How to Coach Your Sales Team to Success

Though some natural talent is helpful, success in sales directly correlates with a seller’s guidance along the way. If you’re in charge of coaching a team of salespeople, try implementing these initiatives in order to help your staff find success:

Build a peer-mentoring program

Working in sales is tough, particularly when you’re just starting out. Consider building a peer-mentoring program to help your new hires get acclimated. They can rely on veteran employees to give them guidance and support as they build their client base and get more comfortable in the position.

Allow your new team members to begin with easy sales

Sales can be nerve-wracking at first, particularly if you have no experience in this type of job. To help your new sellers become sure of themselves, allow them to begin with easy sales. This could mean calling former employers, friends of friends, or other connections that they have already established. Once they successfully manage these sales, they’ll feel more comfortable tackling intimidating accounts.

Give plenty of praise

Hearing “no” is part of a seller’s job, sure, but repeated rejection can certainly be demoralizing. As a manager, it’s your job to build your team back up, especially if you can tell that certain members are struggling. Offer plenty of praise when someone makes a big sale, give an individual credit for a great idea, and be positive when a rep is going after a new, potentially big account. This kind of attitude helps everyone to stay inspired.

Check in often

If your sales reps feel as if they’re all alone, it becomes easy for them to get overwhelmed. To prevent this from happening, check in with them often. Find out how things are going, what they’re working on, and what issues they may be facing at that time. Problem solving together makes the job much easier, and often helps that seller to find success. It also ensures that your team members are staying focused.

How do you manage your sales team, particularly your new sellers? Share your tips with us in the comments!

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