The personal characteristics fintech salespeople look for in a great sales leader.

 A fintech’s key to greatness lies in its leadership, and high-performing fintech sales teams need a determined captain at the helm to steer them in the right direction and accelerate success. Hire a great sales leader and a fintech will attract great salespeople - it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy!

But being an effective fintech sales leader requires a certain combination of character traits that set great sales leaders apart from simply good ones. Knowing what makes for a great sales leader can make all the difference for any fintech company looking to reach its revenue goals. So, if you're a fintech executive looking to hire a top sales leader, an aspiring fintech sales leader looking to develop your sales leadership skills, or a fintech salesperson wanting to know what to look for in the next sales leader you work for, here are some of the key characteristics to look for:

Strategic Thinking: Strategic thinking is essential for a sales leader as they need to understand and implement the company’s sales strategies while being able to identify potential opportunities to increase their reach. A truly successful sales leader will have an eagle-eyed view of the market and a sound set of tactics that can take full advantage of these opportunities in order to meet or exceed the desired revenue goals. Knowing how and when to pivot strategies within those tactics to in order to maximize those successes, displays true genius in sales leadership.

People Skills: Effective fintech sales leadership requires an intimate understanding of both customer needs, as well as a deep appreciation of the capabilities of one's sales team. Superior people skills plays a key role accurately assessing customer needs whilst nurturing their salespeople through the entire sales processes. To do this effectively, a strong sense of communication is essential; sales leaders they must be able to speak persuasively to their team and customers alike, while inspiring motivation and enthusiasm among all individuals that are involved. A great leader is able to catalyze success by providing clear direction and maintaining an optimistic attitude.

Technical & Business Knowledge: Both technical and financial domain knowledge is an essential part of any great fintech sales leader; not only must they understand the technology and nuances of the financial domain their team is selling into, but they must also be aware and keep up to date with industry trends and developments to ensure they can stay ahead of the competition. With a comprehensive understanding of the product, industry trends and competition, a great fintech sales leader has a strong advantage of delivering better results for their business.

Adaptability: As fintech and the financial sector are incredibly complex, demanding and fast-paced, adaptability is essential for sales leaders to reach their goals. Being able to rapidly adjust their sales plans and strategies to handle ever-changing market conditions is what separates great fintech sales leaders from average ones. Furthermore, being proactive in anticipating possible changes can give fintech’s that competitive advantage they need to succeed.

Passion for Selling: A fintech sales leader with a passion for selling sets the bar for the rest of the sales team. They demonstrate the energy and commitment necessary to promote fintech products and services, inspiring their salespeople to go above and beyond what is expected from them. Not only will a fintech sales leader with a noticeable passion for selling be better prepared to hit their own personal targets, but their contagious enthusiasm can drive the entire team to reach bigger successes together. A fintech leader with a contagious passion for sales has the potential to set a new standard for what it means to be a high performing salesperson.

Fintech sales leaders are the backbone of any fintech success story, and their contributions cannot be overstated. Top performing fintech salespeople recognize the importance of having a successful leader with the right personal qualities at the helm guiding them forward, enabling them to realize goals that are achievable yet challenging in the highly competitive finance industry. Look for the traits of strategic thinking, people skills, technical and business knowledge, adaptability, and passion for selling and one can start distinguishing between just good and great fintech sales leaders!

About the author: Shawn Rutter is the founder of Excelsior Search, a market leader in international executive search and recruitment solutions for financial technology (fintech), data and research providers to the capital markets and investment industry across the Americas, EMEA and APAC.

If you are either a fintech executive looking to hire a great sales leader, a sales leader looking to strengthen your sales team with top performing salespeople, or a sales professional open to considering your next sales career opportunity working for a great sales leader, then please do reach out to Shawn on LinkedIn or email shawn@excelsiorsearch.com.