Creating a Sales Culture
We’ve been working for a number of customers on building a sales culture and here is what we’ve found.
There are number of areas that make and break a sales culture. Here are our top 10 activities to make a sales culture:
1. You need to create BELIEVERS.
AND your customers must be front and centre of all the work you do. Your team must believe that in providing the customer with the products they need creates more customer satisfaction. Sales has been given a bad name over many years, but the truth is if you sell the right product to the right (qualified) customer you will have more satisfied customers.
2. You and your team need to know what SUCCESS looks like.
You need clarity around your goals so the team has a vision of what they need to achieve to be successful in their job. You should set milestones along the way to make sure you learn to win and succeed. Goals and targets all feed off this key area within your business.
3. Create a POSITIVE environment where people get lots of P,R,A (Praise, Recognition & Acknowledgement).
Workplace optimism isn’t making sense of the workplace through rose-coloured glasses, its intentional actions people take to influence the culture showing staff that doing good work is possible and appreciated. Remember to have FUN. Having fun in the workplace creates energy and all sorts of wonderful endorphins; just make sure it’s productive and focused!
4. Provide lots of ongoing FEEDBACK and COACHING.
They say that feedback is the breakfast of champions, so make sure your team get their feedback every day. People need to know what they’re going well and areas they can improve on and are coached on how to improve. Provide feedback in the moment and frequently.
5. MEASURE what Matters (and know what matters!)
Create a data-driven mind-set in your business. Remember the saying: "What Gets Measured Gets Done?" .... Well it’s true. Plus you need to do more than that, you need to look beyond the numbers; it's not enough to know what results happened, but why they happened.. It's not just about the bottom line revenue number, but measuring the steps along the way that get us there.
6. MEET regularly.
Meetings now have a bad rap – however they are so important to create clarity in all of the areas of your business. Reflection should be less than 10% of any meeting. Meetings should be future focused, activity focused and skill focused. They’re also a great way to build camaraderie and spirit.
7. Master a SALES PROCESS.
Have you defined the sales process in your business? Do the wider team know the sales process and the part they may play in ensuring the success? You need to master your process while constantly understanding your market and changes that could influence this process, whether it is technology, metrics, collateral or other tools.
8. TRAIN. (One word says it all)
Knowledge, attitude, skills and good habits don’t happen by chance. Make sure you and your team train regularly and remember to practice your sales process and core soft skills ruthlessly to ensure permanence. Training should also include leadership training and team work training in an effective sales business. Training is a journey not a destination so you need to make sure this is a focus for continual performance within your sales culture.
9. CELEBRATE AMAP (as much as possible).
Many may say this could sit in creating a positive environment; however it’s so important it needs its own heading. Winning teams keep winning so make sure the team knows when it’s winning and celebrating allows you to remind people of the milestones along the way.
10. Keep AGILE.
To lead a modern sales organisation, you need to be quick on your feet in a fast-changing sales environment. Discourage stubborn thinking or that cringe-worthy explanation: "Because that's how it's always been done." Great sales organisations are able to take a look at data, analyse it, and react quickly.
If you’re interested to see how we can help you improve your sales culture email us today.
