How To Build A High Performance Sales Team

1. How to build a high performing sales team

2. How to build a high performing sales team Whydosomesalespeopleperformbetterthan others?Whatmakesthedifferencebetween someonewhocanclose a deal everytime and someonewhostrugglestoconvertan inboundleadintoanorder?Inthisguideyouwilllearn: Introductiontowhat makesa sales team successful How to find the right people for yoursales team 1. Howto equipthemwiththe toolsthatmakeit possible tosucceed 2. Howtomotivate and manage themtoreachtheirpotential 3. Successful strategiesforrewardingsalespeople 4. Howtomanage succession planning 5.

3. Introduction Whydosomesalesteamsforgeaheadanddeliveroutstandingresults, whileotherssimplyflounder,bumpalongneverreachingtheirpotential? Somewould arguethatit’s downtotheproductthey’reselling, thecalibreoftheteammembers,thetoolstheyhaveavailabletothem,the economicclimateorthe leadership in theorganization. We’ve doneourresearch,surveyed 254 salespeople, spokento psychologistsandHRprofessionalsandusedourowncasestudiesofsales teamsthatconsistentlydelivertoproducethisguidetobuildingahighperformingsales team. “ Whydosomesales teamsforgeaheadand deliveroutstanding results,whileothers simplyflounder,bump alongneverreaching theirpotential? “

4. Empathy Focus Responsibility Optimism Ego-drive Step 1:Hiring great salespeople Wedon’tneedtotellyouthatifyougetthisonewrongandyoursales departmentwillnevertakeoff–itisbroadlyacceptedthatsalesability ismoreimportantthantheproductbeingsold-butthereiswidespread confusionaroundhowtostaffasalesdepartmentforsuccess.Howdowe knowwhat makesagreat salesperson? Characteristicsofa successfulsalesperson Ina well-knownstudy published in theHarvard Business Review in 2006, David Mayerand HerbertMGreenberg, presented the results of seven years of fieldresearch, in whichtheyhadbeenincontactwith over7,000salespeople.Thepurpose ofthestudy was toestablish whatmakes a goodsalesperson – i.e.to identifyandisolate thefundamental characteristicsnecessary for Empathy: ortheability toworkoffsignalsfromothers, taking and reviewing feedback. The needtoconquer:a drive tosucceedthatis based onmorethanjust thefinancialrewards.Good salespeople aremotivatedbythepersonalgratificationthatcomeswithsuccessful selling. someonetobe able tosell. They citedtwoimportantpersonality traits thatcorrelatewell withsales performance. Thesewere

5. Alsomentionedinthereportasanimportantcontributortosalessuccess wasa degree of selfconfidence. In thisrole, even the highest performers willlikelyfailmoreoftenthantheysucceed,andtheyneedthestrength ofcharactertoovercomethis. Attractingapplications The sales managerswespoketociteda wholerangeofdifferentrecruitmentstrategies whenitcomestoattractingapplications.Manygobeyondthetraditionalrecruitmentandadvertisingmethods,usingwordof mouth,recruitmentcompanies,referralsfromstaff,customersandclients, advertising,or,iftimepermits,waitingtobepitchedbyothercompanies and offeringgreat salespeople anopportunity toapply.

6. Theselectionprocess Itoftenseemslikethebestrecruitmentstrategyistopoachsalespeople directlyfromcompetitors,however,salesmanagersshouldbewaryofthis. IntheHBRarticle“whatmakesagoodsalesman”,theauthorspointoutthat experienceisusuallylessimportantthanthehumanqualitiesassociated withsuccessfulselling.Furthermore,itiseasiertopoachsomeonefroma competitoriftheyareunderperformingatthatcompany–theyaremore willing toleave. This is atrapthathascaughtoutmany sales directors. Weknowthatempathyanddrivecorrelatewithsalessuccess,buthowdowetestforthesecharacteristicsinsalespeople?AccordingtoMayerand Greenberg, psychologists have been working on this for decades buthavefailedtoproduceareliabletestoftheabilitytosell.Thetests thatareavailablecanoftenbeeasilyfaked,orfailtotestfortheright characteristics.Someofthesales managerswespoketohave foundinteresting waysoftestingforempathy and drive. “ Weknowthatempathy anddrivecorrelate withsalessuccess, buthowdowetestfor thesecharacteristics insalespeople? “

