Sales management can be one of the most demanding roles in an organization. You’re responsible for how other people perform in their jobs, and the definition of their success is precise and plain for all to see. In addition, you have to motivate and manage people who, by all accounts, may be able to achieve similar levels of success by taking very different approaches.
How do you manage your sales team without micro-managing them, and guide them to success without de-motivating them to achieve? Here are three things you can do to prepare your sales team for success as we enter the fall selling season for business-to-business and business-to-consumer sales teams alike:
1. Make time for training.
Yes, the fall is a critical time to spend in the field, meeting with prospects and closing sales (or, for inside sales people, hitting the phones and dialing for deals).
At the same time, you need to get your team ‘back in the saddle’, and that means engaging them emotionally and intellectually in the business of sales professionalism and self-improvement. Make time for training this fall, and whenever you can, back it up with coaching to help your team members implement key training insights into their unique approaches or sales cycles.
2. Fuel lead generation with marketing.
While your team is ramping back up, reconnecting with prospects and re-engaging with sales cycles, this is a great time to give them an extra turbo boost with fresh leads. In addition to the traditional activities (trade shows, outbound calls, mailers, etc.), consider engaging in new programs and activities such as digital campaigns, social media marketing, special offers delivered to your core email list or webinars, videos and other opportunities to re-invigorate your prospect base.
Coordinate with your marketing team to brainstorm and plan so that you can create a campaign that will help lift your sales team to new heights of activity and success.
3. Launch a new or refreshed product or service offering.
Today, products and services quickly become stale and customers rapidly move on to the next ‘big thing’.
For example, software companies that developed truly outstanding products for Microsoft Windows now find themselves losing sales to cloud applications that run in the web, even though the Windows products are probably still ‘just fine’ for most customers.
The same can be said for so many products and markets — from business solutions (think copiers and scanners) to consumer purchases like attic insulation (where spray-in foam is rapidly eclipsing traditional fiberglass, even though in many cases fiberglass is a better choice).
Regardless of whether you sell to businesses or consumers, the fall is an outstanding time to work with your management and marketing teams to refresh, revamp and launch new offerings. Whether it’s a technical change such as a new feature, or a scope adjustment to a service offering (such as including Affordable Care Act consulting as part of a small business insurance review), use this time to re-engage the market with the latest issues, ideas and insights that customers will be attracted to.
These three strategies give you the opportunity to truly supercharge sales by aligning three essential parts of your business: sales, marketing and strategy. These are the three areas most likely to impact your success and that of your sales team, so now is the time to drive changes that can lead to lasting success for the entire company.