So, you’ve hand-picked your sales team and placed them. That is one big step towards building your dream sales team, but it’s only the start. Each team member might have a clear job description, but what they are expected to do is simply not enough. Your team members need clearly defined standards and goals that align with your organisation, that they are trained on, and then monitored and measured on a regular basis. This is a vital part of Sales management, here’s how to do it:
Simplify your Sales Management structure
The abilities and proficiency of your sales teams will never be consistent across the board. There is usually a mix of beginners, intermediate and advanced sellers, each with different skills, training and competency levels. This is why we establish Sales Leagues, a structure that allows us to group members on similar tiers with the same goals and approach. To understand it better, imagine each Sales League tier is a type of tenant.
The D Tenant: They have been renting from you for some time but are by far your worst tenant. They are messy, late to pay and require constant supervision to maintain their rental agreement.
The C Tenant: This is a new rental. They need to understand the rules associated with their new home (clearly predefined expectations and measurable desired outcomes) and require regular feedback and proper administrative training.
The B Tenant: This is an existing tenant who is mostly consistent when it comes to paying on time, maintaining the property and the predefined acceptable standards. They might need the occasional reminder on the agreed expectations and some regular feedback.
The A Tenant: This is your best tenant. They take care of the property like it’s their own, keep it clean and tidy, always pay on time and are consistent with the agreed conditions of the contract. They often even find ways to go over and above expectations.
In each Sales League the ‘tenant agreement’ is defined as the classification of behaviour, performance and potential.
Identify the standard
Once you have set your leagues, you can comprehensively define the critical sales approach and the formula required to achieve the Minimal Acceptable Standards (MAS) from each individual team member.
Remember that MAS do not replace the individual’s job description, rather it is a reference of standards for their daily activities. MAS create a clearly defined standard for every level of salesperson in the team. Each individual must meet their MAS across all their daily, weekly and monthly activities to achieve their targets and for the company to reach its sales goals. It also directly relates to performance management as individual performance is compared to the corresponding Sales League tier. It’s vital that each team member’s MAS are communicated clearly and agreed on to ensure they are held accountable.
Ultimately, your company’s reputation is built on your standards and consistency of delivery, which defines the customer’s experience. If every member of your team adheres to clearly defined MAS, you are assured of quality and consistency in your company’s customer service.
Looking for sales management training tips and tricks from a team with decades of real world sales experience? Get in touch with our team today!
