Five Principles to Lead Your Sales Team Through Economic Uncertainty

As a young man, I was drawn to sales because you sink or swim on your own. But as a leader, I’ve learned that my job is to make sure the people on my team don’t just stay afloat – they thrive. In today’s challenging environment, leaders need to ensure their teams stay engaged and refine their approach.

Here’s my honest, unfiltered playbook for doing just that.

1. Lead with Purpose – Not Product

For me, the turning point came when I realized I wasn’t selling a tangible product – I was helping families put food on the table and helping business owners build stronger, more loyal teams.

Once I understood that purpose, everything else snapped into place. I walked into meetings differently, I spoke differently – and people could feel it. As a leader, my job is to help team members discover their own purpose and experience that same transformation.

2. Building Trust Helps Build Your Pipeline

When recruiting for your team, understand that people don’t join because of the brand alone – they join because they trust you.

So how do you build that trust? Start with transparency. Tell the truth about the job; don’t sugarcoat it. Next, demonstrate consistency. Show up prepared and follow through every time. Third, listen. Listening can be one of the easiest investments you’ll ever make. In today’s fast-paced environment, it can be tempting to lean on technology. AI can schedule meetings, draft emails, and help you organize a pitch, but it can’t build trust. That’s on you.

3. Create Environments People Want to Be Part Of

People drawn to sales tend to want to work the phones and hit the streets. So when we hold meetings, we’re pulling them away from what they do best.

Don’t waste their time. Start and end on time, play good music to bring energy, and offer insights that hard-charging people can put into practice immediately.

4. Build Your Scoreboard (and Look at It Constantly)

In sports, you always know the score. Your sales team should, too.

From the beginning, establish clear performance markers: Track outreach, appointments set, meetings held, education sessions delivered, proposals sent, closes, and so on. Then, highlight the activities that help drive outcomes.

Make the full scoreboard – not just individual metrics, but the complete team picture – visible to everyone. Salespeople can be competitive by nature, and that’s a strength. Channel that competition toward collective achievement by showing how individual work connects to team success.

5. Offer Mentorship Early and Often

I’ve grown because leaders poured into me – honestly, relentlessly, and sometimes uncomfortably. Now, my responsibility is to pour into my team the same way – through 1:1 coaching, reviewing calls together, providing specific feedback, and holding them accountable.

The teams that outperform are often led by high performers who understand that seeking feedback isn’t a weakness – it’s wisdom.

Sales leadership isn’t about being the most educated or smartest person in the room. What matters is purpose, mental toughness, self-awareness, and coachability. Model these qualities while developing your team, and they can thrive.

Nate Harrison is senior vice president, director of Sales at Aflac.