The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

It's more important than ever to engage with your sales team. Sales teams that are not engaged are much more likely to underperform, experience low budget attainment, and unwanted turnover.

Data shows that less than 30% of today's workforce is truly engaged. This is especially true for end-of-the-quarter and end of the year! According to HubSpot, if a seller is disengaged and underperforming, it costs 150% of their salary to replace them.

Here are a few causes of a low performing sales team and how sales leaders can help.

Working in sales isn't getting any easier. In 2020, the majority of sales reps weren't expected to meet their sales quotas.

As the leader of your sales team, it's up to you to motivate your team to reach their targets and more. But that's easier said than done.

We've created a guide with 7 sales team motivation strategies that you can use to overcome the sales leaders' challenges you encounter as the face of your team, whether you're new to the position or on your way to becoming an expert.

This article was originally published on Sales & Marketing Management.

Sales leaders are responsible for more than closing deals. Teams depend on them to see the big picture, measure current strategies, and evaluate new opportunities. Sales diagnostics help leaders see their operations from all sides so they can identify bottlenecks and keep revenue climbing.

You're not an Avenger.

I know that is disappointing. Trust me, I'm disappointed, too. Who doesn't want to be a superhero? We all want to be the man or woman who swoops in to save the day, but that only gets to happen in a Marvel or DC movie.

In the real world, we don't have these types of superheroes.

But as much as I would like this blog to be about my favorite Marvel characters, that would not be the best use of your time or mine.

- MOTIVATION -

"People are influenced to change by people they trust."

- Mike Bosworth

- AROUND THE WEB -

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For every sales manager and General Manager, November and December are always interesting months. And the reasons why: it's the end of the year and it's BONUS month. It's the months to prod, cajole, incentivize, and yes, even beg the sellers to get out there and close the year strong!  

2021 is nearly over!

If you're only a few dollars short of getting your year-end bonus, you should do everything within your power to do so.

However, the fact of the matter is that most years, that's highly unlikely, improbable, and even impossible to reach that year-end bonus money. But even if that was the case, we should do everything within our power to squeeze every dime we can out of the year. Right? 

Wrong!

How do you create a culture that attracts and retains top talent?

One lesson Arnie Malham, Founder & President of BetterBookClub and Author of Worth Doing Wrong, teaches us in this episode is that it takes time and will not happen suddenly.

Tune in now or keep reading for a brief overview.

As a sales leader, you can count on the fact that there will be constant change. It's all around you — in technology, the economy, your team, and industry conditions.

At times, it can seem impossible to prepare for and navigate the sea of changes you face, but successful sales managers adapt and adjust, and even embrace the changes.

Whether the change is a small adjustment or a seismic shift, leaders have the ability to reduce uncertainty and smoothly maneuver the tumult of change.

Everyone agrees that referrals are an essential part of growing a business. Furthermore, it's the most cost-effective way to build customer relationships and win new customers. Despite the sundry benefits of a referral program, how to ask for referrals has never been easy.

Acquiring a referred customer will cost you almost nothing, and they have a high degree of loyalty and retention. In fact, a referred client has a twice lifetime value compared to a non-referred customer.

Let's face it: asking is the best way to get customer referrals. But breaking the ice and asking directly for referrals can feel awkward, right? It might sound like you are desperately trying to ask for a favor.