The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

Underperforming sales teams can significantly hinder a company's growth and success. If you're grappling with poor sales performance, now is the time to identify the root causes and implement effective solutions.

I often have conversations with sales managers who lament their teams' lack of accountability, implementation, and follow-through. They talk about struggling to get new initiatives or processes adopted consistently.

In these situations, my typical response is: "Let's talk about your weekly one-on-one meetings and how you use them to drive accountability."

One-on-one meetings between managers and their salespeople are critical for staying aligned, removing blockers, and driving performance. However, many managers fail to run these meetings effectively. Here is a proven guide to great one-on-one meetings that drive real accountability.

Are your sales reps dissatisfied with the quality of your company's sales collateral?

You're not alone—the Media Sales Report found that 46% of salespeople are "not sure" or "dissatisfied" with their collateral materials.

This is a major missed opportunity, as high-quality sales collateral plays a crucial role in driving conversions.

In the fast-paced and competitive business landscape, an effective sales structure is crucial for organizations to achieve revenue targets and drive growth. However, many companies face challenges in designing a sales structure that aligns with their objectives and maximizes their sales potential.

Typically, when it comes to sales structure, common challenges may include inconsistent performance, misaligned roles and responsibilities, or too many people on the team not achieving their overall revenue goals to name a few. First, you have to identify the problem you are trying to solve.

Revenue performance in a sales organization is a crucial metric that measures the financial success and performance of the sales team in terms of the revenue generated from sales activities. It includes metrics such as total revenue, revenue growth, sales targets, quotas, and the percentage of sales goals achieved.

The importance of revenue performance cannot be overstated, as it is the lifeblood of a company. It is the primary source of income for a business, and without strong revenue performance, a company may struggle to meet its financial goals and remain competitive in the marketplace. It also is closely tied to the performance and effectiveness of the sales team.

Selection is defined as the action or fact of carefully choosing someone or something as being the best or most suitable.

It's Monday morning, and a seller has just told you that they are resigning. Maybe that's a good thing, or maybe it isn’t, but either way, you find yourself with the need to fill a position.

But before you do that, you need to know what you are looking for in order to find it. The first step should be to have a job analysis process that clearly defines exactly what you need in your open position. To determine that, you may ask yourself these kinds of questions.

Have you ever set a goal for yourself to run a race?

Whatever the motivation, you decided to do it. It may have been on a whim, but nonetheless, you realized there was more to it than showing up the morning of the race and running. You probably found a race that suited your ability, recruited a friend to join you in the adventure, set a training schedule, and off you went.

By no means did you show up for registration the morning of with no prep at all. Well, I hope not anyway. If you did, it probably didn’t go as well as you would have liked. You may have looked back and asked yourself what you could have done differently to change the outcome. I’m guessing the answer is, almost always, more training, so you were better prepared.

Strong sales leaders often think about how to have better business outcomes in their organizations.

And while thinking about ways to improve sales performance, the idea of changing the sales structure has likely come to mind. It may seem overwhelming, and you may be wondering where to start.

Imagine this.

You go to make a big purchase or do a major renovation such as a kitchen remodel. It's something you've been saving for now for quite some time. You've conducted exhaustive research on the colors you want, the styles you like, and the decorations you want to include. You've even made a visual board for ideas.

The time comes to get estimates and timelines from contractors. You go with the rule of 3’s for estimates, and after meeting with them, you finally make the decision. You understand that there will be a payment due upfront, and you agree to those terms.

The work finally starts, and surprise, there are costs that should have been included in the estimate that wasn’t. You feel trapped and frustrated.

"The end depends on the beginning (and everything in between)."

Yes, we have heard this a thousand times, but no truer words have been said when it comes to developing proposals.

I had an epiphany pretty early in my sales career. I had been on a sales call to a restaurant, and they asked for a proposal. I rushed back to my desk so excited with the opportunity to get to present, only to stare at my computer for what seemed like an eternity. Crafting that proposal took a lot longer than it should have.

Later, when looking back, I realized it was because I didn’t have enough information. I had missed the mark on a number of things. Here's a little advice on how not to make the same mistake.