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Qualities of an Effective Sales Team

Written by: Keith Benton

Article Overview: In sports, there is an old adage, “There is no ‘I’ in team”. This statement is especially true in a sales team. How do you take a group of individuals and make them a cohesive, productive, and thriving sales team?

Qualities of an Effective Sales Team

In sports, there is an old adage, “There is no ‘I’ in team”. This statement is especially true in a sales team. How do you take a group of individuals and make them a cohesive, productive, and thriving sales team?

Let’s first look at the importance of the leader. Does the leader possess a definite vision for his or her team? Whether it is sales goals or growth, first the leader must have a vision and then effectively convey that vision to his team. Each member must believe in that vision and be able to recount and explain it to others. In other words, the leader, like a ship’s captain, will be setting the course for the future. However, without the proper hands on deck, the ship is sunk.

Attitude is the first quality that is absolutely necessary for a thriving team. This is one area that has caused many teams to quickly decline. If you have a pervasively negative attitude in your organization, that attitude can and will spread throughout the team and your ship is on the way down. Motivation levels and attitude checks for your people are essential.

Camaraderie is the next quality. Are your people constantly pulling for each other? Does it seem more like a home environment or a prison? Once the sales people bond together, they begin to keep each other motivated. If, on the other hand, they are tearing each other down, the overall attitude will quickly diminish. The leader is responsible for setting the tone and constantly monitoring the team. Are you giving the team adequate opportunities to bond?

High Activity is the next quality. As sales managers, you have probably already discovered you cannot manage sales. You can only manage activity. In an environment where your team has the right vision, the right attitude, and camaraderie, you’ll find that your people are working individually, but moving in the same direction. When this is the case, you will generally have the activity levels necessary to achieve your goals.

Leadership development is the final quality of an effective sales team. Leaders who raise up leaders usually get, not only the new leader, but their followers as well. Growth is an automatic by-product. Are you working on building leaders or followers? The difference is quite dramatic.

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