How to Manage a Sales Force

Many aims of sales force management and motivation are achieved more effectively in group situations rather than in individual discussions. Here we cover five areas where sales managers may wish to harness the power of the group environment in order achieve an objective.

1. Dramatise feedback. Praise has a much more lasting effect on a sales person if it is experienced in group situations. Always express appreciation therefore in the presence of other team members if you want to particularly emphasise good performance of a member of staff. Be careful, however, when criticising a sales person in the presence of the group. Criticism in front of a gathered team can destroy their self-esteem.  “Public warnings” also have a very negative effect on those not involved. They worry the same could happen to them.

2. Encourage consultations. Many members of the external sales force are reluctant to accept something their boss might say. They are much more willing to learn from peers, on the other hand. For example a new area planning technique discussed during a meeting by a successful member of the sales team, can quickly lead to an positive experience and is therefore quickly accepted.

3. To realise ambition. A comparison of performance carried out in group situations is one of the best methods of spurring sales staff on to greater efforts. Members of the sales team are motivated if they see themselves in front of colleagues who are given poorer assessments.  Discuss performance results in detail with the group therefore and make use of the “acceleration effect” of success. As long as you have a “sporting spirit” in your team, the negative aspects of colleague comparisons (envy, jealousy, resentment) rarely arise.

4. To discipline. Groups have their own unwritten laws. The norms of motivated sales teams are: a positive attitude towards the organisation and the products and service. A constructive collaboration with a will to succeed and finally commitment. These norms affect learning processes within the group. Misbehaviour by sales staff such as destructive attitude, fault finding, lack of punctuality, unfriendliness, dereliction of duty are eliminated by means of the regulating mechanism of the group norms, without the need for disciplinary measures. During discussions with sales staff, ask the group for their views on a particular problem that you are having with an employee. Remain out of the discussion yourself and just act as a mediator. A team of sales staff with positive norms will soon bring a “black sheep” back onto the right path.

5. To create a sense of identification. The members of a sales team need more today than just an “emotional filling station”. The group situation is ideal for providing sales staff with “fellow feeling” and moral support.  Sales staff should meet every four to six weeks for a conference in which they can exchange experiences with their colleagues. In addition it is an opportunity to work out new objectives with management and experience some team spirit.  Sales staff who only meet as a group two to three times a year usually lack any identification or enthusiasm.

Apply these techniques will have a positive impact sales force behaviour and therefore results. You can learn these techniques and many more on a good sales management training course.

Return to Management Articles Index

Testimonials