7. Strategiesfor testingdrive Strategiesfor testingempathy First round rejection: Each applicant is rejected immediatelyuponsubmitting their application. Those thatcomeback asking for feedback,asecondchance ormoreinformationarethought to possess sufficientdrive. Empathy Quotient(EQ)test:Therearevarious iterations ofthis testand other,similar psychometric tests onthe web and throughtesting centres.Theseareused by somesales managersto identify levels ofempathy. Schoolleadership questioning: Asking candidates Worst-casequestioning:Asking candidates in an interviewsituationtotell theintervieweraboutthe during the interviewwhetherthey wereonsportsteams,took leadership positions orwere involved in otherextramural activities atschool.Drive at schoolis thenequatedwithdrive atwork. worstaspects ofa roleoranexperience.Thisteststhecandidate’s ability toread thesituation:candidates whoturna negativeintoa positive forthepurposeof theinterviewarejudgedtohavehigherempathy. Duringtheinterview,itisreallyimportantnottojusthavealistofquestions andcheckthemoffasyougo.Thesuccessfulinterviewerknowshowtoidentifyredflags-anythingthatsuggeststhecandidateisjustsayingwhat theythinkyouwanttohearorthatindicatesthattheyarenotgoingtobringpositive energytotherole.

8. Step 2:Give them the right tools Nowthatyouhavehiredyour‘ATeam’,youneedtogivethemthebest possiblechanceofsucceedingbycreatinganenvironmentinwhichtheycanflourish.You’llneedtotrainthemandequipthemwiththetechnology that willhelpthemsucceed. Training Eventhosewithaninnateabilitywon’tsucceedimmediatelywithoutany training.Iftheydonotalreadyhavesalesexperience,theyneedtobe trained.Whetheryououtsourceorrunthisinhouse,ifyougivetheright salesandproducttrainingtosomeonewithbundlesofpotential,theywill soar. “ Nowthatyouhave hiredyour‘ATeam’,you needtogivethemthe bestpossiblechanceof succeedingbycreating anenvironmentinwhich theycanflourish. “

9. Step 3:Motivating and managing AccordingtoMichaelLeimbachPh.D.,VicePresident,WilsonLearning,“multiple studies have shownthateffective sales managementhas a significantimpactonpositivesalesresults.”Henotesthateffectivesales leadership canbe brokendownintotwoareas: Managingthe sales process Leadingforengagement and performance “ Multiplestudieshave shownthateffective salesmanagementhas asignificantimpacton positivesalesresults. “

10. Whenitcomestomanagingthesalesprocess,atsales-i,wecouldn’tagree more,andwebelievethattherighttechnologycouldplayafundamentalrole in helping sales leaders togetthemostoutoftheirteams: 1. Helpthemfind opportunities 2. Letthemgo mobile Streamlineyourdatasothatitcaneasily be mined foropportunities(e.g.customerXbought10reamsof paper,butnoprintingtoner–might beworthcallingthemtomakesure theydon’trunout).Thatwayyoursalesteamdoesn’tneedtowaste timemakingsalescallsthatarenot backed by intelligence. Make surethatyourentiresales system canbe easily accessed via tablets and smartphones sothatyour while onthego, sales teamcanspend client visitsselling,notbootinguptheirlaptops and trying to findan internetconnection.

