In good times, anyone can sell!
A road map is essential for sales managers to be able to navigate complex markets and achieve results. It doesn’t take a great salesperson or manager to reach quota when the market returns are double-digit. What should a sales leader do when the economy is in trouble?
What can you do to help your team reach their goals when the market is flat.
Managers are often promoted because they are “good salespeople.” It is very different from managing a team! It can be very stressful to manage a sales team during difficult times. Many people struggle with this!
What is the best way for a leader to plan to reach your budget in a market where there is so much uncertainty and fear? You have to ask yourself, how will your salespeople perform in these difficult times?
Most sales managers find it challenging to manage a team after years of experience.
These are the five essential skills for Sales-Leaders
Leadership must have five essential skills to be able to move beyond their limitations and achieve more significant results. Leaders also need to engage their team, preventing them from being purged by their competition.
The most efficient and effective way to increase your sales is through sales-performance coaching. One-on-one performance coaching can be a powerful and proven sales acceleration strategy. It will help you build a foundation for permanent growth and maximize your growth when it is mastered.
When done well, sales optimization planning is robust and straightforward. It generates quick, measurable results, and it is easy to control, monitor, and implement for quick wins. There are many strategies and planning methods, but the objective of the exercise must always be executed. If the planning process is too complex or lacks simple objectives and tactical goals, implementation can get put in the ‘too difficult basket.’ Every territory and each Representative should have a plan that is focused on execution and delivery.
Streamlined-Sales process – A sales-process map is a powerful tool for creating consistency in sales. It captures the science behind the best way to sell products/services within your market. A well-designed Process will include a set of customer-focused steps that will allow your salespeople to increase their win rates, increase customer retention, and increase revenue production. Each step must consist of several key activities that have predictable and quantifiable performance outcomes.
Sales Skills and Capability Development – Sales training must be tailored to your market and selling environment in order to be effective. Skill development should be based upon the principle that 70% of workplace learning takes place on the job, not in the classroom. Although your Team may be trained in a particular selling method, most fail to use it to its full potential. It is essential to customize selling skills to each individual’s needs to increase the salesperson’s capabilities.
Individual Performance Motivation – A lot of research has shown that people are motivated by different things and have different motivations. Focusing on the individual is the best way to motivate salespeople. Most motivational incentives and sales motivational drives target the Sales Team. However, an individually-based performance strategy yields far better results. A performance management strategy that is tailored to each member of your team should be designed to maximize their potential sales growth and development. It also needs to ensure the execution of its personal growth plan. This program will also help to retain your best performers.
Ian Segal is a leading authority and coach in Australia in sales management. He has been involved with the training, coaching, and development of sales managers for more than two decades.
Ian has 25 years of experience in sales and sales management. He also leads an HR and training department. This gives him a strong sense of fiscal reality as well as practicality.
Ian works directly with business owners, novice and experienced, in a variety of industries, selling disciplines. His goal is to improve sales management practices and transform sales results.
Ian is the author of “Bulletproof Your Sales Team: The 5 Keys to Turbo-Boosting Your Sales Team’s Results,” as well as a variety of articles and white papers, including “The fish stinks at the head!” “Why Sales Training Doesn’t Work.”
Ian has an insatiable appetite for learning about selling and people management. He has tirelessly sought answers to the question, “How can some people sell while most people don’t?”
