Do You Have a Well-Rounded Sales Team?

Do you have a well-rounded sales team?

I was chatting with a company last week. They have 3 full-time salespeople on their payroll, yet their revenue in the past 6 years has gone from 79 million to 38 million. I asked them, “How many new deals have your sales team closed in the last 6 years?” The answer? Zero.

This is a classic example of a small business, who relies on its salespeople to wear multiple hats. What were their salespeople doing if they weren’t bringing in new leads? Account management.

Hunters vs. Farmers

There are two sides to sales: revenue protection and revenue acquisition. Companies need to invest in both to survive. Most salespeople will end up doing both; they have to hunt for new deals and they have to farm existing ones. When this happens, something inevitable always takes a back seat--hunting. It’s no surprise, given the chance to go where you are known vs. unknown most would choose the former.

If you took a survey of your salespeople on the tasks that take up the majority of their time, my guess is most would say: managing existing accounts, administrative work, internal meetings, proposals, etc. Some might even convince you they don’t have time to hunt for new business.

So, what do you do?

First, you need a leader. Then, you need a plan. It’s incorrect to assume that hiring more salespeople will equate to more revenue. The leader must understand the differing dynamics of the sales team and how to balance their strengths and weaknesses. They also must understand what types of sales roles, and in what quantity, are needed for your business to profit.

The responsibilities of each sales role and how success will be measured, should be well thought out and documented. Great sales teams are not necessarily defined by having the best salespeople. They have depth, balance, and cohesion. The highest performing teams tend to include a wide range of skills that together, becomes a well-rounded unit that checks every box.

But that’s just the beginning.

Now that you have your allstar sales team, the work doesn't end there. you still need a business development plan that markets you to a large audience of potential buyers on a regular cadence. You need actionable sales data and marketing intel that propel your sales growth even further.

The job of sales is never complete, but with the right team and the right plan in place, company growth does not have to be difficult. In fact, it can be fun. The Sales Group helps organizations hire smarter and develop a sales system we call R.A.M.P (Revenue Acquisition Management Process.) We provide our clients across North America with actionable sales data that is proven to help drive revenue. Feel free to reach out to me anytime at Donna.Gliha@salesgroup-global.com

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Happy Selling!