Team Building Tips For Sales Managers
Team Building Tips For Sales Managers
Team Building Tips For Sales Managers
A sales manager has to be a leader, a manager and a coach. One of the best ways of achieving all that is by building a great team spirit.
A favourite exercise of mine at a first meeting of a new sales team is to get them to perform an activity alone, as small groups and then as a team. Without fail, the more people there are involved in the activity, the better the results.
The example I use is a simple newspaper crossword puzzle. Photocopy it enough times to go round, and then give them five minutes to do as much as they can. Then form them into small groups, and give them another three minutes. Then allow the whole group to work on the puzzle, and give them another three minutes. Almost without exception the groups will achieve more than the individuals.
How do you get your people to work as a team?
So if groups are good, how do you get your sales team to work together as a team? This is a question that many sales managers are asking. The bottom line for sales managers is getting the results needed, and if employees would work as a team instead of as individuals, getting the results will be much easier.
Be a coach and a manager
One of the most effective ways to do this is to create a working environment where your employees see themselves as part of a team and you as their sales manager as the coach of the team. To give this a bit more bite, I've always found it helpful to get a competitive spirit going along the lines of we're the 'A' team and the rest are at best 'B' teams.
The sales manager is the essential part in creating a sense of team, and the approach taken is a critical factor for success. A successful model of team building can be seen in sport.
Every sports team has a coach. The role of the coach is to strategically position the players, train and coach them, and motivate them towards becoming a champion team. There are many useful analogies between a sports and a work team. The more managers consider themselves as a coach to their team, the more the team will respond positively to their leadership.
Relationship building
Sales managers need to be able to build a good relationship, not only with the team as a while, but also with individuals on the team. Relationship builds an essential team building block that of trust. Trust is vitally important for encouraging cooperation and for motivation
Be available to your team
Sales managers need to be available to the team and approachable. I've found a direct correlation between success and working in an open plan environment with my team. If you hide away in an office with a closed door, you're building barriers. Making yourself approachable to give your team to time and space to talk with you builds rapport and respect all at the same time.
Create a vision as well as objectives
Your sales team needs a sense of where they're going. How they contribute to the bigger picture. Why they're important to the business. They also need specific objectives to understand their role in that picture. This all contributes to a sense of a future and success, both on a personal and team level.
Promote participation
Sales managers need to be able to motivate team players to fully and willingly participate and buy in to the team purpose. It is the role of the manager to focus employees on the goals and purposes of the team, and facilitate everyone working together to get the needed results.
Share information
Successful sales managers do not keep information to themselves. They keep people informed and provide them with all the information needed for them to take on a task or project. Regular sales meetings are the perfect forum to exchange information throughout a team to ensure everybody is at the same level.
Be a role model
Sales managers need to be a positive example of what they want to see in the team. That means walking the talk, having exemplary standards and consistent expectations of themselves as well as the team.
Celebrate
Good sales managers encourage their team to try new things and create an environment where people feel comfortable learning and trying new things. Progress and personal achievements are to be celebrated as people attempt challenging tasks.
Delegation
Sales managersdo not do everything themselves. Rather they view delegation as a means to develop their players, and enlarge their skills by positioning them strategically. They see delegation, not just as a means of dividing up the work, but as an opportunity of building self esteem and confidence and increasing skills
Be a team player
Sales managers shouldn't just manage the team but become a part of the team. Don't ask a team member to do something that you would be unwilling to do yourself.
Developing a coaching style of managing will create the team that will get the results managers want. Managers have the greatest influence on the job satisfaction on the employees they supervise. The role of supervisor means having the authority to make decisions that directly impact the team. As a coach, developing team building skills will give you the power to influence and motivate your employees to participate as team players, and work as a team.
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