Managing a Kick-Butt Sales Team

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There are three points that you must hit to build a sales team that inherently kicks out the weak players and attracts future achievers.

Number One:

Make sure that you have the right people on your team. Sounds logical but you’d be surprised at how few sales managers are picking their team correctly. By using hiring tools that match the person to both the position and the team, you can take away the guesswork as to whether that they will fit in —in terms of passion, skills, behaviors, creativity, drive and results.

Instead of accepting that there is always a straggler, EVERYONE will leap over tall buildings to fulfill and exceed their goals. It’s amazing what can be accomplished by creating a team that doesn’t accept excuses.

How rigorous is YOUR selection process?

• Are you continually increasing the bank’s standards? For those who don’t meet the standards, are you coaching them up or out?
• During candidate selection, do you place a higher value on sales ability or banking experience?
• Do you make sure that your sales people have sales profile? ZeroRiskHR’s research shows that a person who is low risk for a bank sales position will outsell a medium risk profile by 400 percent. Seems like that return on investment of selecting the right people is one you can’t afford to not figure out.

By increasing expectations from your sales team, you are ensuring that their hearts as well as their minds and pockets are in on the deal.

Number Two:

Develop and implement a proven sales process. The consistency will place accountability upon each person and ensure that they are carrying out their goals.

Not to mention, it makes it a whole lot easier on you. By eliminating technique variables, you place every member on your team on the same path towards the same objectives and goals.

And Number Three:

Follow a formula so that you know that a certain number of sales WILL close. Too many sales managers accept excuses and the mediocrity that follows.

By developing a formula, you are eliminating the chance for excuses.

There is no magic in sales – doing the right behavior the right number of times will create consistent results. Hold each team member accountable the same way you are held accountable.

Whenever there is a separation where you are held accountable and they are not, you will breed dysfunction which leads to underperformance.

The point of having a formula is so that those individuals who have a lower closing ratio get to bat more times. This way they both nail down the number of sales they need and practice at getting better so they won’t need so many attempts in the future.

Watch out for imposters. This is someone who has been around for a long time and has a big book of business and contacts but lacks the ability to create and maintain it.

Therefore, the book is only taking up space on your bookshelf. If they are compensated on the volume of that book, they could falsely be rewarded for it in the future (by way of benefit or even promotion).

Avoid this blind pat on the back by analyzing closing ratios. These imposter “top performers” give the illusion of moving a lot of volume, but their kill ratio is far less than their contemporaries. If you start holding them accountable for a higher closing ratio, then reallocate their accounts based on their inability to attain and retain them, the problem will get better.

Protect your team so that only performers are allowed to stay and others are put into jobs that their emotional intelligence suggests they are capable of winning at.

For a quick, 60-minute complimentary coaching session on how you can implement three things immediately to improve your hiring processes, to increase your sales results, call our office at 952-737-6730 or click here.  The reason we make that offer is so that we can show you how to better implement your sales strategy by getting the right people in the right seats and perhaps you will want to be implementing the best sales hiring system that exists.