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When you’re in charge of a dynamic sales team and have a dozen projects on the go at once, it’s harder to notice which unproductive behaviors are sliding past your radar.
Even the strongest salespeople have an Achilles heel or inherent weak spot in their sales personality.
For certain employees it’s prospecting new clients, for others it’s closing deals; it could be something as small as coming off too aggressive when under pressure, which begs the question of how best to manage employees when they’re faced with these situations?
How does one help divert the focus of distracted employees back to the hunt? Read on below for some strategies.
When Tracking Progress, Stay Results-Oriented
There are only eight hours in a workday, so it’s important for a salesforce to make the most of this time and spend it on the projects that are going to provide the company with the highest possible return. It’s not about how many hours one banks while at work, it’s about what one achieves.
An employee who remains results-oriented can make a grand sale working strategically for just two hours. The targets they hit in that time can rival another co-worker’s entire day’s efforts, especially if they come into work with a clear plan.
Preparation Counts
As a manager, it’s up to you to prep your team adequately; there should be no question about which types of calls they should be giving their energy to.
If an employee isn’t focusing on revenue-building initiatives, they’re more likely to bring their team down, but if they’re not made aware of which activities should be made priority throughout the work week, you cannot expect them to succeed.
Assess Performance Potential With A Sales Personality Test
How do you know you’re providing each team member with work best suited to their skill set or their sales personality? Do you go with your gut?
What if someone holds potential you aren’t aware of and could accomplish a task faster than you think?
Sales personality tests available through providers like SalesTestOnline are designed to cut to the core of a salesperson’s capabilities in ways you might not be able to — and give you insight into what kind of work they might find more challenging and rewarding.
These tests also help you evaluate current employees and determine if they are still in the position best suited to their strengths.
When you use personality tests with current employees you address both the potential for growth and the potential for problems down the line — which allows you to better position those employees to maximize their sales abilities.
In order to maximize the output of a salesforce, a few things must happen – every member must be strategizing their time, knowing exactly where to invest their energy, and knowing where they can make improvements.
Part of keeping employees on track means knowing exactly what each individual struggles with, and it also means working to address these concerns before it’s time for them to take on a new task.
It’s important to know for example, that an employee who isn’t making the ask fast enough might suffer from a low level of assertiveness. Being a good manager means addressing questionable tendencies and taking a moment to test where they might be stemming from.