Doing It Differently: Transforming Leadership to Accelerate Organic Growth

Matt Johnston, CEO

In today’s competitive financial services landscape, the ability to drive organic growth relies heavily on the strength of your sales teams. But for sales to thrive, leaders need to not only understand the importance of their role but also actively engage with their frontline teams. It’s not just about setting goals or pushing sales targets. Leaders must earn credibility, build trust, and empower sales teams to be part of the strategic process.

The title says it all: Do It Differently. Let’s explore what that means and how leaders can take actionable steps to create a more integrated, dynamic, and successful sales strategy.

Building Credibility and Trust with Sales Teams

Before diving into strategy, a leader must first earn credibility—not by virtue of their position, but through consistent engagement, empathy, and an authentic understanding of the challenges faced by sales teams. This is where it all begins: the eyes are on us. Salespeople want to see that their leaders respect and appreciate the value they bring to the table. Once this trust is established, leaders can take the next step—inviting sales teams to the strategy table.

Giving Sales a Seat at the Table

Sales teams are the driving force of any organization. If sales are the engine that powers your company, why wouldn’t they be considered a key stakeholder in shaping the company’s strategy? By involving sales in strategic discussions, you create a more holistic and practical approach to decision-making. When frontline employees are empowered to voice their insights, it not only improves the quality of the strategy but also boosts buy-in across the organization.

In financial services, too often leaders prioritize doing “more” rather than “better.” The focus is on increasing sales volume or pushing higher-margin products, but this approach doesn’t always lead to long-term, sustainable growth. Instead, leaders should focus on helping sales teams deliver better sales and better client solutions. This shift in mindset is key to igniting organic growth.

Focusing on Better, Not More

The best leaders understand that the path to organic growth is not about doing more of the same, but rather about doing things differently. Instead of simply increasing the number of products sold, the focus should be on delivering more meaningful client solutions that naturally lead to different product movements.

Here are some key areas where leaders can start implementing this new approach:

Lead with advice and client priorities. Rather than pushing products for the sake of sales, focus on addressing clients' financial goals and priorities. This approach creates deeper, long-term relationships and drives organic growth.
Empower specialist teams. Build unique teams of specialists who can offer tailored recommendations to clients. Specialized knowledge enhances the value delivered to clients and differentiates your solutions in the market.
Tech investments that deliver value. Too often, technology is seen as a check-and-balance system that controls the sales process. Instead, leaders should invest in technology that enhances the sales process and enables teams to deliver more personalized value to clients.
Marketing that aligns with sales. Marketing should be an extension of sales, not a separate entity. Both departments must work in lockstep to deliver targeted, meaningful marketing campaigns that resonate with clients and drive engagement.

Creating a Culture of Collaboration

For this strategy to work, it’s not just about leadership guiding the way—sales teams must also be willing to earn their seat at the table. Too often, frontline salespeople focus on the obstacles they face, such as unrealistic goals or outdated technology, rather than collaborating with leadership to find solutions. Sales teams need to shift their focus from resistance to collaboration.

In large organizations, this can be a challenge, but the goal should be clear: sales leaders and frontline teams must be aligned with their leadership to drive growth. When both sides work in lockstep, incredible things can happen. Together, leaders and sales teams can focus on doing it differently and creating a pathway for exponential growth.

Five Key Actions for Leaders to Drive Organic Growth

To wrap up, let’s dive into five concrete actions that leaders can take to implement this "do it differently" mindset within their organizations:

Build teams that sell solutions, not products. Are we creating sales teams that can sell multiple solutions to each client, rather than just pushing individual products?
Develop tools that make selling easier. Are we equipping sales teams with tools and resources that simplify the sales process and make it easier for them to sell value to clients?
Focus tech investments on revenue generation. Is our technology roadmap focused on tools that help generate revenue or just on administrative tasks? How are we prioritizing technology that enhances sales productivity?
Simplify and streamline processes. Are we identifying outdated or cumbersome processes and eliminating them for greater speed and efficiency? How are we driving innovation in our sales processes?
Recognize performance holistically. When recognizing performance, are we focused only on the biggest producers, or are we also highlighting other attributes that contribute to success, such as collaboration, problem-solving, and client impact?

Conclusion: Creating a Culture of Growth

By asking the right questions, embracing a mindset of “doing it differently,” and ensuring that sales teams are integrated into the strategic process, leaders can create a culture of collaboration and growth. The days of simply focusing on volume and higher margins are behind us. The future of organic growth lies in providing better solutions to clients, streamlining processes, and building trust with sales teams.

When leaders and sales teams align on strategy, innovation, and goals, the results will speak for themselves: growth will not just happen incrementally, it will happen exponentially. By embracing these principles, leaders can create an environment where sales teams thrive, clients are better served, and organic growth becomes a natural outcome of a unified strategy.