4 Things to Support Salespeople Succeed

“Sales is the lifeblood of any business. Nothing happens unless a sales is made. Everybody sells something. The purpose of business is to make and keep a customer.” You’ve heard this before? 

And yet, sales is viewed as taboo: unclean, embarrassing, sleazy and pushy. 

And a further paradox: sales people are usually the highest paid among all jobs. Why? Because businesses realise that to stay alive and thrive, we have to make sales. Business owners and CEO’s are prepared to pay and compensate for this. 

Businesses should position itself to support sales people to perform 

To achieve this, four things should be in place:

1. Do you have the right sales people? 
2. Do you have the right sales management and administration? 
3. Do you have the right sales training and ‘fire’ in your company?
4. Does management, production and administration teams know that their activities should support sales people? (not hinder, hamper or hijack the sales process)

1. The Right Sales People

Hiring sales people should be an important, concerted investment for your organization. Many organisations can spend more time buying a computer than they do hiring people, in general. Apart from looking at a CV for industry or product knowledge, or experience – sales people should have these key qualities: competitiveness, persistence, self reliance, energy and persistence. One way of doing this is to always use a good profiling assessment that helps managers make informed decision before hiring. 

2. The Right Sales Management and Administration

A leader once taught a group of us as salespeople: “You never make your best salesperson the sales manager”. At the time in my life, I was focused on being the best salesperson. Did I think that my sales manager wasn’t a great salesperson? Yes. He didn’t do what I did. He couldn’t or wouldn’t. Was he however incredibly supportive, dedicated, motivating and disciplined at his responsibility to oversee sales performance? Yes. 

Great sales managers guide, mentor, motivate and administration a well oiled team that measures and tracks results.

3. The Right Sales Training and ‘Fire’ in your Company

Does your salespeople have a sales toolkit? Have they mastered the selling process? Do they know the steps or stages in the selling process? Their sales gaps and training needs? Weekly meetings? Daily support? Open door policy to enable sales and customer satisfaction? 

4. Support Our Salespeople

In many companies, salespeople are viewed as outsiders, or different to conformity and norm. These may included:  “unstable for their income”, “granted more work flexibility and hours”, “less controlled”, “more privilege, compensation and reward” or “not working as hard as we do”. Let’s understand: the company would not exist, no growth would happen, no annual increase and no bonus pay would happen – if salespeople didn’t make sales. Salespeople do not want to feel that there goals are “hindered, hampered or hijacked” by other departments who do not appreciate or support their goals and targets. 

Life doesn’t always seem fair, but working within an organization requires us to be team players and to put the needs of organization first, above self.