Creating A Motivated Sales Team tha Delivers the Sale.

Sales team is the one that matters because every organization no matter how complex lives by the age old simple mantra. Sales revenue has to be greater than the expenditure.

As such it’s always in the company’s best interests to hire, motivate and retain a sale team that will over deliver. It’s of no use to you to have warehouses full of merchandise or have the best services that cannot reach the clients.

How do you build and motivate sales team?

This is a question that goes on in every sales or marketing manager. An effective group can generate tremendous sales even for slow moving goods while a clumsy team might not even be able to fair well even with the fast moving goods.

Here are some strategies that you might adopt to get the very best;

a) Have your own sales team;You might be tempted to hire outside agents who represent products from different vendors. But an in-house sales team offers you direct control over your team, and lets you take an active role in planning and executing a sales strategy.

In addition, in-house salespeople work for you and only you — their primary goal is to sell your company's goods or services. Outside agents, by contrast, sell many products from various vendors, and have weaker ties to your firm.

b) Budget for the sales team costs.Ensure you have budgeted well and that the team will generate will be enough to cater for their expenses and associated costs.

c) Recruit the right people.Many people think they can sell ice cubes to Eskimos — but truly great salespeople are few and far between.

To find the crème de la crème, look for salespeople with these characteristics:

1. Highly motivated individuals

2. Eager to learn

3. Self-confident

4. Appreciative of a challenge

5. Persistent

6. Competitive

7. Able to cope with rejection

8. Great listening skills

9. Persuasive.

10. Physically and mentally energetic.

d) Set sales targets and goals.

Have your sales goals and target in place even before hiring and make sure you discuss the same with the sales team so that you can come up with a strategy.

e) Take your time to train them well.

Budget well for the training costs as well trained people will deliver better results. The more you train your salespeople, the better they'll be at answering customers' questions and making sales.

Your sales professionals should possess detailed knowledge of your products, the competitors' products, and the market in which those products are sold. They'll also need the training it takes to understand their customers' needs, practices, and concerns.

Hold regular training sessions, and encourage your team to attend outside training classes, as well as sales and industry-related seminars.

f) Motivate your team with a strong compensation system.

Design your company's compensation plan before you hire anyone. A commission-based approach usually works best, but it should include a base salary. That way, a salesperson is guaranteed a minimum income — which can help morale during slow times. You can find compensation standards by contacting your industry's trade association.

g) Make the most of nonfinancial motivators.

Employees like to be recognized for good work, and to feel that their supervisors listen to and act to solve problems. It's also important to make your employees feel as though they're part of a team.

And don't forget the power of benefits — paid holidays, or a good maternity leave package, or medical and dental benefits — can go a long way toward retaining the best people.

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