December 26th, 2018

The True Cost of a Toxic Sales Culture

What is The True Cost of a Toxic Sales Culture?

Employees have to feel comfortable and secure at work, but the pressure of making profits and selling particular numbers each day can result in a toxic sales culture. As the leader or manager, you have influence and power, which means you could be the one creating that toxic environment. Your goal is to motivate your employees, but a tough-love attitude can quickly cross over to abusive. While some people believe that being unforgiving and tough is the best way to manage everyone, the truth is that each person on your team must be managed differently.

 

What enforces the rules with one person may not work with another. You can scream and yell with some people, and that’s the only way to get the point across, but with most people, politeness and compassion work much better. Read on to learn about the characteristics of a toxic sales culture and the affects it can have on an organization.

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September 10th, 2018

4 Successful Sales Strategies for the Fourth-Quarter Revenue Push

Stay Focused During The Fourth-Quarter Revenue Push

The fourth-quarter revenue push is always a worrisome thing for CEOs and owners of companies. You’ve only got a few more months to earn as much money as you can, which is why your salespeople have to be on their game. Of course, most people know that the fourth quarter might not be the best time to hire recruits, so it’s a good idea to keep your team happy, motivated and focused during this busy period. Here are 4 sales strategies to help your sales teams push through the fourth-quarter revenue rush!

Motivation is Key

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Your team has been working tirelessly for the whole year, and they may want to take a bit of time to slack, especially in the fourth quarter. While it’s a natural inclination, it’s your job or that of your manager to ensure that your sales reps stay motivated. Ensure that your sales leaders are effectively communicating with your sales teams. Inquire into any personal or professional issues that might affect their sales performance and provide support if needed.

 

Related Reading: Different Types of Motivation To Keep Yourself and Your Team Ambitious & Successful

 

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Utilize a Variety of Incentives to Motivate

You can choose many motivational tools to help, such as monetary bonuses, special trips, extra days for vacation, and more. These little pushes can ensure that your salespeople stay focused on the big picture and get you through the rush so that you earn more and make your end-of-year goals.

Related Reading: How to Create a Motivational Environment for Sales Success


Focus on Driving Revenue

You should also be talking to your teams and representatives to determine the best ways to ensure that they close existing deals. Do they need more targeted outbound calls? Do they need to create goals to get them through the next 30 to 90 days? Learning what skills are necessary and what details need to be focused on can ensure that they improve during that time.

Related Video: What is Professional Selling?


Plan Your Sales Strategies

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Regardless of the goal, your strategy includes two parts. You need to determine how you can affect the goal positively this minute and what steps you can take to accomplish the next step in the next week or so. If you continuously do this every week until the end of the year, you’re likely to see improvements, which can then be implemented for next year, as well.

The fourth quarter is the biggest sales quarter of the year. Sales teams must formulate strategies to ensure all sales operations are running smoothly and without hiccups. The fourth-quarter revenue push involves finding ways to beat burnout and motivating sales teams while scoring results.

Do you like what you just read? Visit our resource center and download any or all of our 17 Executive Sales White Papers to help improve your sales skills training and build a successful sales career.

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May 10th, 2017

Sales Leadership 3.0

Leaders in the sales industry are not born with some special genetic makeup or a particular set of skills. Rather, leaders in sales are the same as leaders in any other industry and have developed their skills in this specific area of professional growth.

Leadership means having more than just an idea of what is necessary. It involves being able to create a specific target and then motivate the sales team to achieve that target. To achieve this goal, the sales manager has to have a drive for success, have an ability to prioritize and also have the self-discipline to manage their goals effectively.

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The Communication Factor

Just having these attributes isn’t all that is required. The additional factor that turns great salespeople into top sales leader is the ability to communicate that vision in terms that are inspirational, motivational and crystal clear to the team.

Everyone has worked with a top sales professional that made a terrible manager. Not only were they unable to communicate their goals and their action plans, but they may have lacked the ability to connect on a relationship level with their team. Connecting well with your team and clients will create more open doors for you in the long run. Communication and relationship building are two of the next-level sales leadership skills developed by top leaders.

Intuition Balanced with Process

process-graphicAnyone who is effective at sales is effective in the sales process. This may not be identical to the steps used in the CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system used by the company, but it is consistent and within company policy. A top sales leader is able to work with the sales process in a way that is consistent, predictable and proven to boost sales.

With this in mind, a top sales leader is also intuitive in understanding where sales team members are struggling and how to provide support. Implementing mentorship and coaching programs and providing support to each team member on an individual and group basis is another task that great sales leaders get done.

Related Article: Top Qualities of Top Sales Earners

The Sales Coaching Institute provides group training and one-on-one coaching for those involved in sales leadership roles. To find out more, visit the website – SalesCoach.us.