How to develop a successful team at a Sales Workplace

How would you define the most successful sales team?

No “one size” will fit all the sales team and nor is one better than the other. Eventually, it boils down to some of the factors that will help you decide the best setup for your sales team:

‍Sales team sizing: As a leader of the sales team you should make sure that your team has an adequate amount of sales reps to understand and cover up all the target market set up with the inclusion of current customers and the new prospects.

‍Rate of Attrition: There can be a significant impact on the level of performance if the top sales performer leaves the organization. Keeping in mind the loss in the performance, it is very crucial to hire with ramp-up time in mind, so there are fewer chances of a slowdown across your team during the time of attrition.

‍Target Markets: Specific and realistic sales targets will help your sales team perform confidently, consistently and with a clear understanding of your expectations. Choosing the right type of targets — and involving your team in choosing these targets — can help you achieve your sales goals and grow your profits.

When considering sales leaders, it is crucial to prioritize the allocation of time, effort, and resources towards providing sufficient coaching and training. Ultimately, the aim of any manager or leader should be to achieve a proper equilibrium in the management process, with a focus on motivating the sales team.

‍Few tips to structure a successful sales team to help you establish a strong and successful sales team, here are a few tips that you need to know.

Right Data for right guidance

In the current fiercely competitive landscape, data is a crucial resource for any sales organization, enabling companies to obtain unparalleled insights into their business and industry, as well as meticulously analyze the performance of various roles and responsibilities in the sales team.

To truly be successful, you should also keep an eye on third-party data so that you can compare it with internal performance to know how markets are growing or the impact of different economic changes.

Constant check on Mid-level Performers

According to Insights, only 41 per cent of sales reps meet their sales quota while 92 per cent of companies hit their overall sales targets. So, it helps us understand the old saying which says that 80 percent of the company's revenue is the result of the hard work of approximately 20 percent of the sales team.

Therefore, it is of utmost importance that you motivate middle-level performers to improve the overall sales performance of the company.

The first and foremost thing that you should do as a leader is to identify the top, middle, and bottom level performers to ensure that you have the right resources available to provide appropriate coaching and sales onboarding. In fact, Knowledge Tree reports that the sales reps who receive a minimum of three hours of training in a month crossed their selling targets by 7 percent, and increased revenue by 25 percent.

Evaluate top-performing Employee Turnover

A higher employee turnover rate is one of the biggest challenges for sales teams as stated by Maestro, the cost to replace a rep is on average $155K between recruiting and onboarding a new rep in addition to potential lost deals. In this scenario sales, team management can often play an important role in turnover rates, which is also one of the reasons behind building the right sales team structure. For instance, managers who are overloaded with work will not be able to invest enough time in guiding the top performers.

When the communication between the managers and top reps fades, engagement and productivity suffer. Leaders who have a balanced team load will be able to assess their team’s morale, gauge the team’s motivation levels and plan for any turnover. Luckily, sales leaders can take the right advantage of sales data that can aid in monitoring sales reps.

Using Kennect, sales leaders can identify the performance of individual reps and also know when you need to modify or offer additional incentives through incentive compensation management to keep your team motivated. This will allow them to understand which sales reps are at risk for turnover, and in this way, they can take action faster to re-engage the rep or find the right solution for everyone.

Look at Overall Sales Structure

If good managers are not able to pull the desired numbers from their teams, their span of control may be out of control. Considering the above scenario, sometimes increasing the number of sales reps per manager might seem like a good idea but the truth is that it rarely makes financial sense and can potentially impact the effectiveness and productivity of different sales team roles. To conclude, as a sales manager, if you are willing to make your sales teams efficient and effective, then you will have to pay close attention to their size, structure, and the optimal distribution of responsibilities across various sales team roles.

You should use the sales data to understand the optimal capacity and the number of sales reps a manager can handle before distraction sets in. The best measure to track whether your sales organizational structure is working efficiently is knowing and tracking gross margins for each manager, with insights gleaned from effective sales leadership examples guiding the assessment and adjustment process. Lastly, it’s the data that will reveal how your bottom line is responding to your team structure so use that knowledge to adjust.

Wrapping up

By 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least five days a month. While 2020 may be considered the year of remote work, it is just the beginning as we see the trend continuing in 2021. This has triggered a complete transition in the way organizations are structuring their sales teams, how sales reps and managers are engaging in coaching and training, and the way they incentivize deals.

As the world is continuously transforming, innovative and strategic planning is a key for any business to survive.

At Kennect, our sole purpose is to keep your organization ahead of the curve and to be growing even in the face of uncertainty and disruption. This area is something we’ve been assisting our clients with through the pandemic and economic uncertainty.

To learn how you can use data to improve planning across your entire sales organization to increase revenue, reduce risk, and improve efficiencies, check out our complete guide on Sales Performance Management.

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