When it comes to sales, you can't play the game without a great team. So how can companies put together the best team possible to execute winning sales strategies and objectives?
I recently spoke with TTEC Chief Revenue Officer Judi Hand about how to build a roster of great sales playmakers in TTEC’s web series, “The Ultimate Sales Conversion Highlight Reel.” She described the essential skills needed to win at sales, and how each individual all-star can contribute to overall team success. Here are some highlights from our discussion.
3 steps to a great sales team
First, start with the acknowledgement that your customers and your prospects are all diverse, then build a sales team to match that diversity. Make sure that you understand the market in which you're operating and you really understand those customers, their personas, their buying criteria, and what they are looking for in companies such as yours. Finding people from different backgrounds, industry experiences, geographies, etc. that will resonate with these potential buyers is one of the most important first steps to make sure that your sales team reflects the clients you serve and the customers that you're going after.
The second is to acknowledge that not every perfect salesperson is exactly the same. They're not cookie cutter. They have different ways to achieve their success. There are people who are much better at dealing with existing customers, because they are deep relationship builders. There are salespeople that are much better at prospecting. There are hunters always on the lookout for the next big whale.
And third, a great sales team has an amazing support team behind them dedicated to helping them win. So whether that be people who help develop the pitches or the solutions, or get to the right pricing or the right contracting, there is a massive support organization underneath a really great high-performing sales team.
Successful traits of an all-star sales team
When it comes to the people to fill sales roles, individual traits, skillsets, and personalities are important, especially when they are put all together. The best salesperson is actually the best collaborator. And they're typically the best listener. They work with those around them and with customers to unveil what is necessary to achieve success.
For sales leaders, you've got to make it very clear that this is a team sport—we win together and we lose together. What that means is to bring everybody in to collaborate and truly win the day.
This isn't much different than a matchmaking exercise. Put the right personalities together because at the end of the day, people buy from people. So you want to make sure that right from the beginning you understand the different types of people that you need, the different profiles that you need, and what the right ratios are from front-facing salespeople to support people.
