What does a salesperson, a producer, and a sales professional all have in common? They are all singular nouns. The perception of their universe is that it centers on the individual and in many of the top sales professionals featured in The 21 SECRETS OF MILLION DOLLAR SELLERS, nothing could be farther from the truth.

The idea of the “lone wolf” salesperson is common and many of those interviewed in the book fit this model at some point during their early careers, but as these alpha performers were developing their sales careers they started to learn something besides how to close a sale.  They learned how to develop a connected process, a set of pieces, that when constructed properly, would allow them more time to do what they do best – SELL.

 

 

Any sales organization has layers of needed actions that accompany a successful transaction. Everything from stacks of paperwork, data entry, key forms needing signatures and a variety of follow up needs construct the totality of a sales process. Sales need connected steps in order to make sure the final elements of a transaction take place. I’s need to be dotted, T’s need to be crossed, marketing materials need to be sent and key follow-up dates need to be set.  

For all of this to happen, especially in the complexity of relationship-driven sales, it is nice to have a team. In fact, nothing can help assure sales success like a team. Even though the craft often appears to be in the purview of individual superstars, it really is about a team effort.

 

 

According to a recent study in Forbes, a well-structured team can increase sales conversions by 5%-25% (that’s an interesting spread). They can create stronger client retention by formalizing contact points, assuring follow-ups and adding speed to responses. Teams allow for things to continue moving when the sales professional is out on calls. They free the key producer to produce.

 

Don’t Waste Good

Secret # 18 is about not wasting good, the idea of leveraging even the smallest of positive outcomes. Teams corral the idea of what they do well and keep it moving forward, the essence of sales momentum. Somewhere in your sales career you will be part of or lead a sales team. Think about this:

Common Goal

The best sales teams we saw all had a firm understanding of the big picture. They shared a goal and the goal was very specific. Everyone knew what the bullseye was and that target was directly tied into economic reward. When the team’s sales went well they all profited.  Successful sales revenue was shared among the team. Common should mean “shared by” in every aspect of the goal.

Tools

You can’t build a house with a tuna.  Hammer and nails are essential. A team’s performance is often directly related to the tools they use. Teams need communication structures and rules. They need tracking elements that allow them to know what part of the sales cycle every transaction is in. From CRM’s to Excel spreadsheets, a team’s success is enhanced when the tools meet not only the needs of the team but the needs of the client. That’s the successful tool filter; meet the needs of the team while simultaneously meeting the needs of the clients.

Players Needs

Sales professionals often get so wrapped up in their primal sales needs, the often quoted “we only eat what we kill” mentality, that they often forget the key needs of their teams and soon discover they are often left looking to replace key members for those who have just “had enough”. We heard this over and over so here is the formula to keep in mind. People leave jobs for two very clear and distinct reasons:

• • LACK OF VALUE:  They simply cannot find value in what they do.  They get trapped in the activities and lose sight of their worth in their job. In a sales team, it is the job of the producer to consistently let everyone know how valuable they are in making the team work. It might not seem all that important, but when you lose track of your people, you lose track of your goals!
  • GROWTH:  To some, a job is simply an occupation. It involves waking up, heading to the office and going home in a very repeatable cycle. That’s OK, but great team members want to know they have the ability to grow within the team. This can amount to additional responsibilities or new training opportunities. It can be a lot of things, but you will see a lot of behinds walking out the door if they don’t see the chance to get better.

 

Building the right team that runs on the grease of shared goals, the right tools, and a significant sales culture can be the difference between selling and building a true sales career.