Julian Haste, MD of Research Runner has years of sales experience and knows only too well the importance of keeping his sales team motivated from both sides of the fence from working in a sales team to owning Research Runner, a global sales consultancy.

Understanding the sales professional

Keeping a sales team happy comes from the top. An environment which radiates positivity and breeds competitiveness and motivation will generate productivity and success. That being said, sales professionals do a job that most of us wouldn’t dare do, so are usually very self-motivated individuals and are quite happy to work on their own.

Julian says it is important to understand your sales teams and their characteristics in order to know what makes them tick. Sales professionals are motivated by success and get a real sense of achievement, especially when a lead is perfect for a client or derived from an unexplored territory. The prevention of burnout is vital, a good sales professional will always want to be challenged, by occasionally throwing a challenge their way, a tricky client or new product or sending them out on a visit will generate a sense of pride and recognition. Julian compares it to having a pride of lions in one room, you need to make sure they have enough food to go after, making sure there are plenty of leads to chase and hunt for.

Team work

The natural competitiveness of sales professionals means that working in teams, generates a hunger for leads and to do better than other team members. Having your name at the top of the list on the target board definitely boosts confidence. This in-house competitiveness is a healthy relationship for sales teams and it doesn’t mean that individuals are out to get one another, in fact it’s the opposite, a good team will encourage other members. It is about getting the most out of top performers and developing the same passion and determination in junior sales professionals.

Involving your team

Julian firmly believes that involving his team in his business and that feeding his passion for the product to his team is key to motivating individuals. Including sales professionals in client meetings and visits ensures his team feel part of the business and that they become key influencers and decision makers within the company can only boost confidence.

Share the company’s mission statement with all employees. Sales individuals are fantastic at getting their point across and will have an insight as to whether the mission statement is true to what the company is offering, so it is important to discuss the mission statement during team meetings and to ensure its relevance is continued and achieved.

Giving access and raising awareness of the company’s marketing material is vital for the sales team, it allows them to have a backup, a topic for discussion with potential clients and can help generate traffic to the company website and other social media channels. It is always a good idea to share testimonials with all employees so that they can see where they have really made a difference and what their key strength are. It is especially good to share these during more difficult times.

Incentives and perks

There is a plethora of ways in which you can celebrate staffs achievements whether it is certificates, lunches, weekends away or top performer prizes, it’s not always about commission. Showing appreciation for hard work in other ways is just as effective. Julian says that allowing staff to leave early if targets are reached, or having the occasional team lunch can give a real boost. Half days on a Friday always go down well and give an early start to a well-earned weekend.

Target and achievement boards always help boost morale, it is a visual reminder of what is achieved and what areas need improvement, it can give top sales professionals a real sense of pride and less performing sales members a boost to do better. Celebrating a sale with a star, chant, song or meme is a fun way of highlighting individual achievements.

Continued professional development (CPD)

CPD is a framework used across many industries, including the NHS and education. It allows each employee to highlight their strengths, reflect on mistakes and achievements and enables them to have some insight as to which direction they want their career to go. This can be done in many ways, asking them to write it down or to discuss it during an appraisal interview. This allows the employer to understand the needs and struggles of its employees and to remedy any issues. It also allows both parties to discuss possible future training needed. It is always a good idea to keep sales teams techniques current and informative, sending them on training days can be a good team building exercise and also a good way of meeting like for like professionals. Cheaper methods of training come in the form of webinars, magazines and books, all of which are extremely accessible online.

Lead by example

Julian is a real believer in leading by example, working in sales for many years means that Julian is only too aware of the trials and tribulations sales professionals face every day. A true leader will always make sure he knows what his targets are and what his sales team face on a day to day basis, Julian does this by working as part of his sales team and generates and shares his own leads and recognises the importance of gaining respect from his employees as a member of the sales team. Keeping his finger on the pulse and knowing what his employees and clients want.

Lead generation

It is important to let sales professionals seal the deal, giving them the tools to prioritise and reach expected targets as they thrive on success. With many years sales experience and understanding the frustrations of the sales person, Julian created Research Runner as a means for companies to invest in quality, targeted lead generation in order to optimize and increase pipelines.

Research Runner offers guidance and advice for all sectors and sales teams that are looking to increase their pipelines and improve productivity. Please look at our website www.research-runner.com and contact us for a quote.

30/11/2017 –  Heidi Bryant