1. 3 x 3. Know your customers at multiple levels. You will know about them and sell more.

While sales reps have key relationships with their accounts, make sure there are multiple
relationships between both organizations. This is critical when a sales rep leaves and you are at
risk of losing the account because only the departing rep had a relationship with the customer.
2. Plan a SELLING PROCESS for marketing campaigns. Sales and marketing are NOT the
same. When your marketing message hits the street your sales team must perform specific
sales actions within a time- table to compliment the marketing message. Supercharge marketing
and selling by coupling them together.
3. Market in BITE-SIZE CHUNKS. Never send more marketing and lead generation materials
out than sales can follow-up on timely. Scale and stager the amount and timing of marketing
blasts so sales has time to call prospects before they turn cold or ensure the new materials were
seen and will be used! Too often companies send promotions or lead generation pieces without
working through how and when sales will follow-up.
4. Sales should NOT MAKE BUYING decisions. Sales people are often paid based upon the
margin they make. Too often these reps have access to and decide where your business should
buy the product at a better price so they make the highest margin. Thats not ok. Businesses
often earn rebates and credits from suppliers that are invisible to sales people. When owners
allow sales to direct buying they are, very likely, losing dollars.
5. Develop good FARMERS. Businesses grow more prosperous when sales farmers cultivate
and constantly grow existing account share. Good farmers are always asking: a. What else can I
sell here? b. Who else should I be talking with here? c. What changes are going on in this
account that may impact me? d. What business value can I bring today? e. What other
companies will this account give me an introduction into? Good Farmers are more than order
takers.
6. Find good HUNTERS. Hunting is how sales people go get new accounts. Hunters and
Farmers have different skill sets and styles. The DNA for good hunters includes: a. Enjoys
meeting people b. Enthusiastic c. Loves to Win d. No is a challenge e. Quickly assesses
personalities f. High energy Hunters grow bored by the repetition of maintaining accounts and
may miss critical details.
7. Do PERFORMANCE REVIEWS. Sales people ARE NOT completely self-motivated. Everyone
needs feedback. Sales reps can always improve. Set sales targets and performance standards and
hold them accountable for meeting them. Evaluate their: a. Sales target attainment b. New
customer sign-ups c. Time management d. Prospect calls made e. Sales presentation quality f.
Research before the sales plan g. Objection handling h. Interactions with inside staff? Feedback
shows YOU CARE AND YOU ARE WATCHING.
8. OWNERS MAKE SALES CALLS. No one will have the credibility you do when talking to
customers or prospects. You have more knowledge and bring legitimacy no one else can.
Customers will be honored that THE OWNER came to see them. You will be one of the few to do
so and thats an advantage. If youre not a sales type go with your reps. and plan ahead of
time. What are you going to talk about and whats the rep going to say? Practice and then go.
You will learn a lot, believe me. After all, you started the business with an idea to provide
something others wanted. Find out how that idea is working.
9. CSRs ARE NOT SALES PEOPLE. Tempting as it is, customer service reps usually dont make
good inside sales people. The skill set and personality are not the same for both roles. Good CSRs
are Ill fix it for you people. Ask them to sell and they freeze inside. Youve moved them from
true helper to hocking stuff. If you want to grow sales from inside, then hire an inside rep
with the skills and personality for it.
10. DO NOT GIVE ACCOUNTS TO SALES REPS. When owners lose a sales rep and spread
the open customer base to remaining reps they give those sales people a pay raise they didnt
earn. First ask, can I make this a house account and not risk any business? If yes, do it. If no,
then paying another rep to keep it is worth something but not necessarily what you paid the
original rep to win it. If the customer grows with the new rep then pay commission on the
growth of that account. Be careful that you dont erode the drive to have your sales team beating
the bushes instead of absorbing what someone else built.

How to Manage a Successful Sales Team
There are certain styles of management that I've often found are a good fit for sales departments.
Here are four tips for managing successful sales pros.
Avoid rulemaking. Great salespeople generally want freedom. They want autonomy.
Compliance doesn't work for these people. The better you're able to remove the obstacles and set
them up to produce those results, the more successful they will be -- and you will be. Don't ever
tell them what they can't do, because they will simply focus their creativity on finding ways to
overcome your rules.
Become a coach. That means asking, not telling your high performers what to do. Ask them to
put themselves in your shoes over a particular issue, and discuss a variety of possible options.
Let them own the solution to whatever obstacle is at hand.
