Even if you’ve never seen the movie A League of Their Own, it’s likely you’re familiar with the scene where Tom Hanks loses his temper and famously rants, “There’s no crying in baseball!” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6M8szlSa-8o. As a sales leader, I’m sure you’ve had a similar feeling and fought back that same sort of emotional reaction when one of your salespeople has done something that’s utterly mindboggling to you. Let’s face it, selling can be hard, and coaching salespeople can be even harder.
I’m a huge fan of the 1992 film A League of Their Own – a mostly fictionalized account of the early days of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) and its stars. Founded by Philip K. Wrigley to keep baseball alive while the world was at war, the league existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women’s professional league sports in the United States. Over 600 women played in the league, which consisted of eventually 10 teams located in the American Midwest. In 1948, league attendance peaked at over 900,000 spectators. The most successful team, the Rockford Peaches, won a league-best four championships.
Tom Hanks plays Jimmy Dugan, a maimed and drunken former all-star who reluctantly agrees to coach the Rockford Peaches. It takes him awhile to wake up for the games and once he finally does, he struggles with how to coach without yelling and cussing relentlessly at his players. Over the course of the movie, Jimmy sobers up and learns about each of his players and how to bring out the best in them. Like Jimmy’s team, your salespeople likely come in many forms and have a mix of personalities. These differences call for adaptation in the way you develop, coach and motivate your team. And losing your cool on them is never a great strategy.
Through 35 years of personality data analysis, The Omnia Group has identified 17 distinct personality groups. They break down even further into unique sales styles. After recently watching A League of Their Own again, I got to thinking about these characters and how I would slot them into these personality groups and the challenges a sales leader could have in coaching any of them.
There’s one commonality among every sales style. In Omnia terms – they all have a tall column 1 – level of assertiveness. The uniqueness comes through in the other 3 traits.
The Visionary – Dottie Hinson
In Omnia’s eight-column instrument the Visionary Personality style is a 1-3-5-7. This is a classic sales personality. Dottie is assertive, competitive, outgoing, fast-paced, and decisive. Visionaries are optimistic, expressive, and determined to win. Visionaries accept risk for high reward and naturally take charge in any setting. In the movie, while manager Jimmy Dugan sleeps, Dottie creates the lineup and coaches throughout the game. The day Jimmy wakes up and challenges her calls and hand signals, she swiftly snaps at him telling him to get his act together. She also quickly becomes the fan and media favorite as the catcher who rarely misses a catch even while doing the splits to get a photo-op to help promote the league.
Visionaries aren’t afraid of speaking up and speaking out when they see something wrong. This can cause some coaching challenges for a sales leader who isn’t confident and strong in their own position. Visionaries are forthright with their opinions, comfortable with conflict and push back when they don’t agree with you. As a sales leader, you may have to keep your own ego in check and be OK with not having all the right answers. If you’ve got a strong visionary on your team who hits their numbers while earning the respect of their teammates and clients, the best thing you can do is be there when they need you and not when they don’t. Let your visionary shine and thrive. Your role is to support and guide them while removing any obstacles on their path to success.
In many ways we wish all salespeople could be like Dottie Hinson. But you need more than one player on the team, and there are benefits to having players with other traits.
The Persistent Visionary – Kit Keller
With Omnia columns 1-3-6-7, there’s a not-so-subtle nuance between the visionary and the persistent visionary. And that’s their love of doing things their way and at their own deliberate pace. Stubborn? Yes! This is Kit to a tee. Assertive, outgoing, independent, patient, and focused, the persistent visionary is committed to results and loves the limelight. Kit can’t wait to get to the big city, play in the competitive league and make a stadium full of new friends. She struggles under Dottie’s shadow and bossiness.
Persistent visionaries are motivated by individuality and will likely push back on coaching they don’t agree with. They aren’t inclined to back down easily and like doing things their way to get the project complete. Your persistent visionary can get stuck on a deal that isn’t likely to close and work themselves tirelessly not wanting to give up while leaving other deals untouched. Don’t let them stubbornly chip away at a lost cause. Kit loved swatting at high balls and never wanted to be taken out of the game when her pitching arm was shot. As a coach, you’ve got to stroke the ego and nurture the confidence in a persistent visionary while helping keep their eye on the right ball. Keep them aimed at the long-term outcomes and goals. Give them assurances along the way and be prepared for a few battles if they don’t agree with your thinking. They do not like being told how to do things. They will persist! Dottie referred to Kit as “mule” throughout the movie quite fittingly. That stubbornness can pay off though if guided positively. Spoiler alert: Kit’s stubbornness makes a difference in the final game.
