Great sales leaders consider recruiting an activity that never ends. They are searching beyond their competitors, looking into other parallel industries, and befriending other sales professionals. They have a bench of salespeople they’ve gotten to know, so they are never caught off guard when they need to expand or when someone leaves the organization.
2. Create a positive culture.
Young workers want more than a job; among their various desires is to work in an environment that has a positive culture. This translates into an organization that encourages each other, stays focused on the important things when times are slow, and hires sales managers who lead people more than manage sales.
As Millennials and members of Generation Z make up a larger percentage of sales teams, this desire for a positive working environment has become a requirement. Sales managers who don’t make this switch to positive leadership will fail to motivate their teams and eventually lose them to other organizations. Those who do make the switch will understand the value that our younger generations bring and enable them to unleash their talents on the marketplace.
3. Implement a relevant and up-to-date sales training platform.
There was a time when I would agree that any sales training is better than none, but that’s no longer true. In today’s highly specialized, distracted world, sales training must be engaging, industry-specific, and up to date, considering modern-day buying practices and technology.
4. Work with salespeople on winning business.
About 15 years ago, CEB Inc., conducted a massive research project to determine the behaviors that make sales managers great. The most common behavior among great sales leaders was that they worked with salespeople on specific opportunities to help them win business. When sales managers get in the field and help win opportunities from the beginning to the close, not only do they have a higher probability of winning, but their salespeople learn different ways of developing ideas and communicating with customers…and a million other things. Get out there with your people, roll up your sleeves, and win some sales together.
5. Conduct regular one-on-one meetings.
If a salesperson is not coached and held accountable to desired behaviors, they will do whatever is necessary to satisfy the most urgent requests. One-on-one meetings enable sales managers to work specifically with each person on their team, build closer relationships with their people, and ensure that they are on the right track to success. Is it time-consuming? Yes. Can it be frustrating at times? Yes. Is it valuable to your success? Absolutely!
