5 essential emlements to building a strong sales team
More than any other function of a business, the sales team needs to work effectively. If it doesn't, all other functional areas of the business have nothing to do. So with that in mind, here are five essential elements to building a strong sales team.
1. Hire for alignment.
Take the time to profile the type of salesperson you want working for you. Identify the skills, values and motivations that drive success for the position. Then, screen candidates for those criteria. Interview only the ones who align well with the profile. This course of action may mean more time in the hiring process, but that's okay. Misaligned hires usually become bad hires, and bad hires cost money. Invest the time up front to avoid the money loss down the road.
2. Honestly evaluate existing team members.
If your new-hire standards are high, your retention strategy should equal that. Look at your existing team and determine if they're performing up to the standards you desire, and meeting revenue goals. This step is not necessarily a “cleaning house” strategy. Rather, it's an opportunity to work on alignment. You want to align people with objectives and identify mismatches. Determine the gaps between individuals' performances and the roles and expectations you have for them. Where gaps exist, you can take corrective action through either improved performance or replacement.
3. Be a desired place to work
The first two elements speak to attracting and retaining top-level performers. Doing this requires building an environment and culture they desire, and that entails more than just money. Numerous studies identify what motivates people, particularly in the workplace. Money was not at the top of the list in the studies. The top motivators are often work environment, the level of respect and value given to people, and co-workers. Money usually ranked no higher than third, often coming in fourth or fifth. So, a desired place to work should include a product or service that elicits confidence and pride, a sense of meaningfulness derived from the work and the culture, and high compensation commensurate with great results.
4. Clarity
Set clear goals and expectations. Be clear in communicating both the goals and the expectations and be clear about accountability and tracking results. If your hiring process is clear in terms of the type of individual you want on your team, then leadership must be clear in what you want from them. The best salespeople are self-motivated; they just need to know the direction in which you want them to go.
5. Focus on relationships first
A universal among great salespeople is that they're masters at building strong relationships. They recognize that clients buy based on trust, which requires building strong relationship. For potential hires, ask references how they felt about the person. For existing salespeople, ask clients how they feel about working with your salesperson. Build your team with people who put the person and the relationship first, even before the deal. A deal for the sake of a deal is a transaction, usually a one-time occurrence. A relationship produces dividends over a long period of time.
The leader's role in building a sales team is that of architect and builder. Recognize the traits and characteristics that make up a winning salesperson. Hire successful people to produce successful results, then lead the team and hold each person accountable. When all of the pieces come together, the entire organization gets very busy.
Ken Cook is co-founder of How to Who and co-author of How to WHO: Selling Personified, a book and program on building business through relationships. Learn more at www.howtowho.com.
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