In the intense fast-paced world of business there is always pressure from many different directions (as well as internally) to succeed and continuously improve. One sector and job role that requires an almost constant evaluation, appraisal of techniques and attributes and a plan to improve is within a sales role. Salespeople, whether conducting sales via the telephone, door-to-door or on the showroom floor, have to show great levels of dedication, flexibility and strong characteristics. In order to succeed in a sales role there will be plenty of rejections along the way, as that is only natural where large quantities of leads and sales pitches are concerned, so being able to handle rejection is a must. Alongside that a good salesperson will be able to look within themselves to truly analyse which parts of their technique and approach can be tweaked and improved in order to boost individual sales records.
To improve sales performance and improve your chances of becoming a quality sales leader, there are a number of approaches that can be taken. If you are the most visible and accountable member of your sales team, it will be on your shoulders to drive results and inspire your colleagues to maximise their performance levels at all times. Sales jobs are a numbers game and extremely competitive, with only the best sales people and hardened characters able to cope, and thrive, under the pressure.
It isn’t just about being able to improve your own sales figures to become a great leader of a sales team however, it is also about putting in place a few measures that demonstrate a few different characteristics that will help you to succeed in putting together a stellar sales team.
The first thing that you should be able to do to improve sales figures all round is to be able to communicate your vision for the team clearly and concisely. Have weekly meetings with your sales team where you can talk about both group goals and individual goals on a short-term and long-term basis. Developing long-term goals allows you to build a framework where success can easily be signposted and evaluated.
A good leader will always be looking to improve the skills of individual team members for the good of that individual as well as the collective. Mentoring staff members helps to increase productivity and a willingness to work harder for the team collective, it also helps a leader to increase overall sales figures whilst encouraging development that could push sales staff to become effective future leaders themselves.
Being open to offering praise and constructive criticism in a balanced way is the last point we’d like to make about good leaders and how to improve individual performances within the field of sales. Both the carrot and the stick are effective tools to improve a teams performance, but too much of one can start to become ineffective, leaving the other futile in the process. Good leaders know when to offer praise and when to be critical in a constructive way in order to help improve performance levels and increase sales statistics
Janet Moore