  Jeff Wuorio |
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Monkey Muffins, a producer of wholesome muffins, can thank the natural instincts of motherhood for helping it build a successful, focused sales team.
The New York-based company recognized early on that no one is more interested in good nutrition than a parent. As a result, company leaders crafted an innovative commission structure geared to young mothers looking to make extra cash.
"They have an interest in healthy snacks for their family, so they go to specialty stores with real belief in the product," says company spokesman John Rarrick.
Building and refining a top sales team isn't an exact science. But there are strategies and wrinkles that can point you in the right direction. Here are nine that I came across in interviews with sales professionals and business experts:
Don't hire yourself. Since, of course, you're the best salesperson in this and several other galaxies, it's tempting to look for folks with identical attributes. Don't. Instead, authorities suggest that diversity and strengths that complement other members of the sales force are far more valuable than an array of like-minded clones. "Look for diversity in terms of experience, gender, personality, ethnicity and geographic background," says business consultant Joanne Sujansky.
Look for motivation, as well as skill. The empirical nuts and bolts of sales are learnable skills. The fire in the gut to apply them on a regular basis can't be found in any sales textbook. When assembling a sales team, don't overlook motivation and a hunger to succeed. Examine past sales experience for frequency, follow-up and other signs that suggest as much will as sales smarts. "Most sales tests are competency based, and even poor salespeople can test very well on them," says J.P. Whalen of Human Resource Development Technologies, a Wilmington, Del., company that offers a variety of hiring-related services. "You have to measure motivation as well."
- Find salespeople whose interests and lifestyles are in synch with what they are selling. Finding salespeople ready to sell anything is great, but it never hurts to stack the deck in favor of added motivation. If, like Monkey Muffins, you offer a product or service that lends itself to salespeople with a certain passion or interest, their will to sell may be just as solid as the most self-motivated sales staff. For instance, a running shoe store naturally lends itself to a sales team of running enthusiasts who are knowledgeable about their products and eager to sell the virtues of fitness.
Match up the right "personalities," not just logistics. When assembling a sales force, it may seem the path of least resistance to assign salespeople according to geography. Putting someone in charge of a community where they happen to live may seem sensible — but it may ultimately prove a bad fit. Instead, match your sales force with the particulars of the client. If a customer mandates a more aggressive sell, hook them up with the appropriate salesperson. That's what Sujansky does with her consulting business, Key Group. "We've made an effort over the last five years to look not just at geography but at sending the 'right' salesperson out to the client," she says. "We match by personality, not just by geographic region."
Start with individual training. Most every sales force receives some sort of group instruction. However valuable that is, it's equally important to augment such training with one-on-one instruction, ideally prior to any training en masse. That way, individual issues and nuances can be addressed that may get in the way of those broad sales principles which apply to everyone. "Group training is only effective after you train one-on-one," Whalen says. "You have to start with effective individuals."
Mentor your sales team. Another effective strategy to build a solid sales squad — particularly with newcomers coming on board — is a program of mentoring. Following initial training, have an experienced salesperson work with and closely monitor less-seasoned sales staff. Often, experience and insight are best conveyed in such a one-on-one relationship.
From there, consider some additional ideas to refine your sales staff once you have a team in place:
Meet regularly. Have your sale teams get together to exchange ideas and insight. This not only is helpful, but is essential for account review to make sure that no one is treading on someone else's toes.
Encourage feedback. Don't strangle your sales team by discouraging interaction. Rather, urge your salespeople to share tips, ideas, war stories and other experiences that may benefit everyone. In particular, encourage newcomers to speak up. Their fresh perspective may offer insight that may have become somewhat dulled in your veterans.
Make a customer everyone's customer. Although it's important to delineate whose clients are whose among your sales staff, encourage a sense of responsibility for every single customer across the board.
Cross-train salespeople so, if need be, they can handle a client effectively in another salesperson's absence. When out on the road, encourage your sales staff to visit every customer in the area, even if they happen to be on another salesperson's client roster. That fosters teamwork and solidifies a sense of responsibility and attention in your customer's minds.
Jeff Wuorio is an award-winning writer and columnist, and is the author of "The CNBC Guide to Money and Markets." For more information, check out his Web site.
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