The Assertive Diplomat – Ellen Sue Gotlander
Columns 1-3-5-8, the assertive diplomat nuance comes in the column 8’s need for structure, detail, and perfection. Ellen Sue is the essence of an assertive diplomat. As a former Miss Georgia, she is the image of a fierce competitor with the grace and diplomacy of a southern socialite. She’s a relentlessly strong relief pitcher, and my favorite scene comes when she takes out a heckling fan yelling “girls can’t play baseball” when she aims a fast pitch directly his way instead of the plate.
Assertive diplomats are just as competitive and outgoing as the rest. They are quick-paced, but also very accommodating. They are committed to quality outcomes while ensuring team engagement. Ellen Sue wrote the team song and led the singing of it each game through the reunion at the end of the movie. When it comes to coaching, be specific and detailed in your feedback. Salespeople with this personality style like having a clear picture of what’s expected, with guidance and support to do their work along the way. They respect and appreciate procedures. Make sure guidelines are clear, and that compliments come often. A salesperson with this unique personality style thrives on positive feedback and affirmation. If they get feedback about getting something wrong or make a mistake, they can take it very personally and could need some propping up before going back to bat again. When your team needs propping up and working through challenges, you’ll be glad to have a person like this with the spunk and diplomacy to help cheer everyone on.
The Assertive Analytic – Marla Hooch
Fans of the movie will remember the moment Marla Hootch is introduced at the gym where she hits continual solid line drives through multiple gym windows. The assertive analytic, columns 1-4-5-8, is assertive, direct, pragmatic, fast-paced, and by the book. A senior, highly developed salesperson with the assertive analytic personality style will be considered the expert in the field who everyone goes to for their knowledge, skill, and expertise. They get right down to business and are more analytical and intentional than any other sales personality. They’re natural multi-taskers and excel at problem-solving. They thrive on data-intensive work, love processes and structure, and do everything with precision.
What’s interesting about this personality to me is their quiet strength. This isn’t going to be the loudest person on your team. In fact, you may often overlook critical input or creativity from this person because they aren’t the one who is talking first. You could go through an entire sales huddle and never hear from this person. They don’t talk just to hear themselves or process extemporaneously like some of the other personalities on your team. But, when they speak you want to listen. Anything they have to say will be backed with data, acts, and objectivity.
Getting the best out everyone on the team.
The best coaches have consistent winning seasons because they know how to bring out the best of their players and leverage the talent across their team. The greatest sales leaders who consistently exceed their sales targets do so by getting the best out of all their salespeople. No salesperson is the same. The more time you spend getting to know the unique traits and motivations of your individual salespeople, the easier it will be to lead them, develop them, and help them reach peak performance. I can’t guarantee there still won’t be a few tears. But when you realize what lifts someone up and makes them want to do better, and what demoralizes them you can get to the heart of how to help someone thrive.
Selling is hard. That’s why we pay salespeople the big commission for winning the deals. And I believe that leading a team of dynamic and diverse sales personalities is even harder. I know 25 years in, I still make mistakes. I l haven’t figured it all out and have some daily struggles that can leave me rendered speechless looking like Tom Hanks. The good news is his character evolves and he got better at the end with Evelyn. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8kP3vKaDRE. We can too.
When times get tough for me, I think of that scene when Jimmy Dugan is talking to Dottie about staying to finish the season. It strikes the point perfectly. He tells her baseball is something that just gets inside of you. I believe that selling and the challenge of succeeding at sales is very similar. When Dottie tells him it just got too hard, he says…” It’s supposed to be hard. If it wasn’t hard, everyone would do it. The hard… is what makes it great.” Getting greatness out of your team – leading them to be their very best and seeing their success is what makes it great.
Ready to get started? To get to know your team better, contact us to assess your sales team and get an Omnia Sales Style report that outlines each sales person’s unique personality along with developmental insights and motivational tips.
