Handing Your Sales Team The Win
Change The Rules Of The Game
The idea that we should "Focus on what you're amazing at" is a common piece of advice, and it holds true in many aspects of life. It's often more beneficial for everyone involved to adapt the situation to your strengths, rather than forcing yourself to do something that doesn't come naturally.
However, this principle is often ignored in the realm of sales. For some reason, sales managers tend to adopt a rigid "eyes on the prize" mentality, insisting on a specific approach and neglecting the individual strengths and weaknesses of their team members. This can lead to a decrease in morale, productivity, and overall sales performance.
As a sales manager, your role isn't to simply push your team to work harder. Instead, it's about strategically changing the approach so that their efforts are more effective and aligned with the current market. This is a departure from traditional thinking, where the solution to not winning is simply to try harder.
The key takeaway is to be adaptable and innovative. If your current strategy isn't yielding results, don't be afraid to reinvent your approach. This involves a deep understanding of your clients' needs and positioning your product or service as the superior solution.
Common Examples
Lets give some common examples;
‘Prospecting & Finding Your Own Opportunities Is the right way to do sales’ - if you think about this, it’s actually a massive waste of time. The bit of the sales process that makes your company money is quoting and closing sales. So therefore the more time your team is spending on quotes, the better. Being entirely lead fed doesn’t make for a lazy sales team, it’s the mark of a well structured sales team led by a good manager.
‘Previous Experience is needed’ - Previous experience selling in an industry can be a useful indicator of future success, but not always. Attitude, work ethic and willingness to learn is a much greater indicator of success. Industry experience can be learned. It’s a lot harder to learn the right attitude.
‘We have the right pitch already’ - What are your competitors doing? This isn’t just a checkbox bit of ‘market research’. This is more helpful than you think.
When you can compare this to your first hand experience, the advertising and sales material for your successful competitors of yours is a great indicator of what works.
Obviously don’t just copy it, but it’s important to study the channels, message and offers of your competitors. Why? Because it might give you clues about what you can do too;
You’ll see something you do that they do as well and you’ll know it works – Do more of it
There could be something they do that you don’t and you’ll want to try it out – Give it a small, limited trial to build some first hand experience in it
Bottom line, focus on what works already. We did a blog about this exact topic. Check it out to help you generate more B2B leads.
Achieving this requires a broader perspective. Analyze market trends, identify your areas of strength, and provide targeted training that empowers your sales team to recognize and capitalize on crucial opportunities. By understanding the bigger picture and adapting your strategy accordingly, you can significantly enhance your team's performance and overall success.
