T0 manage a sales team is always a challenge. There are several different variables that leaders need to focus on if they want to ensure long-term success for their team. This includes motivating your team to work harder and more efficiently and laying the groundwork so that team members can work at their best. When it comes to sales, you need a team of people who feel inspired and ready to tackle any challenge. Here’s an overview of how to manage your sales team through effective, and consistent empowerment.
MANAGE CLEAR GOALS
If you want to ensure success for your sales team, you need to set clear goals and metrics with a detailed plan of how to achieve results. When the expectations are clear, it’s more likely your sales reps will hit their numbers every month. Crucially, these goals need to be measurable and realistic with a deadline in place to ensure accountability.
It’s also important you think about the long-term goals of your company and how your team fits into the bigger picture. When you create sales targets for your team that are conducive to the company’s success, you’ll create more motivation and confidence. Importantly, your goal setting doesn’t only have to be about numbers. Encourage your team to grow professionally and take the time to make sure your team understand the expectations, and how they can improve their performance.
INCENTIVISE YOUR TEAM
Effective management means to improve the performance and productivity of employees. To achieve this, leaders need to implement strategies to keep their teams motivated. Incentivizing your sales team is key to long-term success for any business. Without incentives, a sales team’s performance may suffer which can be costly for the company. That’s why creating a sense of purpose is one of the best ways to incentivize your team. So, why not inspire your team to focus on building fruitful, long-term relationships with their clients?
That way, they’ll feel a sense of purpose when contributing to client goals. After months of hard work, always offer an activity-based reward for your team or let them choose their incentive. Unsurprisingly, research has found that 88% of employees believe it’s important that employers reward them for great work. There’s no doubt, then, that incentivizing and rewarding is essential for employee morale and motivation.
PROVIDE COACHING
Coaching is the hallmark of effective leadership and management. Successful sales managers understand they need to properly train and develop their team. Mentorship and coaching are challenging skills to master, but there are a few key methods you should use if you want to make your team successful. For example, focus on one-to-one mentoring and nurturing individual talent.
Each of your employees have unique skills and abilities, so you need to play to their strengths to maximise performance. Then there’s providing useful and regular feedback. If your team isn’t aware of what they need to do to improve, they’ll struggle to change and shift their focus in order to meet their goals. When it comes to manage a sales team, coaching is a critical step toward success.
ENCOURAGE COLLABORATION
There’s no question that sales can be a competitive. However, it’s hugely important you create an environment of collaboration and open communication to ensure your sales reps are all working in harmony. When people feel like they’re part of a team, they’re naturally more engaged. According to research, around 75% of employees regard teamwork and collaboration as important – and one of the best ways to encourage collaboration is by simply training your team to work with one another. Make sure you track the progress of your team and how effectively they collaborate. There is a huge responsibility that comes with being a sales manager, so spend time building an indispensable team.
BMS CAN ASSIST WITH YOUR RECRUITMENT
As a leading sales recruitment agency, we have a specialist team of recruitment consultants with years of experience sourcing the top sales professionals for various markets. We understand how to attract the best talent to your company, and we constantly stay up to date with the latest trends in the sales and recruitment landscapes. BMS provide an excellent candidate experience and we support our clients on each step of the recruitment process. We’re a trusted business partner that helps our clients build successful, high-performing teams. Contact us to find out what we can do for you and read our blog for more interesting articles.