7 Ways to Help Your Legacy Sales Team

It is the classic application of the quote “what got you here will not get you there”.  Having worked with numerous companies and sales teams over the past years, I have found some common roadblocks that senior sales teams and senior sales organizations share.   These roadblocks can hinder performance and production of your sales team and hence impact your top line sales and even their own W-2’s at the end of the year.   In today’s environment of ever increasing sales budgets, customer vendor consolidation, professional purchasing functions, and decisions made by centers of influence rather than one person, you might want to consider providing some of the following solutions and resources to your teams.

Technology

Get your team out in the field.  Sales teams that are only equipped with a desktop computer where access to the server and software programs must be done on company property are very limited.  Many sales teams belong talking to their customers and qualified new prospects and the best time to update CRM Data, order information, and customer information is from the field when the information is fresh.  Laptops, tablets, smart phones, and data plans will unleash your team from the office and give them more time to be talking with customers and qualified prospects about their business.

Software

Ditch the paperwork.  There are numerous free smart phone applications and free cloud based software programs that can keep your sales team focused and productive.  From CRM systems like ZOHO, project management software like Asana and Evernote, mind mapping software like X-Mind, video conferencing software like Skype and Google Hangouts, conference call ability from Free Conference Call, business card scanners, Free PDF Printer, expense tracking apps such as Falcon Expense, and even calendar and email syncing with outlook accounts to smart phones.  Your sales teams can stay connected and on task.

Social Selling tools & Skills

It is who you know and what you know about them. If your sales team is not investigating their customers and targeted prospects through Google, Reference USA, Jigsaw (Data.com), Hoovers, LinkedIn, and the various social media channels that those companies and prospects participate in, then you are missing a huge opportunity for some great conversations.  Are they in the news?  Have they won any awards? Are they growing?  What is their company culture like?  What causes do they have? Who are their key stakeholders?  What are they saying about their business and their customers?  Who do you know that can help give you a referral?  There is a lot of information out there that can help you identify where you can add value to their business.  These are all free tools and it usually only takes a mouse pad and one finger to navigate through it.  Who doesn’t have at least one finger?

Marketing Messages

It is not about you anymore. It no longer matters that you are a 100 year old company and have been in sales for 35 years.  It is all about how you are going to increase your customers’ revenue, efficiencies, and profits by adding value to their owners, employees, and customers.  Your marketing message needs to be customer centric, aligned on your target market, and be able to drive actions based on the value you deliver and your sales team needs to be able to communicate that same message.  What is your “Why”? Why would a company choose you if all other things are equal?  What can companies expect when doing business with you?  The days of showing up and throwing up about you and your services are over.  You need to make it about them and change the conversations!

Generational Differences

Not all of us are wired the same.  If you think that conversations between baby boomers and millennials are interesting in the work environment, just wait until generation Z enters the workforce.  Now picture those conversations in a sales situation.  Not all of us have the same experiences, were raised in the same way, have the same beliefs and values, or are motivated by the same things. Not all of us communicate or hear the same way.  Not all of us deal with conflict or can lead as well as others and we definitely do not all make purchases the same way.  Who is the person you are talking to across the table and what have you done to understand them?  Personality profiles such as DISC and Culture Index help your team understand their own selling style so they can adapt to their customers and prospects buying styles.

Integrated Sales & Marketing Plans

If you don’t know where you are going, any road will get you there.  What is the sales goal for the year? What are the sales goals for the individual team members?  What % of sales is going to come from existing business? What % of sales can be grown by selling more to existing customers?  What % of sales needs to come from new customers? How are we going to reach new prospects and make them customers? Minimally, having a sales plan with goals and leading indicator metrics like # of presentations, # of quotes, # of leads contacted, and # of new opportunities found will help drive some focus.  Now imagine breaking that plan down to the individual sales team member and even to the individual account level.  Giving your team a road map that is aligned with company goals will drive the right proactive activity and even accountability that is much needed.

Compensation Structures

Comfort breeds complacency.  The desire and passion to grow sales or change habits when a sales rep is guaranteed to make over 6 figures in salary is minimal.  It is just human nature.  Unless you are rewarding results as well as rewarding the right activities that will lead to the results, your sales will remain flat and your margins will continue to slip unless you add new products or raise prices.  Current customers will keep the lights on but new customers will make you profitable so what are you doing to reward your teams for acquiring new customers and completing the activity that will get them in a position to meet them?  If you pay a high salary, then require certain level of activities.  If new customers and new product placements are a priority, then pay a higher commission on those results versus repeat sales that can almost be automated.

Many organizations and professionals must commit to continuing education to stay current with best practices, keep their licenses, and stay on top of their game.  What is the last book your sales team read?  What is the last time your sales team changed a habit?  What is the last time you invested in training for them?  When was the last time you invested in new technologies? What could your performance, production, top line revenue, and your teams W-2’s look like if you provided these solutions and resources to your legacy sales team?

Feel free to check out the other 13 free sales tools to help build your business, check out our sales manager checklist to help identify additional opportunities to help your team, or contact me to receive additional ideas and best practices.