In a high-energy and competitive sales environment, it can be difficult to recognize when it is necessary to strengthen your sales force strategy. It doesn’t have to be that way. It is crucial for sales-driven companies to understand the challenges that can sneak up on their team and how to combat them. Training a team, much like exercising, must be a continuous tactic for strengthening a team and determining the success of their sales force.
Tips for a Strong Sales Team
Sales training is a crucial component of empowerment. To that end, identifying weaknesses in your sales team and arming your team with tools and concepts they can use to improve are important in helping to ensure
success. Here are five things that you can do to help strengthen your sales force.
Do you know your sales team?
◦ Do you ever feel like you are speaking to a brick wall when trying to groom a salesperson into what you want him or her to be? You’ve tried several ways to explain the “right” way to do something, only to find that he or she doesn’t succeed, even with coaching. The problem might lie in hiring the right person, but for the wrong job.
◦ Team profiling helps you understand who the top performers are, what roles they should be in, and where you need to optimize existing strengths.
Stop wasting time and precious resources trying to fit a square peg where it doesn’t fit.
Are you communicating the “right” information?
◦ Have you ever said to your sales or service team: “We need to increase sales by 30 percent this month”? What does that mean to the team, and to each individual?
◦ Establish specific goals for your sales team. Whether long-term or short-term goals, document and define the desired goals for your team and outline how those goals should be achieved. Don’t write the goals on the wall and walk away; revisit them regularly to ensure everyone is working toward the same set of goals at all times.
Is your approach the problem?
◦ Is it a drag to come into work every day because you know you’re going to spend your day correcting everyone’s mistakes? Perhaps you’re taking the wrong approach—spinning your wheels on an approach that simply isn’t working.
◦ Motivation matters. Any general manager, sales manager or service manager who is knowledgeable, motivating, and engaging can make the difference between seeing a vast improvement in sales and witnessing dissension among the ranks. Create an environment filled with positivity and energy. That environment starts with you. People are motivated in different ways; experiment and find what works best for your team.
Is your training strategy a “once-a-quarter” event?
◦ EFG knows training—our experts in The Transcend Group are the first step in getting your team on the right track. We can show up and train your sales force, but what really matters is you ensuring that training doesn’t stop there.
◦ Training is an everyday activity. Concentrate on those who need it most, but don’t neglect reinforcing the lesson to top performers as well. Be brilliant at the basics, make sure lower-performing sales reps do the basic steps “right” every time.
“Build value in the product.” “Slow the customer down.” We’re sure you’ve said something like this. But did you tell the salesperson HOW?
◦ Be specific in your feedback. Don’t just say, “Don’t do that” without also explaining how to do something correctly. Teach your team about the products and services you offer, and also teach them why those products and services are valuable to customers. Show them by doing.
Learn more about tools you can use to strengthen your sales force strategy by contacting The Transcend Group today. Visit our website, call us at 877-884-6661, or join our social communities for more information.
Special thanks to Steve Klees, our Senior Vice President of Specialty Channels, and Chuck McGraw, our Senior Vice President of The Transcend Group, for co-authoring this blog.