To genuinely create a positive sales culture, you need a long-term strategy.
Consistency and purposeful support, partnered with the following strategies will help you achieve a driven and positive sales team.
1. Listen To Learn
Provide sales podcasts and books for your team to learn on the go. It is a good idea to have your team listen to motivational material on their way to and from appointments. Information on communication skills and product resources can also increase basic sales knowledge.2. Give Feedback
Managers can join team members on sales calls and give feedback as soon as the meeting finishes. Providing immediate feedback reinforces what went well and what can be improved.3. Allow Time For Change
Learning and applying new skills takes time. Allow your team adequate time to learn and change. Remember, it can be a slow process before you see results.4. Measure Results
Use your team’s self-identified goals to measure their progress. Hold them accountable for their sales goals. To really gauge how much of an impact training has made, track your team’s:- Lead generation
- Sales calls
- Up-sells
- Closing rates
5. Provide Ongoing Training
Benefits of providing ongoing sales training for your team include:- Increasing employee engagement
- Improving the skills of your team
- Team members feeling valued
- More success for your business
6. Allocate Time To Coaching
Many managers make the mistake of spending an equal amount of time coaching each of their reps. But this simple time allocation methodology ignores the potential return on your time investment. You should spend most of your time coaching salespeople with medium skills. This will provide you with the highest return on your time investment. Reps with mid-range skills are average performers – they have room for improvement. Good coaching can help an average performer become a high achiever.A good rule of thumb is that you should spend:
- 60% of your coaching time with your salespeople with medium skill levels,
- 15% of your coaching time with your salespeople with low skill levels, and
- 25% of your coaching time with your salespeople with high skill levels.