Leading Sales Teams
As products and services become more complex, the team selling approach becomes more popular. One advantage to team selling is efficiency: as the team salesperson, you can leverage the technical expertise of your team. And it’s effective: team members speak to their peers or counterparts within the customer organization.
In the team selling approach, the salesperson is the quarterback; assigning appropriate team members to carry the ball and interact with the prospect. Often these team members are not normally in the sales role.
Team selling also brings along issues that are as much management as they are selling; and usually a sales executive has little experience in managing. In addition, team members are not usually direct reports. When involved in team selling, you have an opportunity to use your leadership skills.
Take A Leadership Role
As the account executive, you are the point person. You set the tone for the success of the project. Start by developing a clear sales plan. Think through your strategy, and lay out a recommended course of action. Make sure all team members know exactly what is expected of them.
Manage the timing. Provide expected dates of completion for each part of the project. Chart your sales strategy on a time line to show how the actions of different team members will impact the sale.
The Kickoff Meeting
Start with a powerful team meeting to generate enthusiasm. Get people comfortable with each other. Coach team members on what needs to be done. Remember, many may not be comfortable in the sales role. Make group decisions, so the team takes ownership for the project.
Use Team Building Activities
Because the sale may take months to come together, the initial enthusiasm may wear off. Refresh team spirit. Look for opportunities to celebrate together, such as when milestones are achieved.
Your team may lose energy because your sales plan is flawed, or there is conflict among team members, or you are encountering difficult customers. Try these techniques to rebuild energy:
- Brainstorming – pull the team together to analyze the problem and brainstorm possible solutions.
- Task Forcing – Assign two individuals to investigate the problem and recommend a solution.
- Conflict Resolution – address individuals on a one-on-one basis. Focus only on behaviors and how this affects the team’s performance.
Use Reporting Systems
Develop a system for team members to check in as they complete their action items. If your team is relatively new to this kind of work, expect high levels of reporting in order to keep tabs on the project. If the team is more experienced; you may consider exception reporting, where team members need only report in if there are variances to the sales plan.
The Customer Interaction
Finally, we get to where the rubber meets the road. Here team members interact with the customer. More often than not, you are not there to observe this. That is why you have taken all the previous steps; laid out a plan, coached your team members, and developed enthusiasm for the project. At this point you need to just let go. The more you trust team members and have high expectations of them, the more likely they will deliver for you.
