How to get the most out of your sales team

Getting the most out of your individual team members can be challenging for any manager. Being able to identify how individual skill sets can be blended to improve the performance of your overall team, is the key to collaborative success. This is no different for a sales team, so how can you adapt your managerial style to get the most of your sales team? 

An effective team

An effective sales team is a productive sales team. When it comes down to it, there is no better barometer of success in sales than revenue generated, and profit made. Ensuring that the right levels of sales activities are met in order to achieve these objectives is key, as well as ensuring that the targets are realistic and achievable in the first instance. 

Sales professionals rely heavily on processes but run on enthusiasm. So, ensuring that you have a motivated team with achievable targets is the way to keep momentum high. Success for individual team members will motivate others. Healthy competition within a sales office helps drive a positive culture and sales professionals often perform to the best of their ability in this atmosphere. This, in theory, should deliver higher results for your business.

Encourage collaboration 

Working in a sales role can be demanding at times, due to the nature of the role. Being set an individual target can mean you are isolated and disengaged with your colleagues. However, creating the right company culture that fits with your values and inspires productivity in the workplace will allow individuals to be successful together. Working together as a team means that professionals are continually learning from one another to sharpen their skills. This will, in turn, make the individuals a far greater asset to the business.
Collaboration is key here. As sales teams that work well together will ultimately be the most successful, as they are working towards a common goal, rather than simply focusing on individual performance.

Praise and rewards

Although overall business culture is important, team culture is vital in a sales role. Working hard doesn’t always yield results within sales, as there are external factors that can impact the desired outcome. Sales leaders have the challenge of creating an environment that will allow individuals to feel motivated, regardless of their individual successes or failures. This usually comes from the people around them, as well as encouragement from management. Setting realistic targets and recognising success is imperative for a positive culture, regardless of the bottom line. This is achieved through praising positive behaviours rather than focussing on delivered sales.
Here are key pointers to boost team morale:
  • Achievable targets
  • Consistent one-to-one meetings with management
  • Flexible working opportunities 
  • A healthy commission scheme
  • Bonus opportunities 
  • A united team environment

Promote training and development

A strong sales professional will utilise their surroundings productively to remain ahead of the competition, both internally and externally. The ideal professional will be willing and eager to learn, in order to progress their career. Training and development within a sales role often occur whilst on the job, as professionals are confronted with situations that require them to think on the spot. 
Employers should ensure that their staff are continually improving, and this can be facilitated by creating a working environment that allows them to better themselves through external training, and one to ones. Creating a personal development plan for everyone you employ, will allow you better insight into their goals and their desired career path. Being able to tap into their aspirations as a form of motivation will enable you to obtain buy-in for those identified development areas you have discussed. 
Sales training should be flexible and adapt to the evolving needs of the business. Your training and development schemes need to remain relevant and targeted to specific industries and job functions in order to maximise the potential of your team. The sales function has greatly evolved over the last 10 years through the introduction of technology. By ensuring your training programme is centralised around the new technology available in the market, and how your team engages with it, will create a more successful team. 
If you are interested in learning more about how to develop your sales team, why not read our articles ‘Getting into a millennial mindset: Motivating your sales team’ and ‘Why should you develop the talent in your sales team?’ to get advice from our specialist recruitment consultants. Alternatively, if you are looking to recruit for your sales department, get in touch today.
Jack Chambers
Senior Manager, Michael Page Sales
T: 0113 388 9072