As a business owner, you need your sales team to perform as optimally as possible. Your company can offer the best products and services in the industry, but if your reps are not out there selling what you have to offer, your revenue will not be strong and your business will not be as successful as it should be.
If you have noticed that at least a few members of your sales team are sounding a bit tentative or acting complacent when it comes to their work, it is time to take the bull by the horns. Do what it takes to inspire them to put their misgivings aside and be a solid asset to your company. For instance, in order to increase buy-in from your sales team, consider the following suggestions:
Consider a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) System
One reason your sales team may be under performing right now is because they truly don’t have a grasp on their overall numbers. To help show them in tangible ways how your company is performing, consider investing in a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
For instance, Infor CRM will allow you to evaluate sales numbers and share these with your reps, as well as clearly point out the areas where the team is strongest and where they can improve to increase sales. By using Infor CRM, your sales reps will have a crystal-clear idea of where their performance is lacking and, with your encouragement, they can see where they need to improve.
Check in on the Regular
It is possible that sales reps are not performing up to their potential because they feel a disconnect from you and the company. If they spend a great deal of time on the road and rarely get into the office, it’s definitely time to start scheduling weekly meetings with all of your employees. Instead of a big group meeting, consider individual check-ins with each sales rep. Ideally, you will meet face to face, but if the rep is currently in Texas and you’re based in Oregon, use an online meeting tool like Zoom and set up meeting reminders.
Use your meeting time to get feedback from your reps about how you can help them boost productivity and encourage them by stating things they are doing very well. A sales rep who is feeling unappreciated and complacent should come away from these check-ins like they are valued and have a voice in the business. And for those who are on the tentative side, you can use these one-on-one meetings to encourage him or her to run through the sales pitch with you, and then offer tips and suggestions based on the role play.
Set up a Compensation Program
Another effective way to increase the efficiency of your sales reps is to enact a compensation program. You can either start offering bonuses in the form of cash to the team members who make the most sales, or you can choose other forms of motivation.
For instance, if you know your reps enjoy going to concerts, games and drinking lattes, you can let them choose their compensation in the form of a generous Starbucks gift card, tickets to a game or show or other tangible rewards. StubHub.com is a great source to find tickets to local events, and you can purchase gift cards either from the companies directly or at your local grocery stores. This type of compensation can be a strong motivator to get your lackluster sales reps inspired to do their best.
Strong Sales Reps Equals Strong Company
Overall, you have confidence in your sales reps and you know that the ones who are not doing as well as they could need some extra motivation. Through a solid combo of a CRM program, one-on-one meetings that feature plenty of positive feedback and tangible incentives, your sales team will become more efficient and your bottom line will increase.
