Sales teams come in an array of types and sizes. Team members may have unique methods which breathe character and life into their selling techniques but at the beginning of the day, everyone arrives with the same ultimate goal.
A common dilemma among businesses is figuring out how to effectively engage their sales team. The importance of doing so is impossible to over emphasize, making the numerous creative and rather non-mysterious ways of achieving a truly connected relationship with your sales team all the more welcome. Here are a few to consider getting started with.
Appreciation
The feeling of being appreciated is a powerful motivator and is critical to the occupational mentality and well-being of your team. Kind words on a job well done, team lunches and other small tokens of gratitude are great ways of keeping your team excited about their job.
Personalize Your Environment
Retail stores, offices and even fitness gyms are stepping up efforts to create an environment that makes each customer, employee or member feel as though they are valued to a level of distinct consideration. These businesses have figured out that investing a little in the small nuances that keep their place of business feeling fresh, invigorating and even a tad luxurious, turns the normal grind into something that feels extraordinary.
Update or rotate décor. Add seasonal touches when appropriate.
Add warmth and luxury to restrooms. Incorporate soothing colors and a few extras such as mildly fragranced hand soaps and lotions in attractive dispensers, decorative baskets containing paper hand towels and emergency hygiene products, topped off with a beautiful floral or greenery arrangement.
Psychological studies have proven that fragrance has a direct impact on mood. Consider the use of a subtle air duct fragrance system similar to those used in hotels, retail stores, hospitals and model homes to generate a mood that is conducive to your environment. A fragrance that stimulates creativity and positive energy will do nicely!
Reclaim Authenticity
Think about that hardly containable inner grin you get when a business’s staff member approaches you with, “Good afternoon! It’s a great day here at ABC Office Supplies. My name is Forced Tosaythis. How may I provide you with outstanding customer service today?”
These types of scripted customer interactions are glaringly unauthentic as team members do their best to recite them. They are merely effective at creating awkwardness from the starting gate.
Encourage your sales team to find their authentic connection methods and use them. Doing so will unleash a personalized and unique interaction that will engage customers, making them feel like they are being received with authenticity and serviced as valued individuals.Empower and Enable
Assuming a company has a sales team that is trained, connected to the core values and mission of the company and demonstrates integrity, recognition and utilization of these qualities is a fantastic way of engaging with your sales team. But, how exactly does using your team more help achieve sales team engagement? It’s not what you take from them; it’s what you give to them first that does the job.
● Empower. Make sure that your team knows that you trust in their abilities and sound judgement. Praise them often for accomplishments and failings alike. Every business transaction is an opportunity to learn and hone their skills. There are valuable lessons in even the most trying transactions and your team needs to know that even when they make a decision that turns out less than optimal, the world isn’t going to stop spinning and they will still have your support and trust.
● Enable. Some companies make the mistake of requiring that every decision, great or small, that veers slightly from the norm go through some established approval channel. Enabling your sales team to make decisions sends the message that you are confident in their ability to do what is best in the interest of service and creating customers for life.
These ideas will help you on the path to engaging your sales team. Having an established business credit line or capital will be useful in getting started. You don’t have to break the bank, but you will need to invest a little in the special touches that are going to make your employees feel like work is a great place to be.