Closing The Gap: How to improve Performance from Every Member of Your Sales Team

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In today’s competitive sales landscape, optimising the performance of your sales team is crucial for driving revenue growth.

However, many organisations struggle to bridge the gap between their average performers and their superstar sales people.

In this article, we will explore effective strategies and techniques to improve the performance of each member of your sales team. Whether you lead a large sales team or operate in a multi-corporate environment, our insights will help you unlock the full potential of your sales force.

Ignite Potential Through Implementing Sales Enablement Programmes

At Firestarter Business Solutions, we understand the world of corporate sales. Our years of experience have taught us that closing the gap between your average performers and your top sales people is the key to igniting your organisation’s sales performance. Sales enablement programmes are crucial for doing exactly this. By equipping your sales teams with the right resources, tools, processes and training to drive productivity improvements and growth, you can guarantee the future success of your business.

A sales enablement programme is a comprehensive approach that aims to address the unique needs of your sales team. By standardising your sales process across your team you are embedding a performance-driven sales culture that gets your sales people selling in the right way to drive growth and achieve your sales targets.

Addressing the Unique Challenges of Corporate Sales Teams

In the corporate sales world, sales and business development teams face different challenges that set them apart from sales functions we typically see in SMEs or startups. Understanding and addressing these challenges holistically is essential for optimising the effectiveness of your sales approach. Some common challenges large corporate sales teams face include:

Problem #1: Complex sales cycles

The nature of a corporate sales cycle can involve long and complex processes, with multiple decision-makers and stakeholders. Navigating through these intricate processes requires a deep understanding of the organisation’s structure to understand what needs to change in order to drive consistency and productivity. It starts by understanding and communicating the goals and needs of your business, which then cascades down throughout all your team members. You can then identify performance and culture gaps through P&L analysis, product strategy and more. This can lead to improved communication, efficient processes, and more engaged teams.

Problem #2: Lack of sales culture

A lack of sales culture can often be put down to a disjointed sales structure; in many cases a large corporate organisation that doesn’t have embedded long-term practices to optimise sales performance will often fall short of achieving its goals. By creating a culture of sales enablement and fostering a sales-led mindset, you can align your team’s efforts towards achieving common goals.

Problem #3: Performance isn’t consistent across dispersed teams

Teams that are multi-site and international tend to lack in consistent performance due to disparate management structures, systems, processes and resources. Applying change management principles such as aligning your leaders and engaging employees to the sales engine of your business will contribute to unifying teams across multiple channels, sites and continents, enabling them to be at their most effective.

Problem #4: Key Account Planning Restraints

Key account planning often presents its own set of distinct challenges; challenges that require strategic planning and accurate execution, often under high-pressure and in high-stakes environments. Corporate clients with their multi-faceted organisational structures require a deep understanding of how your service or product aligns with their objectives.

Common challenges include:

Longer Sales Cycles
Competitive Pressures
Risk Management
Communication and coordination

You can address such challenges through a comprehensive approach by merging in-depth market research, strategic planning, effective communication, and an understanding of your client’s needs. By addressing the challenges proactively, sales teams can not only manage key accounts effectively but also improve productivity across the wider team.

Embrace Sales Enablement in the Digital Age

In today’s digital age, sales enablement goes beyond conventional sales methods. It integrates cutting-edge technologies, data-driven insights, and strategic methodologies through the use of CRM systems and other integrated technologies. One of the biggest struggles for sales managers is getting their teams to harness the power of using a CRM system. Despite being around for years and proving their worth when it comes to improving sales performance, around 22% of sales people still don’t know what a CRM is.

In a large corporate sales team, the difference between an average salesperson and a superstar often comes down to the adoption of modern technologies. You may already have a CRM system setup but without consistent training and aligning its functionality to your business’s goals, you’re only going to be scratching the surface of its potential on a team wide scale.

A Standardised Sales Process for Maximum Team Performance

Having a standardised sales process is the key to improving performance in every member of your sales team. Your sales strategy should focus on active prospecting, lead qualification, nurturing techniques, and closing deals in a standardised approach. The below framework ensures a streamlined sales process…

Prospecting

The initial stage of the sales process sets the tone for the entire sales journey. Implementing a standard approach through your prospecting techniques ensures that the team efficiently targets the right audience, igniting the potential for building meaningful connections. This consistent approach helps to optimise resources and time, allowing each team member the opportunity to hit the ground running and increase overall team productivity.

Qualifying Stages

The qualifying stage is where your sales engine begins to gain momentum. By having a tight qualification process you can ensure that only the most promising leads progress through your sales funnel. By clearly defining with your team what constitutes as a qualified lead, the team can avoid wasting their efforts on prospects that are unlikely to convert, this saves time and allows focus on high-value opportunities. Some of your top performers may instantly recognise a qualified lead versus a low-level prospect but by having a standard and defined process, this helps to mitigate any misjudgement or oversight.

Nurturing Prospects

By delivering a clearly structured nurturing process within your organisation, you ensure that every sales person from top performers to inexperienced members can engage with leads effectively. Your most experienced team members can then mentor others, fostering a collaborative learning experience. In line nurturing strategies also help to manage client expectations, through personal interactions and time responses your team can enhance client satisfaction leading to boosts in your team’s morale.

Closing the Deal

Closing refers to what is often the final stage of your sales process, this is where your lead can address any final confirms before confirming the details. A standardised closing process, complete with clearly outlined terms, instils trust. Clients that perceive your team’s consistency and professionalism are more likely to commit to a deal. Delivering this process at such an important stage ensures successful deals leading to higher conversion rates.

Conclusion: Nurturing a Culture of Continuous Growth

Achieving greatness in corporate sales relies on harnessing every possible advantage. Just as David Brailsford’s concept of marginal gains propelled his Team Sky cycling team to glory, businesses can elevate their sales performance through meticulously crafted strategies. David explained it as “The one percent margin for improvement in everything you do.” Sales enablement programmes and standardised processes act as our version of “marginal gains.” They bring consistency, efficiency, and a shared vision to every team member. By aligning everyone with a unified strategy, businesses can achieve remarkable results.