Creating High Performance Sales Athletes

We all want top performers in our sales environment, right? It starts with a successful hire, someone who has the right ingredients, talent and/or potential. 

In order to hire the right person, we have to know what we’re looking for and be able to define our needs before we hire talent. Let’s say we’re looking for someone to manage customer accounts and create opportunities to grow customer accounts. This is hugely different than a position where we’re looking to add new business, grow a territory, break into a new market, or something else. This all has to be in place before we advertise that a candidate is wanted for a specific position and that interested parties should apply. 

Below is a list that may help with acquiring top candidates and growing them into sales athletes:

1. Know what you’re looking for, what the position is and the KPIs it must impact once a successful hire is made
2. Predetermine the characteristics that a suitable candidate must possess
3. Create or revise an up-to-date job description 
4. Determine your compensation plan
5. Have a territory and/or ‘book of business’ plan
6. Know how you will work with the salesperson (meetings, ride along, joint calls, reporting, etc.)
7. Have an estimate for how long it may take a new salesperson to get up to speed and deliver results
8. Know how you will handle subpar performance
9. Define the role for the position clearly
10. Define the responsibilities for the position clearly
11. Have clear expectations for the position
12. Manage all of the above early and often

Examine this list and note the items you are well-prepared for and those that you are less than well-prepared for. It’s not a disaster to make changes – even with an existing team or salesperson. Make the adjustments, announce them early, and declare that we’ll climb into this change together.

Learn how a sales coach can help with your sales leadership strategy on our website!

Sales Leadership, Management, and Coaching for Your Sales Team

Are you ready to build a sales-focused organization with a high performing sales team, sales leadership, and an effective sales management solution? 

Call us at 248-468-7400 or fill out our contact form to receive a sample sales effectiveness and improvement analysis (SEIA) report! 

Together, we can assess how your company is doing, what potential it has, how to realize this potential, how long it will take along with expected gains. We’re here to help you determine the best way to achieve your goals.