8 years ago
April 13, 2016

5 Problems With Your Current Sales Team

Here are five possible problems with your current sales team and how you can address each one.

Rhys Metler

If your company relies on the effectiveness of your sales team, you need to ensure everyone on your team is pulling their weight. If your salespeople aren’t delivering desirable results, here are five possible problems with your current sales team and how you can address each one.

1. Your sales team is using ineffective sales tactics.

Are your salespeople using outdated sales tactics? Perhaps it’s time to update your sales approach. Stop wasting time making cold calls. All you’re doing is interrupting and annoying potential buyers.

Instead, implement inbound marketing to increase sales. The internet is changing the way we buy. Inbound marketing is all about driving the right people to your website with quality content so salespeople can then connect with prospects who are already interested in the product/service. This will shorten the sales cycle.

Introduce your salespeople to social selling. Social selling is all about making connections, building relationships, and generating sales leads using social media.

2. Your sales team needs ongoing sales training and coaching.

Maybe you thought it would be a good idea to hire young, inexperienced recent graduates, hoping they would be naturally driven to succeed and offer new, unique perspectives on selling. Perhaps your hiring decisions are based on solid sales experience and you’ve put together a team of seasoned sales experts. Regardless of your team’s experience, you need to continue to develop sales talent.

You need to provide ongoing training to even your most experienced sales professionals. Work with sales reps individually to address issues and concerns, overcome problems, build strengths, and provide opportunities for development. Go on sales calls with them to see them in action and provide useful feedback. Be an effective leader they can depend on. Let your team know you’re available and you support them. Build confidence and expertise.

3. Your sales team is unmotivated.

Over time, many sales reps can become unmotivated. Perhaps your team as a whole lacks direction.

Increase motivation and productivity. Show appreciation and recognition to successful salespeople. Providing incentives will encourage those who are doing well to continue working hard and will motivate those who have lost their drive. Always keep good sales records. You should track progress as well as results. Work with your sales team to set sales targets.

4. Your sales team doesn’t have the sales tools they need to succeed.

Are miscommunication and a lack of sales tools standing in the way of your sales team’s success?

In addition to ongoing sales training and coaching, you need to make sure your sales team is always equipped with the sales tools they need to succeed. Your company website should be visually appealing, presentable, functional, and useful. Your marketing team should work closely with your sales team and should provide sales reps with sales and marketing materials. If your sales team doesn’t have the resources needed to sell your products/services, how can you expect them to succeed?

5. Your sales team is stressed out.

Sales can be stressful work. If a sales rep is experiencing difficulties, he/she should feel comfortable turning to the sales manager for support.

You need to work closely with your sales team to ensure they have the support they need to succeed. Discuss problems and find solutions together. Do what you can to minimize stress levels among employees. Encourage sales reps to work with one another as well.

Help Your Sales Team Succeed

If your sales team is experiencing any of these five problems, do what you can to address these issues. Introduce updated sales tactics that will yield better results. Provide ongoing sales coaching to continually develop your team’s talent. Keep your salespeople motivated by recognizing and rewarding achievements and successes. Make sure your sales team always has the sales tools they need to do their jobs effectively and do what you can to minimize stress. Improve your sales team to improve your sales.

Rhys Metler

Rhys is a tenacious, top performing Senior Sales Recruiter with 15+ years of focused experience in the Digital Media, Mobile, Software, Technology and B2B verticals. He has a successful track record of headhunting top performing sales candidates for some of the most exciting brands in North America. He is a Certified Recruitment Specialist (CRS) and has expert experience in prospecting new business, client retention/renewals and managing top performing sales and recruitment teams. Rhys enjoys spending quality time with his wife, son, and daughters, BBQing on a hot summer day and tropical vacations.

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