Salient- Pathway to Sales Leadership

Pathway to Sales Leadership in 2025: Trends, Strategies & Real Voices

Post by: Abbey Baldacchino
Published: 1 November 2023

When we talk about sales leadership, we mean more than closing deals. It’s about guiding teams, shaping culture, inspiring growth—and in today’s landscape, leveraging tech, empathy, and adaptability. Let’s dive into what it takes to thrive as a modern sales leader, grounding it in real experiences, essential trends, and action-ready scenarios.

Top Essential Steps to Grow Into Sales Leadership

  • 1. Is Leadership the Right Path for You?

    Shifting Your Mindset

    Stepping into sales leadership isn’t just a promotion—it’s a transformation. You swap your individual quota for team outcomes. That shift isn’t just about numbers—it’s about finding joy in others’ wins, coaching underperformance, and celebrating growth.
     Imagine you’ve smashed your quota, but your team is floundering. As a leader, your instinct now leaps to support—the win tastes sweeter when shared.

    The Trade-Off

    Leadership often means:

    • Prioritising others over your own sales

    • Being okay with team members out-earning you

    • Embracing sacrifices for long-term rewards

    There’s no shame in loving the front-line role—it’s a powerful place. But if you’re excited by mentoring, strategy, and scaling impact, you might be ready to raise your hand.


    2. Raise Your Hand & Position Yourself

    Declare Your Ambition

    To enter sales leadership, visibility is key:

    • Offer to lead a sales initiative, pilot, or an ERG group

    • Seek feedback sessions with mentors or managers about leadership readiness

    • Volunteer for cross-functional collaboration—sales-leadership is increasingly intersectional

    You might start by saying, “I’d like to build the rapport and rebound that we practice in Building Rapport with Customers—can I spearhead that across the team?”


    3. Battling Imposter Syndrome

    “We don’t go for leadership roles because we’re too busy justifying the jobs we have.”

    Imposter syndrome remains a hurdle. The official definition describes the persistent belief that success wasn’t earned through your ability—not experience or effort. Yet, senior leaders across industries admit it still shadows them.

    The remedy? “Fake it ‘til you make it.” Practice leadership even before the title hits your badge:

    • Offer insights in team huddles

    • Step into mentoring moments

    • Research best practices—like reading industry frameworks

    Each action reinforces your leadership identity.

    4. Mentorship: Your Secret Weapon

    No leader succeeds alone. Effective sales leadership is grounded in mentorship—both giving and receiving.

    Why Mentors Matter

    Mentors offer:

    • Unbiased, outside-the-box career guidance

    • Honest feedback and strengths coaching

    • Emotional support during setbacks

    Looking for mentors? Check out our Mentorship Programs that guide you, whether you’re breaking into leadership or coaching peers.

    (Tip: networks like Strivin, LinkedIn groups, and company-sponsored programs are great places to start.)


    5. Modern Trends Shaping Sales Leadership

    To guide growing teams, leaders must keep pace with evolving practices. Let’s unpack five trends driving sales leadership in 2025.

    1. AI & Sales Enablement

    AI is reshaping how leaders support reps:

    • HubSpot and Salesforce tools now coach reps during live calls, offering real-time insights varicent.com

    • Salesforce’s Agentforce and Sales Coach help sellers get industry context instantly

    This shifts a leader’s role from micromanager to coach—interpreting AI output, reinforcing human connection, and keeping conversations customer-focused.

    1. Remote & Hybrid Team Leadership

    With hybrid and remote work growing—42% office, 33% remote, 26% hybrid —sales leadership must adapt to:

    • Consistent, compassionate communication

    • Defining expectations: availability, KPIs, rhythms

    • Building team cohesion virtually: virtual prospecting, storytelling, war-room sessions

    A sales leader might run “Zoom prospecting sprints” followed by reflection chats to strengthen bonds and accountability.

    1. Adaptive, Agile Leadership

    Leaders must be nimble—adapting to market shifts, pipeline changes, and product pivots:

    • Use the Situational Leadership model (S1–S4) to flex between directive and delegative styles

    • Encourage experimentation—quick cycles, failure-led learning

    • Regularly revisit goals, align quotas, refine strategies

    This mindset enables faster course-correction and responsiveness to change.

    1. Cross-Functional Collaboration

    Sales leadership is no longer siloed. Top sales leaders partner closely with marketing, product, RevOps, and CS:

    • Gartner urges a unified commercial strategy combining sales and marketing 
    • Outreach predicts integrated sales + RevOps teams using AI for strategic velocity

    Leaders might co-host joint weekly syncs or share dashboards—aligning messaging, priorities, and pipeline health.