Let them do what they do best. In order to motivate and lead salespeople effectively, you want
to think about what's important to them and what drives them. If you have employees who are
not great at details and writing proposals but they're great at selling, then let them sell. Find
someone else to compensate in some way to support them on the detail.
Give them pats on the back. You need to recognize them. Especially with top-performing
salespeople, money isn't often the main driver. It's really about being respected. It's achieving
and getting those results.
If you adapt your management style to meet their needs, and understand the behaviors needed
to do it, you'll have a lot fewer headaches. And your salespeople will thrive.

6 Effective Sales Management Techniques
Salespeople are often independent, driven and confident. And because a salesperson's job is
about convincing people to do what she wants, she'll probably see through any attempt to
manipulate her. As a result, salespeople are especially difficult to manage. Difficult, but not
impossible. Effective sales management requires a slightly different approach from management
in other departments.
1. Speak plainly
Many basic management techniques are about manipulating employees into cooperating with
policies that they don't necessarily like. But these management techniques are very similar to
sales techniques designed to prod prospects into buying. So most salespeople will see right
through manipulation tactics, which means they'll backfire on the hapless manager. Not only
will the sales team not do what you want, they'll be angry with you for trying to manipulate
them. The best approach in sales management, therefore, is to be upfront and honest with the
sales team. You may end up doing more arguing with your salespeople, but it's better than the
alternative.
2. Ask for input
If you're contemplating a policy change or a new campaign, get your team together and ask for
their input. Then make it clear that you take that input seriously! The best way to do so is by
using the team's suggestions, but if that isn't a possibility, explain exactly why you can't use their
ideas. Showing that you respect your sales team is the first step towards getting them to respect
you.
3. Explain
Don't tell your team about new policies or procedures and leave it at that. When you make a
change that affects the sales team whether it's a different compensation structure or a new
order form explain why you're making the change and why you think the new approach will
work better. You can defuse a lot of resentment by showing the sales team what they have to
gain by doing things in a different way.
4. Be a team player
Sales managers are often in a middle management position, with salespeople reporting to them
and other managers or executives above them in the corporate structure. In this situation, higher
levels of management often pass down policy changes to the sales manager and expect the
manager to report to them as to the performance of the sales team. As the person in the middle,
your role is to act as an interpreter for both sides. When the CSO sets a new policy, find out why
he's chosen a new approach and pass that information along to the team. And if your team is
struggling, work with them to find the cause so that you can explain the problem fairly to the
executive side.
5. Treat all your salespeople equally
Given that there are a limited number of hours in the day, many sales managers focus their
coaching efforts on the best and worst salespeople on the team and let the ones in the middle do
their own thing. Unfortunately, this approach doesn't exactly send a positive message to the
neglected salespeople. Set aside time to meet with every member of the sales team regardless of
their performance.
6. Give positive feedback
Salespeople tend to have two top motivators: money and recognition. You may be limited in
how much money you can shower on your salespeople but there's no limit to the recognition you
can provide. If a salesperson is performing well, praise her both privately and in front of the
team. Any time a salesperson's performance improves markedly even if he's not doing much
better than the rest of the team make a point of showing him that you noticed that
improvement. A little positive feedback can do wonders to boost your team's morale and get
them performing at an even higher level.

How to manage and motivate a sales team
How do you motivate your sales team? There are seven key skills. I was asked recently how to
motivate sales people so they reach and exceed targets, initiate new business, and persist when
its tough. I believe there are seven key skills:
Select the right people.
Clarify expectations.
Provide resources.
Monitor performance.
Develop skills.
Reward and motivate.
Provide support.
SELECT THE RIGHT PEOPLE
Whether on the phone, or face-to-face work, and whether large or small sales, you need to look
for these winning characteristics:
Highly motivated and enthusiastic.
Good presentation skills, self-confident face-to-face/speaking/written (and a match to
your approach/strategy on phone, a face-to-face or education level).
Great listening skills, always calm, open.
Experience sales or product or industry will always be helpful.
Eager to learn, develop skills and be challenged.
Persistent copes with rejection, or can handle a long sales cycle if required.
Competitive.
Attention to detail, accuracy.
So ask a range of questions, try a role play or simulated case study and always check references.
Build in a trial of one to three months to ensure a good fit for you and them.
CLARIFY EXPECTATIONS
Sales people will always operate best when they know what is expected of them. Everyone needs
performance standards and measures objective and clear both quantitative and qualitative
(for example, well-defined behaviours, standards, ethics and so on). Involve the sales team in
setting goals and quotas break down overall corporate goals into annual, monthly, weekly and
even daily goals for teams and individuals.
Set realistic goals that are achievable, and improve on past performance. Daily and
weekly goals help provide a sense of accomplishment.
Be clear about accounts/territories/products allocate to particular sales people.
Have regular team meetings to communicate expectations and gain feedback. Agree on
objectives for the week.
Talk to each person 1:1 get to know them better go out for coffee, or have lunch
uninterrupted. Clarify expectations and link their personal goals to their work goals.
Put expectations in writing for individuals and the team.
PROVIDE RESOURCES
Give people the right tools and equipment to focus on their jobs, so they dont get frustrated:
Provide promotional material price lists/ads/displays/
brochures/website/slides/info/samples. Product and service information.
Features and benefits breakdown. Testimonials, FAQ list.
Allow sales person to trial item/service if appropriate.
Sample proposals, templates, contracts, quote forms, letters etc.
Scripts for presentation or telesales. Data/records management.
Good database up-to-date, de-duped.
MONITOR PERFORMANCE
Track results and/or observe the performance, and relate it to the agreed performance measures
and give feedback. Listen monitor calls, or accompany them, question their approach, and
note positives and improvements needed.
Display results charts, stats, visuals. Use a board/graph update daily, share
information and data open for all to see everyones performance.
Test strategies for example, alternative scripts for cold calling what results?
Get feedback from customers on the performance of the sales people even as part of a
360-degree evaluation.
Encourage feedback from your sales staff regarding products and services, and insight
into customer comments and complaints. They know best what customers want, like and
dislike.
DEVELEOP SKILLS
Know each person in the team strengths and skills to be developed, and adapt to their
style/language. Give feedback when performance is not good immediate constructive feedback
(not aggressive or punishing), and be specific, provide examples, and make suggestions for
improvements.
Use skill breakdowns, sales presentations, prepare scripts, AV resources, checklists, and
role models (sales managers should be able to demonstrate these).
Bring new ideas and speakers, and use visualisation of achieving the goal, as a
rehearsal of the sale, of achieving their own personal goals.
Discuss the pain, dont ignore it (of not reaching target, or losing a sale).Learn from
failures and mistakes, share failures, and self disclose. Each failure is a step closer to the
sale. Dont let them get demoralised by a setback, or carry on with contagious negative
beliefs, such as generalising, approval or comfort seeking.
Study and analyse best sales people as a group then mirror and match.
And if their performance does not improve, coach them, pair them with a good person, or help
to find alternative role/job.
REWARD AND MOTIVATE
Salespeople vary in age, family responsibilities, and education so understand their needs and
what motivates them.
They have different needs at different times of their lives when younger and newer, they
require reassurance and encouragement. As they get older they have more commitments, and
have a strong need to be successful, want higher rewards, promotions, recognition.
You will need incentives to keep the best sales people satisfied. As they reach their late 30s and
40s, they crave status and formal recognition, respect of peers and superiors, and often have a
high need for rewards or status symbols car, entertainment allowance, etc. As they head
towards retirement age they may want to make less effort, work less hours and also have less
commitments.
Payment and rewards should be simple, clear, and consistent, with easy formulae to
calculate commission not on hours but on defined results. High salary will suit the
security conscious, but reps like commission. Bonuses are best based on gross not net
as net profit can have hidden costs, such as overhead.
Use team bonus as well as individual, for example, an extra $10,000 for whole team and
get them to decide on an even split or a percentage proportional to effort and results
(they soon manage each other).
Sales people are very motivated by recognition so give lots of praise. Celebrate wins as they
happen give mini rewards like movie tickets, dinner, surprise gift, cash. Celebrate a big win, or
end of a project.
Offer opportunities for growth. Give challenges additional tasks, new areas, training.
Plan social events for the team relax together.
Break from the grind. Keep the energy up sports/trivia challenges. For seated sales
people get them standing and stretching.
Balance or minimise pressure tactics. Motivating through fear may only be useful for
short term results.
Dont reward underperformance.
PROVIDE SUPPORT
Protect them from attacks from other parts of the business. Provide support for your team and
collaborate with other departments such as production, marketing, administration so it is all
made easy for the sales people.
Deliver on all promises. Build trust.
Do their job, at least once a week so you stay in touch, and can demonstrate the skills.
Show passion, confidence and persistence model these behaviours.
Care about their lives outside. Be supportive, understand the pressures, including
customer rejection.