Motivating
salespeople should be relatively easy shouldn’t it? After all, they are
motivated by commissions and bonuses. Increased sales equates to increased
income. It should be that simple, but it rarely is. Granted, you want
salespeople who have a natural ability to close deals, and you want salespeople
who are motivated to make those deals. However, you also need a B2B sales team that
understands that saying anything to close the deal isn’t the best course of
action.
There are definite consequences to putting short-term sales ahead of long-term gross profit objectives. How you manage salespeople ultimately determines if they stay focused on your company’s long-term goals. So, how can you ensure that your salespeople are performing at their best by focusing on your company’s long-term growth? Better yet, what must you do to get the most out of your salespeople? To help, here are five simple strategies to get the most from your B2B sales team.
1. Focus on Results, Not Approaches
Some sales managers would rather you do it their way and achieve marginal success, than do it your own way and achieve far greater success. Why? Well, for one thing, they understand how their own approach works. They have a process that makes sense to them, and one that has worked for them time and again. They may also have seen other salespeople employing their strategies and seen solid results from those efforts. As such, they are in a better position to provide guidance on how to make their specific strategy work.
Another salesperson’s approach may be foreign to them and therefore unknown. It’s by no means personal. It’s just a matter of how far they are willing to go outside their comfort zone, and that comfort zone is relegated to how they approach sales. However, sales managers shouldn’t be concerned as much with how sales are closed, as much as how often they’re closed. Again, you don’t want salespeople who’ll say and do anything to win business, but you also don’t want to stop them from what works for them.
2. Expand Your Evaluations (Defending Position as Incumbent Supplier)
Not every salesperson will have the benefit managing a growing territory, and as such, not every salesperson should be measured solely by how much they increase sales. In some cases, the only way to measure a salesperson's performance is by how they defend market share and how well they defend their position as the incumbent supplier. This often carries the responsibility of protecting the company's interests in terms of its pricing structure, its inventory costs and its gross profit on sales. In essence, your evaluations should go beyond just sales volumes. They should consider a salesperson’s ability to properly manage inventory, their accuracy in forecasting sales, their ability to protect your business levels, and in some cases, their ability to manage a customer’s credit.
Expand how you evaluate your sales team’s performance. Multiple criteria should be used to show the true value of each salesperson’s ability to maximize gross profit. For instance, early payments, and high inventory turnover rates, help to improve gross profit on sales. As such, both should be part of your review on your B2B sales team's performance, in addition to the performance of individual team members.
The above video is from the post: Sales Negotiation: Defend Price, Customer Scare Tactics & Managing Concessions
3. Be Cognizant of Important Deals
Nobody likes having to deal with the Monday morning quarterback. Sales is not an exact science. Challenging, second-guessing, and questioning a salesperson’s approach, is no way to incentivize them to perform. Business development is difficult and stressful. Salespeople are called upon to increase sales and grow market share, and that responsibility weighs heavily on a salesperson’s shoulders. Therefore, it’s never enough for a salesperson to be happy with attaining their objectives. They must be made to feel as if they’re appreciated. Your management can do that by periodically congratulating them on an important sale, without having to be told it was closed. The surprise is impactful. It shows your interest in their performance. Next time they close a sale, walk into their office, shake their hand and congratulate them. It will make a difference.
4. Sales Manager Compensation Structure
A sales manager’s compensation should always be structured on the performance of their sales team. This could be done by attaining certain market share objectives, increased sales volumes objectives, or attaining a certain percentage on gross profit on sales for the entire team. Structuring the sales manager’s compensation around the sales team’s performance ensures that managers stay focused on results and not necessarily approaches. This will ensure that your sales managers manage their sales team’s success, and not necessarily their approaches, as we defined in our first strategy. An entrepreneurial spirit must be maintained when looking to close sales, and this third step helps make that a reality.
5. Find a Balance Between Base Salary and Commission
One of the biggest reasons your salespeople may push customers too hard for a customer’s decision is exactly because of how their compensation is structured. A low base salary and high commissions implies that your sales team must make a substantial amount of sales in order to earn a reasonable income. This strategy may have applications for industries where sales are infrequent, opportunities are limited, and customers returning for business unlikely. However, in a market where strong customer relationships are essential to your company’s long-term survival, and where managing inventory costs are something you believe falls under a salesperson’s core responsibilities, then finding a balanced compensation structure is essential.
Today’s salespeople must be able to do far more than just close a sale. They must understand the impact that inventory financing has on gross profit. They must be able to balance the requirements of the customer, with the needs of their company. A balanced compensation structure ensures this is more likely to happen. In addition, it provides the salesperson with a vote of confidence, one that tells them that not all sales are ones worth closing.
Getting more from your sales team doesn’t merely involve demanding more, or using the promise of a higher income through higher commission. Like any career professional, a salesperson needs something more. They need some assurance that the company values them beyond their ability to close anything with anybody. They shouldn’t be micromanaged, shouldn’t be held hostage by a low base salary, and their performance should never simply be measured by gross profit. In essence, getting the most from your B2B sales team often comes down to understanding the roles each individual salesperson plays. Again, some will be saddled with the responsibility of defending your company's position as the incumbent supplier. Letting them know you value their abilities will make a real difference. Getting the most from your salespeople often involves a vote of confidence. Be willing to provide that and they’ll return the favor.
To read about improving sales forecast accuracy, please go to: How Do I Improve Our Sales Forecast Accuracy?
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