    1. Data-Driven Coaching

    Leaders are leveraging performance metrics and analytics to coach smarter:

    • AI-powered insights identify friction in deal cycles and seller readiness

    • Precision planning (territory, quotas, incentives) replaces gut-feel goals 

    In one scenario, a leader might notice rep A has slow deal progression and coach them to streamline steps—saving time and improving conversion.


    1. Sales Leadership Scenarios in Action

    🔹 Scenario 1: New Leader in a Startup

    Jess raises her hand to lead a product launch. With 8 reps across Sydney and Melbourne, she:

    • Uses AI call analysis to diagnose team performance

    • Creates a hybrid meeting schedule—Zoom, then coffee meetups

    • Sets data-backed weekly goals, shares visibility on pipeline

    Within a month, Jess’s team exceeds target by 15%—her leadership blend of tech, empathy, and clarity delivers results.

    🔹 Scenario 2: Veteran Rep Transitioning

    Mark, a top hunter, is stepping into leadership. He leverages:

    • Shadowing seasoned leaders via Leader Q&A – Kate Hage

    • Hiring a mentor through Strivin’s platform

    • Vision-casting and shared accountability to transition fast

    Mark doesn’t abandon his sales instincts—he adapts them for managing.


    1. Building Culture & Inclusion

    Effective sales leadership cultivates belonging:

    • Prioritise psychological safety—encourage questions and shared failures 
    • Celebrate milestones: personal wins, promotions, learning moments
    • Speak up for diversity: gender-balanced task forces, inclusive hiring, and equitable development opportunities (see our guide on gender equality in sales teams)

    Inclusive environments foster high performance and loyalty—key to long-term leadership impact.


    1. Sustaining Growth & Avoiding Burnout

    Burnout threatens teams—and leaders are key buffer zones:

    • Track stress levels in one-on-ones

    • Offer mentoring and mental health support (see article: Sales burnout—how to avoid it)

    • Design flexible schedules and encourage time off

    Leader wellbeing fuels team resilience.


    1. Leading the Next Gen with Continuous Learning

    Great sales leadership is grounded in curiosity:

    • Keep pace with emerging tools—AI, personalization engines, CRM integrations

    • Invest in training: 10-week onboarding, gamified learning

    • Foster self-learning, peer-led sharing, and coaching

    Encourage reps to lead internal “train-the-trainer” sessions and share insights—lead through empowerment.


    1. Stakeholder Influence & Cross-Org Leadership

    Leaders today must engage broader audiences:

    • Align with product roadmaps using customer feedback

    • Partner with marketing for messaging and content injection from the field

    • Collaborate with finance on quota planning and incentive design

    These collaborations ensure alignment with company goals and pipeline velocity.


    1. Strategic Vision & Long-Term Impact

    Sales leadership isn’t just about quarterly targets—it’s about legacy:

    • Inspire a long-term vision rooted in customer success and growth

    • Implement structure—but encourage team ownership and experimentation

    • Celebrate progress through dashboards, milestone mapping, and recognition


    1.  Action Guide: Becoming a Great Sales Leader

    Step

    Strategy

    Example

    1

    Reflect on readiness

    Journal: “Do I find fulfillment in team wins over personal targets?”

    2

    Declare intent

    “I want to step into sales leadership—can I lead our next campaign?”

    3

    Find & invest in a mentor

    Use internal networks or platforms like Strivin

    4

    Shadow & learn

    Pair with a sales leader for two weeks

    5

    Implement tech & data

    Run an AI-powered call analysis session

    6

    Run hybrid meetings

    Combine Zoom check-ins with in-person alignment

    7

    Celebrate & coach

    Highlight achievements and coach underperformers

    8

    Iterate and scale

    Use data to adjust quotas, territory, and training


    1. Cultural Touchstones to Reinforce Leadership Identity
    • Rally call: start each week with gratitude and intent

    • Dept fairs: showcase wins to other teams—link sales to product impact, success stories, and brand messaging

    • Public praise: spotlight reps through your internal channels

    • Learning logs: every failed deal ends with a short insight note—promotes psychological safety and team growth

    1. The Long View: Your Legacy as a Sales Leader

    While hitting targets is critical, your legacy is built on:

    • People you’ve developed

    • Culture you’ve strengthened

    • Innovation introduced

    • Sustainable performance delivered

    As a leader, equipping others to lead is the true mark of success.

    Final Thoughts: Growing into a Successful Sales Leadership Role

    • Sales leadership today combines tech, empathy, adaptability, and vision.

    • Trends like AI in sales, distributed teams, agile methodologies, and data-driven coaching are reshaping how leaders operate.

    • Real impact comes from combining personal growth, mentorship, culture building, and strategic partnership.

    • The transition into leadership is as much about mindset as it is about results.

    If you’re ready to elevate your impact—whether stepping into leadership or refining your existing role—we’re here to help. Explore our related content for deeper insights and tools to support your journey: