In a market dominated by big data analytics and targeted advertisements that seem to know more about consumer’s habits than they do, it can be challenging for managers and business owners to try and develop their own sales teams. Creating and maintaining an effective team capable of bringing in more business isn’t impossible, however, and can in fact be more useful than relying on more of the same old digital advertising techniques.
So what separates a good sales team from a great one, and how can managers go about picking the best talent for their businesses? A brief overview of what makes a sales team successful is all a savvy manager needs to start building his dream team.
Be ambitious, but reasonable
Every business operations needs a healthy dose of ambition; possessing a strong vision is often what drove many of today’s international business behemoths to the top of the food chain. Nonetheless, managers should know more than anyone else that businesses need to be practical, as well, and not get ahead of themselves when trying to organize a sales team.
First things first, managers should learn what works and what doesn’t. Looking at the success of other businesses is a great way to ignite ambition in your own team, but be sure to keep your feet on the ground, too; Rome wasn’t built in a day, and your company won’t shoot up to the top of the stock market instantly. Cultivating your human capital and developing an efficient sales system will take time, but ultimately be worth it.
A massive part of the success of any sales team is driven by the structural support your team can rely on. Today’s top sales teams have about half of their team devoted to support roles, for instance. Your company must, through trial and error, find the right support-to-sales ratio if it wants to achieve much in the long-term. Bigger sales departments don’t always equal more success, either; rather than expanding your team tenfold, consider investing more in a smaller number of employees instead, and train the few better than you would the many.
No business in the 21st century can survive on its own by relying on only human employees, either. When it comes to building your sales team from the ground up, you need to remember to include the vital digital tools that will help you in your mission, too.
Don’t fear tech; exploit it
Of course, while human elements are always the most important part of any business, it doesn’t hurt to get a helping hand from our digital assistants, either. Incorporating analytics into your sales team is a fantastic way to ensure that opportunities which pass by unnoticed by humans are picked up by clever algorithms. Furthermore, a strong digital supplement to any sales operation can be incredibly useful when identifying underlining trends and potential new customers.
Managers and their employees aren’t foolish to be hesitant when it comes to fully embracing tech; countless stories of automated job loss still haunt business all around the nation including at SCR888. Yet it would be foolish to allow your competitors to outfit their sales teams with the latest gear and techniques without arming yourself with the latest business and advertising weapons, too.
In today’s digital-driven economy, it can be easy for human employees to simply be overwhelmed by the amount of information in front of them. Employing data-crunching algorithms into your sales team is a great way to not only cut back on cost, but to better enable your human capital to achieve their goals by amplifying their work efforts through technology.
Not sure where to begin employee training in the digital age? Don’t worry, there’s plenty of resources out there for managers and business leaders who want to retrofit their sales teams with modern business practices and knowledge. E-learning is growing increasingly popular in the business world because, while its relatively cheap, it outfits employees with the skills necessary to make it in an increasingly digital world.
By tapping into big data to better understand the world around you and by investing heavily in your human capital, your business can benefit massively when it first develops or expands upon its sales team. Consistent training sessions coupled with modern innovations like data-crunching algorithms can go a long way in separating your sales team from the rest of the riffraff.
Of course, no sales team would be complete without its fair share of success stories; promoting eager employees and detailing how they achieved success isn’t just aspirational to younger employees, but will raise your entire teams morale. When it comes to building your sales team, don’t be afraid to embrace the future, and certainly don’t shy away from building those vital human relationships which make your team a cut above the rest.
