Three Ways To Build a Quality Sales Team

It’s nothing new.  We hear about it consistently: where are the sales team?

There is a skill shortage where it comes to sales in the events industry. Thanks to the fabulous movies like The Wedding Planner, the lure of a glamourous life as an event manager planning elaborate events is typically too great for our potential sales prospects.

That said, there are strong, determined salespeople out there.  Although the events industry is one of the lower paid industries, finding the right sales person is not impossible. You just need to have the right offer available. There are three parts to finding and keeping a true salesperson. Here’s how you can set your business up for success, by building a quality sales team.

Set KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) and Sales Targets

When you’re writing a position description, ensure you make the expectations of the role clear from the beginning. You want to eliminate the number of unqualified leads you receive, the kind that could have been avoided if the position description went into a little more depth.

It’s important from the get-go to set financial, and non financial, targets.An example could be:

• 20 proactive sales calls per week
• 10 face-to-face appointments per week
• Five site inspections per week.

The sales targets outlined in the position description need to be realistic, planned and achievable. There’s no point setting sky-high benchmarks like five or 10 times the annual salary of the position you’re advertising. Make the targets something they can build on, the longer they settle into the role.

A salesperson needs to contribute to the percentage of growth of a venue projected from last year to this year. This obviously depends on the makeup of your proactive and reactive teams. Basically, your anticipated growth, or slightly below that, should be the salesperson’s target.

For example, If you anticipate growth of $500,000, you would set a target of 85% or higher for your manager’s activities. A true salesperson, and the kind you want to attract, gets their drive from numbers. Set these clear targets from the beginning. Keep these figures visible at all times, and show your support for their success from the beginning.

Offer Incentives

Salary is always an underlying factor when it comes to a sales role, or any role for that matter. Ultimately, you pay for what you hire. If you pay well, high, six figures, then your expectation should be high. If you pay less, you will need to realistically adjust your expectation of forecasted sales.

It’s not only salary that drives salespeople. What does the business offer to your potential candidate? Can you show clear career progression, be it business progression or future growth opportunities? Do you have basic staff incentives? It can be as simple as movie vouchers for the highest conversion for the month. While it doesn’t sound like much, a movie voucher, a case of wine, or a massage voucher can make all the difference. Simple, cost effective incentives offer consistent appreciation and the validation we all crave.

Foster a Sales Culture

Support your sales team. Give your sales staff the right tools and opportunities to create success. Ensure you have a weekly sales meeting to track lost business, conversions, successes, and losses. Be as transparent as possible.

Ask your sales team for ideas of growth and opportunities. Allow them to contribute to you sales and marketing strategy and your sales planning for future targets. Their input, and seeing their ideas come to fruition, will further incentivise them..

Train your sales team. Give them the skills to overcome challenges they face. It could be attending Conversion Management’s sales workshops, or developing an annual team building event hosted by a professional external company. These events are cost-effective, and help to develop and maintain a strong sales  team.

By developing a strong sales culture and plan, you will attract the right people to build your sales team. Driven by a need to succeed, coupled with clear strategy, small incentives, and a sales supportive environment, will ensure you not only attract, but keep your successful sales team.

 

If you would like to learn more about more on the sales blueprint, get in contact with Nicole and the team from Conversion Management.

Nicole Bates is Australia’s leading expert in sales and management for the meetings and events industry. Driven by a passion to build meeting and events businesses to be the best they can be, Nicole set up Conversion Management in 2016. Through Conversion, Nicole works with her clients to seize their potential, to convert prospects into clients, and to help venues and suppliers transform into profitable powerhouses.