One of the biggest mistakes that sales leaders can make is neglecting their sales team. It happens more often than you think. Sales management becomes so preoccupied with results and numbers that they neglect the one thing that is most responsible for those numbers.
Your sales team may be composed of a group of individuals, however, they come together each day to form an entity that is directly responsible for your success! ← Click To Tweet
If just one of those individuals is unhappy, the entire team can feel the effect. Results can suffer, conflicts may develop and before you know it your sales team can become dysfunctional!
It’s so important to ensure that each of your team members is happy and that your entire team supports one another. This is the kind of team that creates positive sales results and success in the long run.
Consider these easy steps you can implement into your day-to-day operations to create a proper team atmosphere:
1) Offer Acknowledgement
Nobody wants to work in an environment where they feel unappreciated or uncared for. Your team needs positive reinforcement to continue outputting positive results.
Never undermine or ignore an individual team member’s successes, no matter how busy you are. If you do, you risk deflating them or making them feel that their work goes unrecognized. As soon as someone on your team starts feeling this way, you can expect a decline in their numbers. They may not be purposely trying to produce less results, but as you know, mindset and confidence plays a huge role in one’s success.
Acknowledgement is needed to support your team and increase their confidence.
This doesn’t mean you have to give them a promotion or a raise every time they do something right. Consider sending a card or an email congratulating them for their accomplishment. Believe it or not, your recognition alone often means more to them than monetary compensation.
2) Don’t Make It Just About Business
Get to know your team as much as possible. They are not just payroll numbers or profit machines, they are people who yearn for community and belonging, just like everyone else.
Do your best to keep up with important events in your team members’ lives. You don’t have to know every single detail about their hobbies and interests, nor do you have to be best friends outside of work.
However, you should demonstrate that you are interested in their lives (not just their work lives) and their overall well-being.
3) Encourage Mutual Support
Always listen to feedback from your team. Encourage them to support you to become a better leader just as you support them to become better salespeople.
You also want to build an atmosphere where your team can support each other. Creating such an atmosphere reduces conflicts, increases morale and leads to better sales results.
You are only going to profit if your team is creating profits. Sales results increase when leaders commit to their team’s success and create a positive working environment By recognizing your team’s efforts, demonstrating interest in what’s important to them and encouraging communication among team members, you take three important steps in creating the perfect team atmosphere!
What’s one tip you would provide to create more harmony in sales teams?
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