Forming a Successful Sales Team
Forming a Successful Sales Team
Blend people with complementary skills and styles. The primary value of a sales team is that regardless of the questions asked, the problem posed or the situation encountered, someone on the team can handle it.
Select team members because of special talents or rapport with particular buyers. You may choose a team member who is not in sales per se but has a degree in engineering from the same school as the buyer. Or you may select a team member who is a CPA because the buyer is also a CPA and bases all decisions on spreadsheet analysis. Or you may choose a team member who has firsthand knowledge of the buyer’s problems from having worked in the same industry.
Exclude those who want to be stars.
You need a group of team players. The key to teamwork is orchestration with all players doing their part. Sales professionals unwilling to suppress their egos or their need for stardom will hurt the effort.
Select a leader.
Equality is admirable before and after the sales call, but during the meeting one person leads. This can be the person who can best bring in the account and at the same time displays some leadership talent. The leader outlines the contracts established for the meeting and highlights the history of the account to date. The leader also presents possible what-if scenarios for discussion and team choices among alternative responses. The more empowered this sales team is to be, the more appropriate it is that members select the leader.
Develop a clear set of rules.
Everyone on the team must agree to the following:
There is only one leader.
Only one person talks at a time.
No deviations from the rehearsal, except as initiated by the team leader.
Team members monitor and take their cues from the leader’s nonverbal messages.
Balanced participation – no clamming up and no hogging the airwaves.
Forming a Successful Sales Team - To learn more about this author, visit Andrew Wall's Website.
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Perhaps the greatest change in organizations today is the shift from independence to interdependence, from individual efforts to teaming. Teamwork is having a profound impact on selling. Many companies today leverage the synergy of teams by sending two or three team members to sell an account. This is especially true when accounts represent significant revenue or when the team will be cross-selling various products. If you're thinking about bringing in a selling partner, or if a sales team is about to be formed, consider these ideas when setting up the team:
Blend people with complementary skills and styles. The primary value of a sales team is that regardless of the questions asked, the problem posed or the situation encountered, someone on the team can handle it.
Select team members because of special talents or rapport with particular buyers. You may choose a team member who is not in sales per se but has a degree in engineering from the same school as the buyer. Or you may select a team member who is a CPA because the buyer is also a CPA and bases all decisions on spreadsheet analysis. Or you may choose a team member who has firsthand knowledge of the buyer’s problems from having worked in the same industry.
Exclude those who want to be stars.
You need a group of team players. The key to teamwork is orchestration with all players doing their part. Sales professionals unwilling to suppress their egos or their need for stardom will hurt the effort.
Select a leader.
Equality is admirable before and after the sales call, but during the meeting one person leads. This can be the person who can best bring in the account and at the same time displays some leadership talent. The leader outlines the contracts established for the meeting and highlights the history of the account to date. The leader also presents possible what-if scenarios for discussion and team choices among alternative responses. The more empowered this sales team is to be, the more appropriate it is that members select the leader.
Develop a clear set of rules.
Everyone on the team must agree to the following:
There is only one leader.
Only one person talks at a time.
No deviations from the rehearsal, except as initiated by the team leader.
Team members monitor and take their cues from the leader’s nonverbal messages.
Balanced participation – no clamming up and no hogging the airwaves.
Forming a Successful Sales Team - To learn more about this author, visit Andrew Wall's Website.
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team culture consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. Dianne's contribution to the 2010 Pfeiffer Consulting Journal (an imprint of John Wiley and Sons Publishers) entitled TIGERS Hearted Teams is available in November 2009. Her new book TIGERS Among Us: 5 Winning Business Team Cultures And Why, Three Creeks Publishing will release in March 2010. To receive publishing discounts, subscribe to the free TigerTracks Newsletter here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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John BrennanJohn Brennan Ed.D. Dr. Brennan is President of Interpersonal Development, LLC, a training and development firm. Interpersonal Development has provided sales training and coaching to more than 3,000 sales reps from over 100 companies. A native of Australia, Dr. Brennan received his doctorate from the University of Rochester. His dissertation researched the effectiveness of Behavioral Modeling Technology in training people in interpersonal skills. While he has spent most of his career designing or delivering training, he was also a Vice-President of Sales of a training and development franchise with operations in 25 markets. Dr. Brennan has designed and delivered sales training in North America, Asia, Europe, Australia and the Middle East. He has been a guest speaker at numerous national and regional professional conferences. When Microsoft wanted Best Practices articles on sales for their web site, they called Dr. Brennan. The results are at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/FX011387391033.aspx His firm’s clients have included Volvo, The Prudential, Merrill Lynch, Eastman Kodak, Gannett, Equifax Europe, the Economist Group and countless small businesses. - Visit John Brennan's Website |
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Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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