How to Build a Strong Sales Team?
Famous American essayist Henry David Thoreau once said “Success usually comes to those who are busy looking for it” and truer words have never been spoken. In this materialistic world, we all live in, success is the true universal language. Behind every successful enterprise and product is the unquenchable thirst of an always active sales team.
Marketing teams are the backbones of many industry leaders who usher their products and services to the continuously evolving market with unique and captivating ideas. Here are a few tips on how to build a strong sales team:
Create a Like-Minded Team
Managing a good sales team requires plenty of effort and it is more strenuous if you are managing a substandard team. It is essential to create a team of members who are on par with you in their drive towards sales. Patience and persistence form the cornerstones of every successful marketing team. Any malfunctioning cog in a sales machinery will compromise on the performance which will set it back. A properly motivated team with efficient salesmen can work wonder under the right guidance.
Communication Processes
Communication is your ticket to success if you pay attention and learn to do it effectively. Proper communication channels must be established in the sales teams to get everyone on board towards perceived goals. Many leading marketing teams have meetings every week or daily basis to ascertain their progress and to plan on measures for progress. It also helps eliminate any misconceptions in the team and address in house issues at the nip. Creation of Customer Relationship Management databases helps in keeping tabs on leads, prospects, and current consumers of the company (Zoho).
One on One Coaching
The needs of industries and people keep varying with changing trends and sales teams should always be aware of these market shifts. They should be coached with effective communication and need perception techniques to get a better edge in sales. It is a continuous learning process as we need to adapt our strategies suitably to increase the marketability of our products. The provision of training modules for a variety of customer interaction scenarios will help the team close more deals and instill confidence in their abilities. Training can be carried out through Learning Management Systems or in classrooms with competency assessment after training (Idslogic). This also helps to identify top performers to boost their performance with suitable perks.
Streamline Your Strategy
A business plan is a strategy for a better future. A sales team must devise a stratagem for their process and should make plans based on the stratagem. Various successful sales strategies have been preached by prominent leaders in the industry. Sales management teams should decide on the most appropriate path for their progress to lead their team on. A reasonable target within a specified period should be established with monthly targets to keep check of the progress. Key Performance Indicators and Individual Development Plans when charted out, will help assess the performance of the team. Compartmentalization of the workforce into avenues following different marketing strategies will create a competitive environment to motivate the members.
Customer Interaction Methodologies
Every customer interaction needs to be initiated to convert potential customers into happy clients. The SPIN marketing technique is one effective means of designing customer interactions to obtain better results (SPIN Selling). The client’s needs should be thoroughly investigated and quantified before jumping to the sales pitch. The situation should be assessed well and the interaction should identify the client’s problems and their implications on his business process or day to day life. Every question asked during customer conversations have strategic value and should be aimed at gathering as much information as possible to find suitable avenues to help sell. Low-value questions often steer the conversation away from productivity and lead to making poor impressions on then buyers.
Use of Technology
Technology has revolutionized sales, making it much simpler and efficient than ever. Sales teams have moved on from cold calling to marketing on social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. These platforms help obtain potential leads and gather information regarding any present lead to help us proceed with the sales. The use of bulk email sending software has made it easier to create online email campaigns for thousands of business leaders without having to meticulously present services individually or in small groups (Hootsuite). Creating interesting and attractive social media profiles also create new opportunities for finding potential clients.
Sales is an art that takes a lot of time and effort to master. Sales management teams tread the fine line between providing flexibility and pressuring towards goals. The most important thing to understand is that it is a process. It is a way of life, paying attention to all happenings, searching intently for ways to broaden client bases. Success stories of many companies are there right in front of us and soon we will write our own, carving our names in the halls of fame.