in clinical psychology and has spent his career helping companies around the world build stellar sales teams.

[00:20]  Let's get started.
 
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[00:30]  Chris Croner:  Dr. Chris Croner here. Business owners and managers often ask me what trait I think is most important when it comes to inspirational leadership, and I always give the same answer.

[00:43]  Confidence. Here's why.
 
[00:46]  Confidence is absolutely contagious. People are instinctively drawn to a person who has supreme confidence in a cause or a mission. And they're much more likely to believe such a person than someone who's wishy-washy or expresses fear or doubts about reaching goals or objectives.
 
[01:07]  Now, this doesn't mean the leaders should be impractical or delusional. Followers can sniff that out a mile away. And the leader can certainly challenge his or her own assumptions in a healthy way . . . privately.
 
[01:23]  The confidence I'm talking about is a consistent expression of certainty from the leader to the followers, that the mission is important, that the plan is sound and that the goals are achievable.
 
[01:37]  History is replete with lessons of leaders deploying the power of confidence. Churchill never expressed a doubt that England would prevail, even in what he later called its darkest hour in World War II. Ronald Reagan swept his first election with a vibrant message of confidence and hope during a very trying time. He never wavered in his confidence that America would bounce back stronger than ever. And of course, it's no coincidence that quarterbacks like Tom Brady win multiple championships. He expects to win. And that confidence permeates through the entire team, especially when the chips are down and a game is on the line.
 
[02:28]  The psychology around confidence is extremely powerful. As a sales manager, you can express confidence at several levels, including confidence in the organization, confidence in the product and perhaps most importantly, confidence in the salespeople who report to you. They need to know you believe in them and that while all businesses have challenges, you know they will rise to the occasion, because that is why you selected them in the first place.
 
[03:02]  Sometimes it's hard to express confidence during challenging times. But of course, this is when it counts most. You must be the calm, confident captain when the squall hits and the ship is rocking. Because remember, the rest of the team is watching you for any sign of fear or lack of confidence that the team will get through the storm and into clear sailing ahead.
 
[03:29]  Give them the strength of your confidence.  

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[03:36]  Chris Croner: Thank you for listening to the Sales Psyched Podcast. If you haven't already, please be sure to click the subscribe button and leave us a five-star review. If you found this information helpful, please consider sharing it. We'd love your help in spreading the word.
 
[03:54]  Until next time, take care!