“When people think that they are helping their team, they’re telling them what to do, and what happens when you are not around to tell them what to do? They don't know how to do.”
Dannii Mathers, a revenue enablement expert and coach, joined the Scale Sessions Podcast to share her unique perspective on bridging performance gaps, fostering autonomy in sales teams, and leveraging emotional intelligence for success. With years of experience helping organizations optimize their revenue strategies, Dannii brings a wealth of knowledge and actionable insights to the conversation. You can listen to Florence's episode on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
In this episode, Dannii dives into the importance of proactive coaching, building value-centric relationships, and the power of self-awareness and adaptability. Whether you're a sales leader, coach, or simply curious about driving better performance, this episode has something for you.
1. Coaching as the cornerstone of sales enablement
Dannii emphasized the role of coaching in addressing performance gaps across organizations. Rather than waiting for systems to break down, she advises leaders to take a proactive approach to coaching. “Getting that foundation of coaching first, you are making people sufficient, you're creating more autonomy.”
"Coaching takes time, but as long as you are doing it consistently and regularly, it does not have to take long," she shared. By investing in coaching, organizations are indirectly fostering autonomy and empowering teams, which over time will achieve sustainable growth.
2. The difference between coaching and mentoring
A pivotal distinction lies in the approach: coaching builds autonomy by guiding individuals to discover their solutions, while mentoring often provides prescriptive advice. Dannii noted that sales leaders must coach through their programs to create lasting impact.
“You need them to not only understand the nature of the program that is being delivered, but they also need the capabilities to be able to coach people through it.”
3. The value of value-centricity
In customer success, the focus should shift from simply fixing problems to solving them with a deep understanding of client needs. Dannii puts emphasis on the importance of asking good questions and listening attentively, and then helping the customer based on the insights you’ve gained.
"If you are just leading with your value proposition, how do you know that is what they need without taking a step back first and asking those questions?" Dannii explained.
She highlighted the importance of using data to establish credibility, and then confidence to demonstrate value. “With customer success… you are there to challenge the customer and show them how you can make their business even better,” she noted.
4. Emotional intelligence and behavioral insights
“If you're talking in two different languages because you don't understand how people behave, you will never build deep rooted relationships”
To thrive in sales and team dynamics, it’s essential to understand yourself and the people you work with. By boosting your emotional intelligence (EQ), you can build stronger relationships and adapt more smoothly to changing business challenges.
"If you want to work really well with a group, you have got to understand the makeup of the people and understand more about yourself to give more to other people," she said.
5. Curiosity and overcoming imposter syndrome
Reflecting on personal growth, Dannii spoke on the danger of overburdening yourself with the need to know everything, which can lead to burnout. Instead, cultivating curiosity and embracing imposter syndrome as a source of growth can be transformative.
"Imposter syndrome is not a weakness; it is something that you should be proud of" .
Scale Sessions is the podcast of straight-talking, unfiltered chats with growth and revenue leaders. Each episode features a hands-on change-marker navigating the daily challenges of scaling businesses.
You can listen to the whole of Florence's episode here on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
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