RESULTS START AT THE TOP SETTING UP YOUR SALES TEAM FOR SUCCESS
Is your sales team not getting the results you’d like? It’s easy to criticize their performance, but success starts at the top. Your sales team needs leadership, guidance, resources, and training to succeed. Here are some areas where your business may need to step up to the plate to improve sales numbers long term. Onboarding Before a sales representative can be successful, they must understand what they’re selling and who they’re selling it to. That may seem shockingly simple, but countless companies get it wrong, with 66% of the top-performing sales organizations reporting that they struggle with
customer base, value proposition, and offerings. Otherwise, they’ll try to sell the wrong things to the wrong people. Resources Your sales team shouldn’t stop learning after a few weeks. Sales is a complex field, and new issues arise all the time. Where can your reps go for help, and how can they find solutions? Your team needs mentorship and participation from management; nothing will doom your company faster than employees who are afraid to ask questions. Every business should also invest in its sales playbook as a comprehensive guide. Unfortunately, only 29% of surveyed companies say theirs is accurate and updated. Expectations No one can live up to your standards without understanding
should be unambiguous. Think carefully about what you expect before you announce it. Transparent expectations motivate employees, but shifting goals demoralize. Expectations will change over time, but adjustments should be rare and clearly communicated. Further, ensure your team knows why the change is happening so they can feel like a part of the company’s new vision. Feedback Don’t leave your sales reps in the dark. There’s nothing worse than thinking you’re doing everything right and learning the opposite during your annual review. It’s also incredibly frustrating for employees to fail but not understand why. Be consistent about telling each team member what is and isn’t working, and follow up to celebrate improvements. Your reps will feel valued — and more motivated to close the next big deal!
onboarding. Before letting them fend for themselves, your new reps must be fluent in your company’s
them. The expectations and metrics you give employees
HAVE A Laugh
Pirates Stole Our Metric System Why America Never Changed to Kilos and Grams
Pirates, that’s right, pirates stopped America from changing to the metric system.
When America was still in its infancy, the states had no regulated measuring system. So in 1789, Thomas Jefferson decided that the country needed order. He asked the French to help the U.S. transition to the metric system, and they sent scientist Joseph Dombey. Dombey set sail for America with two items pivotal to our measuring system change. The first was a copper cylinder 3 inches in height and width, weighing precisely 1 kilogram. The second was a copper rod estimated to be a meter long.
Except, we never received them.
Storm winds blew Dombey’s ship off course and into the pirate-filled Caribbean. Pirates hijacked his boat and held him captive, and Dombey died in a pirate prison before help could arrive. The pirates then auctioned off everything Dombey had on his boat, metric measuring tools included.
jwyatt@harrisonlawgroup.com | HarrisonLawGroup.com | 3
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