Developing a Winning Sales Team

The line between work and home is blurred, so knowing who your team is outside of the office is just as important as who they are in it. To drive cohesion, take time to get to know your people, who they are, what motivates them and what they want out of a career. This investment will pay dividends because as you buy into your people, they buy into you. Show you care, get to know them personally.

As long as employees are performing at or above a satisfactory level, they should be granted the autonomy to own their role and treat it as their own business. The intent is to allow the team to develop a deeper sense of ownership/responsibility for their book of business when they present the current state of their "business" and unless there is a need, it’s best not often interfere.

Some sales teams compete against each other and others alongside one another. Focus on bringing the team together so they can support each other's efforts and share leads, building a stronger, further-reaching force. Share best (and worst) practices to learn from each other's experience in the trenches. Remember an opportunity is not lost unless the prospect goes out of business or is acquired.

Everything sales teams do revolves around performance. We celebrate it, live it and breathe it. Why? Because it’s all about the black and white numbers. You can see the successes and cheer them on. You can also see the failures, and your team learns to be accountable for their performance because of this. Whether it’s a team win or loss, it’s a sales leader’s job to rally around that momentum.

The first line manager plays the pivotal role in creating a cohesive and successful team -- yet they get the least amount of training and enablement. Make sure managers are competent and confident to play their roles as leader, coach and teacher. Successful managers must help successful salespeople grow to new heights and responsibility levels and creating a succession plan for their roles.

Creating a work environment of clarity and clear metrics are two important aspects of a happy, cohesive team. If people are unsure of the systems or expectations around sales, it creates a culture of uncertainty and sets people up for failure, infighting and fear. Give clear goals, metrics and fair expectations, and a team can thrive. Ensure they understand how their success plays into their company’s goals.

Coachability starts at the top with sales executives and managers not only understanding the importance of coaching and hiring coachable salespeople but having a passion for it. Growth comes from continuous learning, and this isn’t possible without this mindset.

Every salesperson brings something unique to the table, but they also may lack a skill that is holding them back from the results they want. It is important to understand what that is and leverage it to assist others on the team to succeed who are weaker in those areas. When salespeople find themselves improving due to the other members of their team, it builds more cohesion and less tense competition. The OMG Sales Effectiveness and Improvement Analysis process will provide the foundational elements to focus on for existing team members.

The most important aspect of building a sales team is to establish a culture of practice. Each salesperson must prep and practice before they "wing it," as that is a recipe for disaster. As a leader, if you are not establishing a culture where roleplaying and practice is inspected, then you will allow your sales teams to practice on your customers. Be “obsessed” with the basics of good meeting, opportunity and account planning. It makes a monumental difference.

Drive and motivation are contagious, and they start with you as a leader in your role. Success is essentially driven by the team when communication, collaboration and dependability are all active in the workflow. By providing a positive and educational environment to work in, you’re empowering your team to respect and adhere to the same business drive as you have. Be a positive, high-energy servant leader. Be 110% committed to coaching your team to be sales champions.