Attention Sales people, managers and door to door company owners. If there is one thing i ever teach the best its building a solid sales team. The reason i am able to teach it well is because i tried almost every method and found what works and what doesn’t.
In this article I’m going to break down the pros and cons of building a sales force the right way and the wrong way.
If you are a sales person, listen up because you may want to make sure your doing what you should be or else you may be bringing a company down.
To say the least building a sales team is easy. Extremely easy ! as a matter of fact it is the easiest thing any company can do. You place an ad that costs you $500-$1000 a month and your phone will ring off the hook with 100’s upon 1000’s of “sales people” that will tell you they can do anything you need and promise you the world. However are these the people you want? be careful , be very careful. While building a sales team is easy, building the “proper sales team” is difficult.
Difference between “Sales Team” and “Proper Sales Team”
a sales team is a group of bodies that go out into the field hoping they will get a sale. These people are people who need money and love to converse and be around people. Do these people bring in sales? Yes absolutely they do however they are not people who maximize the return on time and investment. Many business owners when opening up a door to door sales company tend to hire any walk of life off the street because they believe that a sales person and a sale is all they need to produce income. This is the biggest mistake an organization makes when building their sales force. The mass majority of sales people want to be managers because they believe management is siting back and watching others work for you while you get paid. May that be a warning to all business owners that sales people are lazy by nature for the most part. The difference between a sales person and a sales superstar is like saying all cars are not the same. In one lot you have a bunch of Chevrolets, in another you have a bunch of Lamborghini. Ill let you decide which lot you would prefer. Before building your business with a sales team you need to accept the fact that all sales people are not built equally in performance. It takes more money to purchase a Lamborghini that it does a Chevrolet hence more money and efforts to get the vehicle, kinda like finding that superstar sales person. Understanding this is easy but doing the work to find them is hard.
What Sales People Mean To Your Organization
Simply put revenue. Your goal is to maximize revenue while increasing profits so as the owner you are able to oversee the company on where you can cut costs, be more efficient and reinvest time and money on infrastructure within your organization. Most business owners just generate revenue and do not look at the numbers carefully. I was guilty of this in recent years when i ran my own alarm company. It wasn’t until the company took a quick shift in the wrong direction that i realized i had to keep a strong eye on where the money was coming in and what it was being spent on. Your ultimate goal is to drive more sales. Sales people in your organization reach out to potential customers and turn them into customers that in return bring you revenue. Trust me when i say this, your ultimate goal is to setup a structure for your sales team with clarity on growth. If they know exactly what they will get and when if they did “X” you are on your way to success with a proper sales team. Sales people will sell you the dream at first but only one thing speaks louder than words and thats proof. What are they doing for your organization. You need a tracking system to track sales and see who is maximizing revenue and causing the least harm and damage to your business. I understand that many sales teams are 100% commission however trust me when i say this, sales people on 100% commission believe they are in control because the company has nothing to loose. Sales people with this attitude can affect your business. If you don’t take control of your sales force or are scared to loose them, you will find yourself getting walked upon and eventually loosing the team anyways. Be nice to them, follow the local laws however do not be over lenient on what they shouldn’t be doing as this is a recipe for disaster.
Proper Sales People Produce Results
The right sales people are working towards a goal they have in mind. Some are working towards the money they need to startup something on their own, while other are working to prove themselves in your organization because they expect and want growth. A person with such mentality is a person who will be self ran and needs special attention. The more people you find like this the stronger your company will get. Finding these people is not easy, however what i noticed in my past, these people come quick when you offer a base salary plus commission ! What this does when you give a base salary is give you the upper hand to be selective on who you hire and how effective they are out on the doors. Never send a sales person into the field without having them track their progress. In my organization i make it mandatory to have every sales person report to their manager the number of doors they knocked on, how many potential customers they spoke to and how many sales they closed. These people signify proof that success exists. If they are closing more sales then to the other sales people in your organization they believe they can too. Keep a close eye on these sales reps and take care of them real well.
My friends i leave it in your hands to be selective on who you hire. A good sales team comes from a good leader. Be the leader that everyone wants to be and you will see your sales team take off to the top !
I believe in you !
Go get em and always remember if you found this post helpful do me a favor and comment below and i will personally get back to you !