How to Build a Successful Sales Team: 4 Methods
July 22, 2021
Everyone wants to succeed in sales. If sales are up, salespeople likely feel good about their work, meaning morale is up. By the same token, profits are probably up as well, so it’s a win-win situation. But how do you build a successful sales team?
A lot of moving parts come into play when building a successful sales team. Some people are naturally adept at sales, and others need more sales coaching.
Below are 4 methods for how to build a successful sales team.
1. Consider More than Experience or Education Level
In order to build a successful sales team, you need to look at more than an individual’s experience level. Your decision-making process on who to hire should also consider their personality, willingness to learn, and perhaps even their adaptability. Do they seem like they'd be capable of handling pivots? Do they have the energy to lead team meetings or chat easily with clients?
Most importantly, you should look to hire someone that is likely to work well with your existing team, especially if your existing team will be helping train this new individual. Cohesiveness is key, so keep that in mind.
2. Lead by Example
As a sales leader, you need to be able to lead by example. You should know your products, services and pricing inside and out. If possible, you should be able to show competency in prospecting, building relationships, sending proposals, closing and any other parts of your sales cycle.
Your new members of your sales team will feel more comfortable if you lead by example. It's likely they'll follow your lead for the first few weeks or months, so be sure to put your best foot forward.
3. Provide Structured Training
New hires who join your sales team will do best if you provide them with structured training, regardless of their experience level. Even if with years of expertise, they still need to catch up on your organization's specifics. They need to learn about products, services, pricing, company policy or protocol, the sales cycle, and anything else you feel is necessary. We also recommend a refresher on certain sales principles and tactics that are relevant to how you do business.
A good way to make sure your team retains what they learn in training is to build a Sales PlayBook, where you can house everything they need to know about product knowledge, process, protocol and the like. Here at CFS, we offer a program to help company's build out their Sales PlayBook. Check out our Expertise section on our website to learn more about our offerings.
4. Promote a Positive Sales Environment
Sales people can sometimes get discouraged, especially if things aren’t going their way. Are you familiar with the phrase, “misery loves company”? As you can imagine, negativity can spread like wildfire. After over a year of working through a pandemic and dealing with challenge after challenge, it is important to be conscious of the needs of your team members. Especially with new hires, showing that you (or members in the workplace) are able to be there for them and can help them work through challenges will keep them feeling encouraged.
As part of your company culture, you want to promote a positive sales environment. Your sales meetings should be interactive, and a good way to start them off is to encourage top tier producers to share things that are working for them. Everyone is looking for that tidbit of wisdom that will take them to the next level. Make sure you encourage this type of positive communication on your team. Learning cultures are vital to positivity!
How to Distill Your Company's Secret Sauce
Building a successful sales team requires a lot of work. But with a strong game-plan and adequate resources, your team will be on track for sales success in no time. Keeping all the above in mind will help you build a successful sales team!
What other strategies do you recommend for building a strong sales team? Tell us in the comments!
Many sales professionals feel as if they can reach their goals on their own. However, sales teams may be more important than they realize. It’s such a good idea to take the time to build a successful team!
Managing a sales team is hard, yet rewarding. it is necessary to standardize and adapt processes, analyze the sales workflow and pipeline. And only after that practical sales process can be taken up by the team.
In sales it is always about team work, the success of the company relies on each and everyone’s success, the smart move is hire a candidate for your company that is a team player.