Five ways to build a killer Sales team

An original idea or product may be the key to launching a business, but without an outstanding team gathering leads and driving sales, all you have is a great idea that never reaches its potential.

The goal of every company is to get that idea or product to customers. Whether your company is in the initial phases or matured with a strong customer base, you can likely benefit from increased sales. As the sales manager, your job is to create that killer sales team. Try the following tips to facilitate that:

Know your team members’ personalities

Get to know your team. A scientific approach may be to implement personality tests based on the Big Five traits, to determine your team members’ natural tendencies. As a manager, this information can increase sales by helping you determine how to coach team members, how to pair them, what motivates them, and which leads to give them. You can also use learning style tests that will help you apply appropriate training techniques. A team member who needs security should be approached much differently than one who needs acceptance.

Hire effectively

Use your knowledge of current sales team members to make choices about future hiring needs. Then apply the Yin and Yang approach to create team balance. A team stuffed with organizers will be much less effective than a team balanced with organizers, motivators, planners, and relationship builders.

Provide your team with accurate, easy-to-use data

Data gives your team leverage, but creating that data removes them from what they are trained to do—make sales. An hour generating a report could be spent generating new leads instead. Fifteen minutes spent discovering a purchasing dip in a company could be spent generating an email that results in exceeding quarterly targets. Software such as Phocas puts that data in your sales team’s hands anytime and anywhere in a matter of seconds.

Show team members they are valued

Great commission rates are one way to do this, but pay only buys time. Value earns heart. The fact is people feel more valued when they produce results. They feel more pride when completing tasks. And they work harder when working for a company that they believe in, but you must believe in them. A high earning sales person can be built with the right motivation, and value is the right motivation. Train by example. Trust in their value, and they will learn to trust in themselves.

Collaboration

One of the best ways to improve your sales team is by collaboration between both you and them and them and other sales team members. Phocas can facilitate this in a number of ways. First, it allows you to see what your sales team is doing collectively and individually giving you a coaching opportunity. Second, using the software, you can connect low performing individuals with higher performing sales staff to encourage mentorship. Third, your sales staff can use the collaboration software to seek advice from other team members on their own.

Your sales team can leap into killer mode with the right guidance and you are the key.