Old beliefs will hold you back and limit your sales success. When left unmanaged, the little voice in your head will reinforce these old beliefs. They will overwhelm you and your team, especially right now.
Today’s #newnormal is a great time to rethink what you’ve been doing and why you’ve been doing it. It’s a great opportunity to embrace this time of change and be ready for an amazing Q4 and 2021.
Improve Your Sales Results
1. Don’t select sales managers based only on their numbers. This very important position impacts the sales team’s satisfaction and results. Managing sales reps requires different skills than managing sales processes for customers. This is why many successful sales reps fail as sales managers. Use a qualified sales assessment when hiring and promoting. These tools have the highest validity and reliability in the market and ensure you have the right person in the right job!
To receive a complimentary assessment, watch this video, “How to Build High-Performance Sales Teams.” It is the best 45 minutes you’ll spend on improving your team’s sales results! (Note: To receive your FREE sales assessment, you’ll need to contact me @ JLSeibly@SeibCo.com after you’ve watched the video.)
2. Review and restructure compensation based on the current needs of your sales reps. Not every sales rep can succeed with “straight commission,” especially today. Some may need a base plus a lower commission, while others may need a full salary. If your sales reps are bonus eligible, use individual and team bonuses. Don’t forget to share the numbers that determine these bonus amounts.
3. Say what you mean and mean what you say. Today, what you say is even louder than before due to limited non-verbal communication.
For example, it is not authentic to say, “I want to be your business partner.” It confuses sales with partnerships. While this sales slogan may sound enticing, the reality is sales reps want to sell a product or service. Sales reps or sales executives are not able to share in the risks that go with true partnerships.
4. Focus on behaviors that produce results, not the most recent motivational technique. Did you know that going for the “no” produces more phone calls? This produces better results than focusing on “yes.” Conduct weekly and monthly 1:1 performance reviews showing numbers and results. Focus on the bigger picture and the details of how the product/service and new technology/digital system works! (For faster, laser-like results, use the assessment report for sales coaching.)
5. Train and develop sales-readiness. Now is the best time to provide weekly training (e.g., sales techniques, product knowledge, and system improvements). Attendance and participation should be mandatory (including you)! Use an outside trainer as the facilitator and focus on key skills (e.g., listening, converting ideas into sales opportunities, online presentations, etc.). Now, it’s up to you to reinforce the training. Be upfront about your own challenges while learning these skills too.
6. Hold sales reps accountable and responsible. While compassion is important during this time, it doesn’t mean that you become lax in your expectations. Keep the sales team up-to-date on changes (e.g., etiquette for conference calls, how to work with remote teams, etc.). Expect them to work with and through others during this #newnormal. Keep them focused on the customer’s needs.
For example, I recently relied on a remote team to help me work through an online system on behalf of a customer. The team was quick and responsive and made it very easy to follow the steps required. The customer was happy and purchased a larger quantity of assessments.
7. Let uncoachable sales reps go. Several of the behavioral traits we need for sales reps to succeed (e.g., competitiveness and independence) will get in the way of being coachable. Now, more than ever, profitable sales teams must be coachable.
For example, an entrepreneur was not following-up and following-through. He allowed the little voice in his head to excuse his poor sales behavior. I provided the coaching and role-played with him to ensure he felt comfortable and confident using these new skills. His results have improved.
8. Don’t change systems for the sake of changing systems. To be customer and digital-friendly, conduct a review of the improvements needed right now. Make the survey quick and focused, not long and never-ending. Seek input from customers, sales team, billing, customer fulfillment, shipping, etc. during design and before implementation!
©Jeannette Seibly, 2020
Jeannette Seibly is The Leadership Results Coach. She has been an award-winning executive coach and keynote speaker for 28 years. Her expertise is guiding leaders to get unstuck and achieve unprecedented results. Contact Jeannette for a confidential conversation.
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One tip to increase productivity is to be responsible for your communication style…it saves time, money, and your career. FREE: 5 Tips to Improve Your Productivity Right Now