Consumer indications are that our current economic climate is going to be here for some time, with growth happening only slowly as the economies of North America slowly rebuild. Because of this, sales managers and offices are being asked to do more with less, to increase revenues and effectiveness, and to hasten the sales pipeline which itself is smaller than it once was. Most of the old hats who’ve been around a few years have seen these cycles before, though usually on a shorter term.
The first thing sales teams must do is remove themselves from a short-term mindset and start thinking longer-term and in a more team-oriented manner. Sales teams that are functioning as a team are, on the whole, seeing more success than are those that are still operating in a dog-eat-dog in-office competition scenario. Taking a long-term view means thinking less about immediate gains with the sales investment and more about the longer-term payoffs in other words, instead of focusing on the one sale that might be possible this week, think about the three or four sales that could be made over the next year.
This kind of mindset requires management to stop thinking in terms of months and quarters and start thinking in years instead. That’s not always an easy adjustment in a flagging economy when revenues are down, but it’s essential to growth over time. Both management and sales teams will need to adjust to thinking about prospects and funnels in terms longer than three, six, or even twelve months.
With that kind of long-term thinking, though, must also come honest self-evaluation. Look at your competition and consider their position as compared to yours. Comparing your sales team to theirs in an honest, realistic manner will build confidence in the longer-term approach and will show you where to make changes and invest for better returns.
Also with that thinking comes renewed need to convey a long-term vision to your team. Your employees should be thinking in terms of years rather than months. In today’s climate, that’s not an easy thing as many (probably most) of those working in sales today are always on the lookout for that better situation, that better spot, that higher incentive. Your job is to mitigate those temptations with plenty of reasons for them to want to stay where they are despite them. Often, the team atmosphere and more personal approach that longer-term thinking requires will mean higher retention, which you can then build upon.
Although the team should be the mentality, the 80/20 rule is still a common truism. Give your top performers the incentive to stay with you as your top performers and do everything possible to keep retention high.
Finally, focus on accounts and products that do well and learn to lessen the costs associated with the lower-performing elements of your portfolio. This does not mean ignoring low-yield customers, but it does mean minimizing investment with them in favor of the higher-yield, longer-term client. In today’s world, that most likely means automating more of the contact you have with lower-tier clientele.
These tips should help you build a strategy for weathering the financial storm that seems to be taking its time blowing over.