Effective sales managers understand how to get the most out of their sales reps. As they say, you are only as good as your team, and if you want to have a top performing sales team, then you need to understand how to get the best out of each individual rep.

Here’s how:

1. Invest in your reps

If you want to get the best out of your sales team, then you need to invest in them. You need to provide them with proper training and onboarding when they are hired and continue to invest in them through training, coaching and career development opportunities.

2. Coach underperforming reps 

It’s important to take time to work with reps who are not performing up to par. “If you have an underperforming rep on your team, you should take the time to speak with the person to figure out where things are going wrong. Sometimes a valuable coaching session might be all that is needed to accelerate sales,” says Cobhan Philipson on Docurated.

3. Don’t forget about your top reps

Addressing issues with poor performing reps is important, but not at the expense of your top performers. While it’s natural to help team members who are struggling, you still need to invest time into your top reps to ensure they stay top performers.

4. Use reps to the best of their abilities

All sales reps have areas where they excel, so put them in a position to succeed and get the most out of their talents. “Highly skilled, successful sales pros should be spending as much of their work hours selling. Not cold prospecting, not otherwise prospecting, not stuffing envelopes, not filling out forms. Selling,” says Dan S. Kennedy on Entrepreneur.

5. Understand each rep on a personal level

You can’t treat your sales reps as a collective unit. While they may be on the same team and be working toward a collective goal, each sales rep is uniquely different, and if you want to get the best out of a sales rep, you need to connect with them on an individual level to understand their motivations, strengths, weaknesses, and career goals. This information will help you get to know them on a deeper level and understand how to get the most out of them.

More Sales Rep Management Tips

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6 Interviewer Techniques to Find Your Next Sales Star

7 Crucial Skills All Sales Reps Should Master

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