Did your first quarter go as you expected? If not, it may be time to evaluate your sales leadership strategy. All high performing sales organizations have one thing in common – great sales leaders. Sales leaders sit at the crossroads of strategy and execution. They build a sense of mission and culture and ensure that their sellers are focused on the right activities.
Below are four key points of sales leadership that, when utilized, will drive results in your organization. To further help you on your quest of great sales leadership, I am also offering a complementary sales IQ assessment! CONTACT ME by May 10th to claim this deal.
- Understand why your customers buy your product or service.
Customers don’t start out shopping for price; they don’t even start out shopping for a specific product. Instead, customers want to buy solutions that will give them the outcomes to meet their needs. To better sell to your customer, start by identifying the problems your customers have that your product or service can solve. Great sales professionals will help connect the dots for the customer.
Ultimately, the question your customers need to have answered is “What’s in it for me?” Explain to them key features (what your product does and characteristics that make it special), advantages (what the features accomplish and why it is a good thing) and benefits (how your product will add value to your customer) of your products or services.
- Create a positive environment that creates momentum.
Do your salespeople hate each other? Do they hate their workplace? Do they want to see everyone else fail? If so, the culture in your sales team has turned toxic, and the worst thing you can do is hope for things to resolve themselves.
Signs that you need to rethink your sales culture includes high sales representative turnover, resentment and rivalries among sales reps, poor employee attitude towards management, and a general lack of interest in camaraderie between workers. When a sales culture is healthy and present, it can attract the best sales talent and help your team feel content and engaged in your office setting. And of course, a more motivated sales team will result in more deal closings and a better company bottom line.
Start to revamp your sales culture by defining a vision for your sales team. What does it mean to be a part of the group? Reinforce your company’s “why” (its core purpose and reason for existence) to create a unified mission among your team. Create goals for your team as a way to measure success to align and empower your culture. Reinforce your culture by defining consequences for those who don’t buy in, and rewards for those who reinforce and embody the culture.
- Know your numbers.
Knowing your sales conversion rate is one of the most powerful ways to understand the performance of your organization, trends over time, and individual performance relative to the whole. You should calculate the conversion rate percentage of both your whole organization, as well as each sales staff member, by using your company’s historical data. Use this formula: (Leads converted into sales/total qualified leads contacted) x 100. This is your conversion rate percentage.
Another key number to calculate is your average sale. Using the data from your financial statement, divide the total value of your transactions by the number of sales. This can be calculated on a daily, monthly or annual basis. Once you know your conversion rate and average sale, you can calculate how many leads you need to talk to each month to exceed your sales goals.
- Always be learning.
There’s always something new to learn in sales. Thinking you’re at the top of your game is the easiest way to fall behind. Whether it’s learning to sell a new product/service, understanding shifting buying behaviors, asking better questions, exploring new sales technology, building greater trust/rapport with leads, or practicing negotiation techniques, even the most seasoned sellers can use a few tips to improve their process.
Does your sales team have group goals on areas they want to improve upon or new technology they would like to learn? As a sales leader, do you have individual improvement plans for each of your team members? Have an open discussion with your sales staff about what professional development opportunities they are interested in and help your team to further grow through learning.
Want to learn even more tips to further drive sales in your organization? Best-selling author of the Little Red Book of Selling, Jeffrey Gitomer, will be hosting two workshops in Des Moines May 17th and 18th – one tailored towards sales leaders, and another specifically for salespeople. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – tickets are selling fast! Claim a seat for you and your sales team HERE!