11. Providehonest feedback 3. Trackdata onindividual salespeople’s performance against real KPIs(notjust calls made) sothattheycan identify wheretheyaregoingwrong and improve. Saveadminbycollecting andmanagingdataproperly 4. Make all informationonclients and prospects available tosalesteamsacrossthecompany.Thatway,theydon’t needto borroweachothers’little black bookstogetimportantinsight into clients and prospects. Provideroom forgrowth 5. Thehighestperformingsalespeoplearelikelytogetbored quickly,soensureyoureducetheadminburdenonthem dramaticallysothattheycantakeonmoreworkandreap the benefits. This can only be done through technology.

12. “ Manysalesmanagerswespoketointroduced “ public competition and highly social working environmentstoencouragestellarperformance. AccordingtoeminentprofessoroforganizationalpsychologyandhealthatLancasterUniversity ManagementSchool,Cary CooperCBE, sales peopleare“social,competitiveanddriven,withapositiveoutlookonlife, notjustintheirworkandcareer.”Infact,inarecentsurveythatwecarried outofover250salespeople,67%ratedthemselvesascompetitiveand 58% asoutgoing aschildren. ratedthemselvesas outgoingaschildren ratedthemselvesas competitive 67% 58% Withthisinmind,manysalesmanagerswespoketointroducedpublic competitionandhighlysocialworkingenvironmentstoencouragestellar performance.Thiscantaketheformofteambuildingweekendsaway, theopportunitytowinnon-financialrewardswhenexceedingsalestargets and investing in great offices and a fun culture.

13. Step 4:Rewarding Howtobestrewardasalesteamisupfordebate–thereisanabundance ofinformationonthewebaboutdifferentpaystructuresanditisnota simple one size fits all decision. Whetheryouchoosecommission-onlyorahighbasicsalarywithasmall proportionofcommission,mostsalesrepsarerewardedonaperformancerelated basis. This means thatit is keytohave accuratedata onsales andperformancesoyouarecorrectlyrewardingpeoplefordelivering tangible business benefits. “ Whetheryouchoose commission-onlyora highbasicsalarywith asmallproportionof commission,mostsales repsarerewardedona performancerelatedbasis. “

14. Step 5:Succession planning Thisiskeyinsales,wherestaffturnoverisoftenashighas50%peryear, and whererelationships and contactsareeverything. Salesleadersneedtomakesurethatthecompany’sdataiskeptsafe sothatwhenpeople moveon,theydonottakeall oftheircontactswith them to their next business. Succession planning is difficult,but it is absolutely paramountin securingthefutureofyourcompany.There must bea contingency planinplaceifyourbestperforming salespersondecides to up and leave. Ourfinalthought Thejobspecificationofthesalespersonhaschangedlittleovertime,their aims andobjectiveswill always betomeetorexceedtargets,toconvert leadsandtoretaintheirexistingclientbase.Perhapsforthatreason,the observedpersonality ofthesales personhas remained fairly constant overtime.However,thewaythatsalespeoplegoaboutselling,theway theymanagetheirdataandmaketheirsellingdecisionshasbegunto change.Withmodernenhancementstotechnology,and theuseofsofwaresuchassales-i’sbusinessintelligencesolution,salesprofessionals canstayonestepaheadofthecompetitionwithbetterdecision-making, easiercustomermanagementand afaster sales process.

15. Aboutsales-i sales-i is a Software-as-a-Service sales developmentsolution. Integratingbusiness, sales and customerintelligence,it has beendesignedtosimplifythecollectionandanalysisofbusiness data,whilecuttingbothtimeandcost.Throughsales-i,sales professionalscanclearlyidentifyandtargethigh-qualitysales opportunities. Give us a try, just 20 minutes could change the wayyousell. Contact usfor afree,onlinedemonstration and judgeoursoftwareforyourself. Find out more e: tellmemore@sales-i.com North America 1840 Oak Avenue, Suite 100, Evanston, IL60201 t: 877-646-8277 UK Prologis House, 1Monkspath Hall Road,Solihull, B90 4FY t: 0845 508 7355 www.sales-i.com