In an ideal world, you’d hire some sales talent, provide them with the tools they need for success and wait for the numbers to grow. Alas, it’s never that simple. Pushing your team to achieve results and encouraging quality performance is a fickle balance, choosing the right software to manage them can be a headache… the list goes on.
However, there is one thing every manager can do to lighten the load and reach sales goals sooner. It’s as simple as taking a few steps to create a more organized team. The following are six tips that will help you streamline operations and move your department forward at a steady pace.
1. Motivate And Inspire
Sales is an area that’s fundamentally goals-driven, so incentivizing it is a good idea. Doing it in an organized manner is even better.
Be specific with what each team member has to achieve based on what they do best and reward them when they reach a certain target, not forgetting to point out the next one. If they didn’t achieve their goal or made a mistake along the way, take the time to identify what needs to be improved so that it doesn’t happen again.
2. Allow Some Freedom
Managers who value a more process-oriented approach often struggle to run a sales team. You’d think that being methodical would lead to better results, but that’s not always the case. This is largely due to the need for freedom among salespeople.
They should be able to exercise some autonomy and do things their way, as this allows them to better utilize their unique talents and strengths. Chances are that if you set rules telling the team what they can’t do, they’ll just find a way to overcome them.
3. Develop Effective Strategies
No strategy is perfect, so it pays to maintain some plasticity and keep finding room for improvement. Freedom is helpful but having a solid sales strategy to lean on can provide some valuable guidance as your team moves through the process. Using statistics to prove to your team that the strategy works can help them stick to it when necessary.
4. Utilize Analytics
Following the above point, utilizing the power of sales analytics is a no-brainer. Even simple applications such as Google Calendar and Sheets can be used to compile large sets of data from which to gain valuable insights that will reveal what your team should work on. In this case, for example, you can export your Calendar data to Sheets or Excel.
Doing that allows you to create a custom report you can use to obtain information, based on the calendar data you’ve collected. This post shows an easy way to make it a csv file. From there, you can use other software to extract the data and automate certain processes to save time.
5. Keep It Simple
When it comes to keeping it simple, no company embodies the idea better than Apple. The tech success story has some of the most simple and straightforward advertising out there - and also the most effective. Apple understands that its customers want hassle-free solutions and they want them fast.
Your sales team can benefit from following this approach. Boiling down your value proposition to what matters most and nothing unnecessary will help you achieve better results while also saving time and making it easier to stay organized.
6. Provide Feedback
The more your sales team knows about what they’re doing, the better they can do it. This is why it’s important to provide feedback often. Start with the positive to reinforce what works and keep everyone motivated. Then, tackle what they can improve upon.
Start Selling Smarter
Following the above tips can go a long way in helping you run a more organized and successful sales team. Don’t forget the value of building healthy relationships and ensuring that everyone on the sales team is on the same page.
