A tip for managing successful sales teams

Make your team more productive

When I started my activity as leader of a sales team, my concern was to reach the monthly quotas assigned to me, in addition to:

Get an optimal distribution. Place POP material to generate demand and impulse sales. Mercantilize (help sell products to our customers). The objectives I had to achieve were very clear to me, as was my job description, at least I thought so.

But time showed me that that alone was not enough and I understood that I had to generate the commitment of my collaborators.

I just couldn't do the job, so I sensed that I had to rethink my driving style, I went from giving orders, to involving them and trying to reach a consensus on the needs of our team.

I was concerned so that they understood the importance of achieving the objectives both for the company and for each of them.

I managed to get each of the members of my team to distribute their own quota, guided by me so that it was as equitable as possible. Once this process was finished, I had 80% of the fee divided between the 20% of the most important clients on each payroll.

I asked them to start the process of locating the «assumed» quota, and I told them that «any difficulties you may have in its fulfillment, do not hesitate to consult me, since I was there to help you, just as you should help your clients to make our products, rotate quickly, display them preferentially and sell them at an adequate profitability.

This method worked, in most areas, with salespeople who had difficulty meeting the objective assumed, I went out with them to the field, what I learned on the street, outside the office, was fantastic. Visits to clients in the company of subordinates, salespeople, supervisors or sales managers taught me the best strategies, the most accurate tactics, my unwavering will, knowledge of the market and understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of my collaborators.

So if I had to give a sincere recommendation, I would say to a sales manager: "Don't screw on the couch." If you lead a team, take a tour of the factory, warehouses, management, or your customers.

Take an interest in your people, detect their strengths, congratulate them in public, know their weaknesses and analyze how you can help them by minimizing them, without a doubt you will achieve the success that you have long sought.