Some folks think that to develop those in their sales team all the need do is give a motivational speech each morning, and promise a reasonable rate of commission. Of course, success in sales is much more complicated than that, and in fact, the experiences that you provide for your team can make a huge difference when it comes to how well they perform. With that in mind, check out the positive and educational experiences described below and see if you can apply them for your own sales teams’ benefit.
Team building
First, let’s focus on the fact that a salesperson is not an island. In fact, they have to work in a team, both with other folks that are selling, as well as the people that do the follow up and admin work. What this means is that these relationships and the interactions between people are significant to the team’s overall success.
Team building is a valuable experience for any salesperson.
With that in mind, it can be useful to dedicate some time and resources to team building activities that get everyone singing from the same hymn sheet. Sometimes physical tasks such as assault courses or building raft sessions work well here, but there are other options too, like quiz nights and escape rooms.
Even social events such as galas and parties can help bring your sales team together, as they get to bond on a more personal and human level while they all are doing the same thing.
Although, if you do want to put on a big celebration, it can be best to get in some professional help with event management including sorting the venue, entertainment, and catering. Otherwise, it can end up taking over your sales team’s days, working against productivity and success until it’s over and done with.
Experiencing the product or service
Next, an experience that salespeople need to be as effective as possible is to use the product or service that they are selling. Sadly, it’s all too common for folks to be hitting the phones for B2B, or private customer sales never even having seen the items they are trying to sell, let alone use them.
Luckily, this is something that is quickly rectified by having the product on display in the office, and if appropriate, giving your team the chance to use it. Alternatively, you may wish to gift the product to each team member to test out at home, if it is a low-value unit. Don’t forget either, that even if you are selling something not as easily accessible, like safety training courses, you can still allow your team to access them, and this will provide them with a much stronger pitch when they do come to make that call.
Being held up as a positive example
Lastly, when it comes to developing and motivating your sales team, the carrot is always more valuable than the stick. I don’t just mean the financial carrot either, in fact, praise and recognition can be huge for confidence building for those in sales and can be something that they continue to ride long after the initial complement has faded.
To that end, running a top salesperson competition, an employee of the month strategy, or even recognizing those that received the best customer feedback can be priceless for your sales teams’ long-term development and achievement.
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