In sales, staying still means falling behind. As competition and customer expectations intensify, sales leaders must continuously adapt and refine their strategies to stay ahead. With over two decades of sales experience, including growing teams and leading major software deployments, my journey from retail to Chief Revenue Officer at Planet DDS has taught me that success isn’t just about making more calls or sending more emails—it’s about delivering real value to customers, building lasting relationships, and leading a team with integrity and purpose.
Here are three essential tips I’ve gathered from my experience that I believe every sales leader should consider.
1. Delivering Great Value Starts with Your Team
We’ve all heard the phrase “the customer comes first.” While this is a well-intended sentiment, I believe it’s slightly misguided. In my experience, putting your team first is the key to delivering exceptional value to your customers. When your team is happy, motivated, and well-supported, they’re naturally going to provide better service, leading to a better customer experience.
At Planet DDS, we emphasize the importance of integrity in our sales and marketing efforts. We do what we say we’re going to do—whether that’s delivering a proposal on time or ensuring that we provide accurate information about our solutions. It might seem simple, but in the business world, it’s rare to find companies that consistently meet their commitments. By staying true to our word, we build trust with our customers, setting the foundation for long-term relationships.
One recent example of this is our work with a mid-sized dental service organization (DSO). We deployed our software across 34 locations in a single weekend, a massive undertaking that required careful coordination and a commitment to excellence. To ensure everything went smoothly, we sent members of our sales and implementation teams on-site to provide hands-on support. This wasn’t something we were obligated to do—it was an extra step we took to make sure our customer had a seamless experience. This kind of dedication is what sets us apart and creates real value for our clients.
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2. Building and Maintaining Lasting Client Relationships
In sales, building relationships is crucial—but maintaining them is where the real work begins. It’s not enough to close a deal and move on to the next; you need to nurture those relationships over time, ensuring they’re mutually beneficial for both parties.
Communication is the cornerstone of any successful relationship. I always tell my team: If a customer reaches out, respond promptly, even if you don’t have an immediate answer. Let them know you’re on it and provide a timeline for when they can expect a resolution. This simple act of responsiveness builds trust and shows the customer that they’re valued.
Transparency is equally important. We make it a point to set realistic expectations with our clients, especially during the implementation of our software. Transitioning to a new system is challenging, and we don’t sugarcoat that. By being upfront about the potential difficulties, we build credibility and prepare our clients for what’s to come, ensuring they’re not caught off guard.
Another strategy we use is to ensure that our relationships are not purely transactional. For example, when we work with enterprise-level DSOs, we engage with multiple functions within their organization—operations, clinical, revenue cycle management—to create a true partnership. This multi-threaded approach ensures that our relationship is strategic and mutually beneficial, rather than just a one-time transaction.
3. Guiding Your Team with Clear Principles and a Focus on Growth
The Planet DDS revenue team is guided by a set of core principles that emphasize integrity, collaboration, and continuous improvement. These principles aren’t just words on a wall—they’re the foundation of how we operate.
One of our key principles is the balance between competition and collaboration. Sales is inherently competitive, but that doesn’t mean success is a zero-sum game. I encourage my team to be the best at what they do, but also to help others achieve their goals. This is a rare approach in the sales industry which is often so individually focused.
Contrary to how most sales organizations are run, I believe that a mindset focused solely on individual success at the expense of others should have no place in any sales organization. Sales can be a dog-eat-dog world and behavior that prioritizes individual success over the team’s success is a recipe for constant tension, lack of trust, and is detrimental to long-term growth.
Instead, helping others in your sales organization achieve their goals not only strengthens the team but also drives personal success in a more sustainable and rewarding way. This creates a culture where everyone contributes to each other’s success, ensuring that no one is left behind. This mindset fosters a supportive environment where everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Another principle we emphasize is the freedom to fail. Mistakes happen—it’s part of the learning process. At Planet DDS, we’ve created a culture where team members feel safe admitting when things go wrong, without fear of retribution. This openness allows us to learn from our failures and grow as a team, ultimately making us stronger and more resilient. By giving teams the freedom to fail, we also create an environment that encourages bold ideas and a bias for action, fostering breakthroughs and driving long-term success.
We also focus on growth, not just in terms of revenue, but in the personal and professional development of our team members. One initiative I’m particularly proud of is our team book club. It started as a small group but has grown to include members from across the organization, discussing books on leadership, communication, and professional development. This cross-segment interaction not only fosters a sense of community but also provides valuable insights that help our team grow both personally and professionally.
A Final Takeaway: Continuous Learning and Adaptability are Key
Today’s sales landscape demands constant learning and adaptability. As sales leaders, we must continuously educate ourselves on emerging trends, such as artificial intelligence, and find ways to integrate new technologies into our strategies. The sales teams that succeed in the future will be those that are not just effective but also hyper-productive, equipped with the tools and knowledge to thrive in a rapidly changing environment.
Ultimately, our success as sales leaders is measured not just by the numbers we hit, but by the value we create for our customers, the relationships we build, and the teams we lead. By focusing on these areas, we can navigate the challenges of today’s market and come out stronger on the other side.
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