Top 9 Ways to Improve Sales Performance

You know that when the quarterly or yearly numbers are in and the books are examined, the success of the company will fall on your shoulders as well as your team's. You want to please the higher-ups with sales performance, but with a constantly changing economic environment and a sales team made up of different personalities, it can be a challenge motivating them to produce.

How do you educate and inspire your team to improve their work performance to improve their sales?

Fortunately, there are 9 steps you can take today to help build up your team and unleash their inner rock stars.

1. Set Goals

Madonna once said, "The self-confidence one builds from achieving difficult things and accomplishing goals in the most beautiful thing of all."

Having goals is important in life and business because it gives us something to work towards and the ability to know when we are accomplishing what we are meant to do. Though it may seem contradictory, there is freedom in structure and your employees will appreciate knowing exactly what is expected of them.

Communicate Sales Goals

Do your team members know what their sales goals are or do you leave them reaching and striving for nothing? When you set clear goals and share them with each team member, your employees will be happier and more driven to produce.

Involve your team members in the goal-setting process as they'll be even more engaged when they have a say in what is expected of them.

Do you Have a BHAG?

Every team should have a BHAG - a big hairy audacious goal which represents the very best outcome for your organization. This doesn't mean that you can't have smaller more attainable goals along the way (and you should), however, little satisfaction comes from achieving a goal that you know is within reach. The true excitement, the true rock star feeling, comes from crushing something you had no idea if you could ever accomplish.

Your team might even surprise you with the BHAG they are willing to take on.

2. Celebrate Success... and Failure

"Don't be afraid of failure - embrace that too. Dare to fail. If you never fail, you've never taken risks, and that's no way to take on this life." - Richie Sambora, Bon Jovi

Chances are that you take the time to celebrate successes (if not, it's time to start!), but do you celebrate the failures? Do you take the time to recognize your employees for stepping out of their comfort zones and trying something new? You should. Even when they fail.

When you not only embrace failure but celebrate the courage required to strive for something bigger, you give your employees the permission and the encouragement they need to grow.

3. Utilize Sales Metrics

Management guru Peter Drucker once said, "You can't manage what you can't measure."

Incorporating the use of sales metrics into your business will help you to measure every aspect of your sales performance. This allows you to see what is and isn't working, and to adjust accordingly. It also gives members of your sales team a more concrete idea of how their performance measures up to others on the team, and to the goals.

4. Improve Your Sales Meetings

Most employees consider meetings to be a waste of their time. However, when run properly, sales meetings can offer valuable insight into the processes that are in place, the challenges that are arising, and the benchmarks that are (or are not) being met.

In order to make the most out of your meetings:

• Set a time limit for the meeting as a whole and for each member to give their report.
• Keep a positive atmosphere based on the opportunity to improve rather than disappointment with unmet expectations.
• Create an environment where employees feel safe sharing not only their wins but their difficulties as well.

5. Focus on the Customer

If your sales team believes that their goal is to sell a product, set them straight. Their primary goal should be to serve the client no matter what your company produces or provides. While it may seem counterintuitive, focusing on the customer instead of the numbers will actually improve the numbers.

You can shift your focus to the customer by:

• Understand their customer journey: Identify each touch point they'll encounter along the journey. This will give you insight into the challenges they may encounter along the way so you can adjust to create ease.
• Ask for feedback: If you don't learn what you are doing wrong, you can't improve.
• Learn about your customer: Instead of diving into what you can do for the customer, ask them what they need - and listen!

"Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jim Hendrix

6. Be Problem and Solution Focused

When your team members make a sales pitch, do they lead with the features of the product or service, or do they lead with the benefits?

Remember that you are in the business of solving problems. When you train your team to design their proposals, make sure that you focus on the pain points your product solves rather than the actual products. When your potential customer feels heard and understood, they are more likely to purchase.

7. Encourage Networking

Potential customers are not sitting outside your office just waiting to find out what you have to offer. They are, however, out in the community. Your sales team should be as well. Encourage your team members to visit networking events, attend conferences and trade shows and join organizations like your local Chamber of Commerce.

The more time they spend in the community and the more relationships they build, the higher the likelihood that they will meet potential clients and brand ambassadors.

8. Provide Regular Feedback and Encouragement

Sales team meetings are important, but they should never replace one-to-one feedback. If an employee only receives feedback during quarterly or even annual reviews, they won't have the guidance necessary to improve. Schedule weekly or bi-weekly meetings to discuss their goals, processes, challenges, and anything else that may influence their sales success. Much like the sales team meetings, these should be kept positive and focused on what they are doing right and how they can improve, rather than harping on what is being done incorrectly.

Marvelless Mark® tells his clients that you have the power to inspire, encourage, and unleash your team's inner rock star.

9. Motivation and Education

Does your team have the skills to implement your vision and reach that BHAG?

Often times, employees want to succeed and further the company's goal, they just haven't been given the tools to do so. A fully educated employee will have the confidence and the know-how to take the company to new heights. So how will you support them?

When you hire a motivational speaker or trainer to present to your team, they will introduce a new (outside) perspective to your employees, teach them actionable steps that they can implement the very next day, and provide the motivation your employees need to rock their sales. What would your bottom line look like if you had a fully prepared, inspired team of salespeople?

Improving work performance, increasing sales, and ultimately affecting the bottom line can be a challenge for any company. However, when you follow these 9 steps which include: setting goals, celebrating failure, and educating and motivating your team, you will bring out their inner rock stars and achieve your wildest dreams.

"Dream until your dreams come true." - Aerosmith

Mark Kamp® aka Marvelless Mark® works with organizations who want their teams to achieve immediate rock star results. A Keynote Speaker/Entertainer/Author, Husband, Father, and child of God, his primary message, "Opportunity Rocks®" gives attendees a fresh new perspective on Sales, Marketing, and Employee Performance. Fun and engaging, Mark combines the success secrets of your favorite rock stars with just the right amount of entertainment to transform your employees into business rockstars. Learn more at www.OpportunityRocks.net.