Watch Our Video
A good sales team will increase sales, which means larger profits. Sales teams also create greater brand awareness, more referrals, and more repeat customers.
Bad sales teams, well… Take the time to analyze your sales team and use the guide below to improve their impact on your company’s bottom line.
The Complete Guide to Improve Your Sales Team Performance
No matter the size of your company, a top-notch sales team can make or break you. Below is a complete guide to ensure you are getting everything you need out of your sales team.
If after reading this guide, you realize you need help, contact us. We specialize in Outsourced Marketing Services. Gone are the days when consultant do all the work for you. In the modern world, seek only the support you need. Our team of consultants can support you by strengthening weak areas in your marketing plan.
Clarify the Sales Objectives within Your Sales Plan
You should have clear sales objectives for both your team and for each individual within it.
Your sales plan is your roadmap. It lays out your sales team objectives, your sales process, and your sales strategies, and it defines how you will measure success.
Many small businesses don’t have a sales plan or do not address the key elements that make a sales plan most effective, making it hard for them to measure and improve their overall sales performance.
Set SMART Goals
Set sales goals that are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Timely. You need to help your sales team take their aim of selling more product and break to down into small tasks that will keep them on track for record sales.
If you notice this is a pain point for your team, consider using a Customer Relationship Manager or CRM to manage the sales process. It requires that sales processes are defined and efficiently track success or failure. Failures are opportunities to improve.
Teach Your Team to Be Customer-Centric
Who is your ideal customer? If you don’t know, then you should create that Avatar immediately. Encourage your sales team to help you. They should know the customer the best and it will help them internalize the customer in their mind.
They should address customers using the appropriate language and the tone of interactions should represent the company’s values.
These tactics will increase your sales.
Remember the Basics
Don’t over-complicate the sales process. Stick to the basics to be successful.
Tell a Compelling Story
In a meeting with your sales team ask them to tell the company story. Each team member may have a different story, but they should all represent the company’s products consistently. Critique each other’s stories to improve their impact.
Leverage Big Data
This is easiest done with a CRM, but all your salespeople should know how many contacts your ideal customer needs before they decide. If you don’t know this number, begin tracking your sales process and find it.
Create an Emotional Connection
Most consumer purchases are based on emotion. Customers want an emotional connection to your salespeople, you want them to connect to your brand. Train your sales team to make that emotional connection, before, they ask for the sale.
Work on Time Management Skills
Even if your team has good time management skills, regularly review ways to use your processes to their advantage. Ensure your sales team has the tools they need to manage their time effectively.
Make Sure You Have the Right People on the Right Seat of Your Sales Bus
Take the time to find and hire the right people. Assess your team using tools like Strength Finders. Make sure your team members are performing the jobs that work with their natural abilities.
Use Key Performance Indicators
Create Key Performance Indicators that link to your sales plan. When coaching your sales team focus on their KPI’s. It helps to focus on the tasks, not the people.
Sales Managers Should Be Present for Your Team
Sales managers need to have open communication avenues with their employees. Team members should be encouraged to share concerns and new ideas, and concerns should be addressed right away. New ideas that are implemented should be credited to the source.
Make Sure Your Sales Manager is a Leader
Chances are your sales team is creative and they benefit from strong leadership. As you identify and hire your sales manager, make sure they have the skills to lead the team. Avoid hiring sales managers that focus on micromanaging their team. Creative individuals feel stifled in those situations which negatively impacts their performance.
If your goal is to promote from within, offer leadership training to potential candidates and assess how they use those skills in their current positions.
Create a Culture of High Performance
The culture of your sales team has a huge impact on its effectiveness. Work to create a culture that values high performance. Sales incentives, company trips, and monetary bonuses all help salespeople work harder for you and your company.
Do You Need Support to Take Your Company to the Next Level?
Your sales team is only as good as the support they are provided. We work hard to offer the specific tools you need to ensure your sales team is able to achieve any goal.
We support Sales Analysis, Sales Enablement, and Sales Strategy & Operations. Once you identify the pain points within your sales team, let our team help you eliminate them.