We all know that the success of any business is dependent on sales. It’s no wonder that many small businesses get sales consultants to help them with how they organize, strategize, and conduct their sales activities.
Maybe you aren’t ready to hire a consultant or looking to try and learn how to improve your business on your own. If that’s you, then keep reading. We’ve created a quick and easy sales management guide to help you improve your sales team and grow your sales.
What is sales management for small businesses?
Before we get into different sales management techniques, it’s important that you have a firm grasp on what sales management is. Sales management is an all-encompassing term that includes the process of hiring, training, and managing sales teams.
This may seem like a broad concept that can take weeks to learn, but sales management can be broken down into three main parts:
- Operations
- Strategy
- Analysis
Operations involves the hiring, onboarding, and training of your sales team. Gathering a competent team and training them about your company and its products or services is the first step of effective sales management.
When your team is in place, the next thing to determine is your strategy. The selling strategy you employ is often referred to as your ‘sales pipeline’. It’s a visual representation of the different phases of your sales process; from prospecting to closing, it includes a breakdown of what will happen in each phase.
The last part is analysis. It’s important to review what happens throughout your whole pipeline so you can determine what you can optimize to help make sales more efficient and effective.
Sales management techniques
Learning what sales management is about will only take a few minutes, but doing it effectively takes time and cooperation among the whole team. Here are 4 tips to help refine your sales management for effective sales.
Coach the team and never stop training
It’s easy for sales managers to forget this. Once a sales rep has been onboarded and given their assignment, many forget to keep on coaching and improving how their teams perform. Working one-on-one with sales reps can really help them improve their performance.
When coaching, determine weak points in your team or in individual members and then apply the right tool to help. For example, someone struggling with the sales pitch can benefit from some role playing to help them practice.
Shadow sales reps
Like coaching, it’s important as well to shadow your sales rep, going with them to customers meetings or quietly listening in on sales calls. Through this, you can identify warning signs of a struggling rep, allowing you to address their weak points.
Before you start shadowing, you need to determine your objectives in advance. Are you there to evaluate their performance or are you gathering best practices from a top rep? Also make sure the rep still feels at ease and don’t micromanage.
Target the right buyers / Constantly reevaluate your sales pipeline
Not every lead will be a perfect fit to buy your company’s product. Some may not have the requisite budget while others just aren’t a great fit for the company’s offerings.
Ensure that your reps aren’t wasting time pursuing prospects with a low chance of conversion. Use a buyer persona and perform online research to make sure you’re targeting the right people.
Take this time as well to evaluate you sales pipeline. Your pipeline and strategy should be fluid and constantly adapting to ensure you’re not wasting time or resources on the wrong people or efforts.
Leverage CRM software
Software can be a huge help in managing your sales team and monitoring the different conversations and sales your team is handling. Invest time in finding the right tool that fits how your team works.
With the right tools, your team can have an easier time managing their sales and keeping an eye on all moving parts. Some CRM software will also help you gather data and perform sales analytics – giving you more insight on how your team can further improve.
Perfect sales management with Shawn Tiberio
Doing your own research and learning is already a great start to improving your sales and business. However, you can always do better and gain even more insight from the added perspective of a sales or marketing consultant for small business. Contact Shaw Tiberio today and benefit from years of experience in helping build businesses that succeed.
