How to Build a Stellar Sales Team to Support Your Business Growth

An effective sales team can help drive business growth and increase profits. Hiring sales people isn't just critical at the start of your entrepreneurial journey. As your business grows, you'll constantly have to expand your team and find fresh talent. This guide explains how to build a thriving sales team to keep up with the growing demand.

Figure out your sales team needs

First, decide exactly who you need to complete your sales team. Do you want a senior or a more junior sales person? Is there a certain territory you want to expand into, making the location a factor? Should the individual have any specific experience, such as a background in a certain industry, like luxury goods? Define your needs first. Then start looking.

Write clear job postings

With your expectations clearly defined, it's time to write a job posting. Sandler Training recommends asking your existing sales team for input when creating job postings. They will have first-hand knowledge of exactly what skills, knowledge, and background will prove useful in the role.

Conduct thorough interviews

After you've posted your job ad, sift through the resumes that come in and choose three to five strong candidates. You can hold interviews with these individuals to narrow down your final choice. When interviewing salesperson candidates, ask about real-world challenges the person has faced. You want to go beyond the information you'd get from their resume.

Follow up on references

You may request references when vetting people for sales jobs. It's best practice to ask permission before actually reaching out to these individuals, so check with your candidates to be sure. When talking to references, verify basic applicant information, like how long they worked for the company and what their responsibilities were. Don't ask personal queries.

Onboard your new team members

Once you've selected your winning candidate, it's time to welcome them to the team! Set up a clear onboarding procedure. Having a standardized process in place can improve engagement and productivity, setting the stage for success. Meet with your new hire frequently in their first weeks to check-in.

Give salespeople the tools they need to thrive

Provide your new salesperson with essential information about your company, products, and key client portfolios. Before your new salesperson starts working with clients, make sure they have the tools they need to succeed. For example, expert product photos from a professional like Cinthia Spoon can help improve their odds of closing deals.

Set goals for your team

Setting goals can help you track your sales team's success and keep them motivated. In addition to setting individual goals for your new salesperson, communicate group goals to the whole team, like increasing monthly revenue by a set amount. A joint objective can help boost camaraderie and ensure your new hire is connecting with others.

Harness the power of incentives

Incentives are another way to keep sales teams motivated and boost growth, according to McKinsey. If you're going to set goals and use incentives, you need to have a process in place for tracking progress. An accounting tool can help measure business metrics like revenue. For example, QuickBooks offers financial insights, profitability projections, and automate workflows.

Make lead generation a team effort

As your new salesperson integrates wholly into the team, strengthen the collaboration by hosting joint brainstorming sessions for lead generation. In particular, it's wise to get your marketing and sales teams to sit down together. Marketing materials are usually the first point of contact with potential consumers, so salespeople can provide valuable insights.

Putting together a great sales team takes time and effort. Trust the above guide to help you through the process.

Article by Amy Collett from: http://bizwell.org/