Conducting A Sales Orchestra
In any sales organization success is based on the whole. One virtuoso cannot carry the orchestra alone. The Sales Manager must play the part of the Conductor balancing the efforts of the average performers and the stars. A manager who provides skills upgrades through training and motivation will lead his orchestra to an award winning season. Here are six exercises for transforming your sales department into a virtuoso ensemble.
1. Acknowledge and celebrate progress. Sharing the results of hard work is very motivating, so share your weekly, monthly, quarterly progress towards your sales goals. Applaud your individual performances that contributed to the success of the ensemble. When the numbers don't hit the mark, share this information and brain-storm possible solutions.
2. Nurture success. Meeting sales goals is a group effort which requires leadership and direction. Support your orchestra by being available to help them solve problems, answer objections, and access training. Role-playing and practice sessions will greatly improve the overall performance of your sales orchestra.
3. Establish accountability for personal performance, as well as the performance of the whole. Inspire your salespersons best efforts by reminding them of their importance in the overall corporate plan. Review each salesperson's progress weekly to ensure that problems are identified early, and success is recognized and acknowledged.
4. Share the organization's objectives. Each salesperson needs individual goals, and needs to understand how these goals fit into the full-orchestra score. While establishing the section parts, make sure that each understands the entire symphony and his or her contribution to it.
5. Set individual goals. In order to improve and maintain productivity each salesperson must have a set of goals: weekly, monthly, quarterly targets. Lead each of your members to develop incremental targets and activity plans. Schedule sessions, one-on-one and/or group, to review their current accomplishments, improvement and address problem areas and questions.
6. Listen. Every good conductor is an expert at hearing the music clearly, establishing open communication between him- or her-self and the orchestra. When your salespersons communicate with you, listen carefully before responding. Careful, considerate listening on your part will make your orchestra more receptive to what you have to say.
Success will be yours when each member of the orchestra understands his/her worth and contributes 100 percent to the overall performance.
