The Center for Sales Strategy Blog

From small businesses to international enterprises, most companies are dependent on effective sales to thrive. This is where sales integration tools come in. 

At the core of sales integration tools is the idea of sales intelligence. The goal of these tools is to improve the efficiency and quality of sales interactions for better conversion in the long run. Sales intelligence and management tools integrate with other software to make lead information as robust and accessible to sales reps as possible.

When used correctly, sales integration tools can not only improve the quality and efficiency of sales interactions but also lead to better customer relationships and increased sales.

Technology has disrupted the traditional techniques we have used to approach prospects. Today, the most successful developers of new business have a smart and focused prospecting strategy.  They concentrate their efforts on a disciplined strategy that provides more appointments and more revenue. 

The shotgun approach of yesteryear is dead. Before technology disrupted our approach, we could sit down and call 100 prospects and get ten appointments. Any mention of not having enough appointments was met by your manager with “This is a numbers game! Sit down with the phone and don’t quit calling until you get ten appointments.”  Today that strategy is total folly. 

SCENARIO: For the first time in a long time, you have sales positions open, but the most talented salespeople likely are already employed elsewhere. 

Well, this scenario is one managers often find themselves in. Even the most successful sales managers can find themselves in this situation if they aren't intentional with their management practices and focused on retention. Recruiting and filling your talent bank is important. Even so, don't lose focus on the effort it takes to retain top talent. There’s always a strain on your resources when you try to scramble to fill a vacant sales position, but it’s a double-whammy when the vacancy is left by your superstar performer. 

4 Habits of Highly Successful Sales Managers Who Retain Their Top Performers

Here are four things that highly successful sales managers consistently spend time and intentional energy on to retain their top performers.

People crave feedback. We want to know if what we are doing is good, bad, or just plain ugly.

It starts when we are little kids. We all desperately wanted our parent's attention. We wanted them to "watch us" run fast, jump high, or sing a song. We wanted them to be proud of us, but also to give us feedback. Were we doing it "right?" How can we do it better? 

Well, not much has changed since we were children. We still want to know how we are doing. Yet, so many managers seem to think that their people don't need feedback or even want it. WRONG! Your people desperately want to know how they are doing. Feedback is a fantastic way for a sales manager to improve their team's sales performance by reinforcing good behaviors and improving upon weak behaviors.

I get it. I know it is important, but I’m sick and tired of hearing about new business. Truth be known, most sellers are sick and tired of hearing about new business… and their managers are sick and tired of talking about it!

Facts Behind the Myth

The majority of sales organizations are obsessed with new business because of one reason: they do a terrible job of keeping and growing existing business (AKA: customers).

Not all customers are created equal. World-class sales organizations segment them like this:

The job of a sales manager is a challenging one. One of the biggest challenges that they face is how to keep a team of sellers motivated and producing quality results.

Some of the best ways to make salespeople more productive don't include spending a fortune or sending them through another training class. A few of the best ideas are ones that help to reduce administrative burdens and increase time in the field or on the phones. 

Have you ever come back to your office after a solid Needs Analysis meeting and shared the exciting news with your manager? As you sit down to recap, your manager starts to ask you questions about the prospect, and you realize you can’t answer them. Critical information that you need was never even discussed. The assignment that you uncovered and thought was strong is actually vague, and you begin to understand clearly that you are missing key pieces of information. You start to deflate as you realize this meeting wasn’t as good as you thought after all.

GOOD NEWS: 80% of professionals prefer to use email for business communication. 
BAD NEWS: With over 269 Billion emails sent every day, there's a lot of fierce competition flooding your prospects' inboxes.

So how can you, the stealthy salesperson, craft a genius prospecting email that warrants a response? 

 "My sellers do not go on enough sales calls."

- Every Sales Manager

I hear this all the time from sales managers. I also hear a similar version from sellers: 

“I could sell more if I had more quality appointments.”

 - Almost Every Seller

Imagine if every seller had one additional call per week, every week of the year. That’s roughly 50 additional appointments per year.