Boosting Sales Team Performance: The Smart Moves Approach for Optimal Results

I had the pleasure of guesting on the Up My Influence Podcast and chatted with host Josh Elledge to share trends in sales teams, plus why it’s key to take care of employees and develop a growth mindset to navigate challenges in the marketplace.  Here are some highlights we touched up on in the show…

• Trends in the industry, including layoffs, the "quite quitting" and uncertainty in the marketplace
• Importance of taking care of employees and developing a growth mindset
• Measurement of salespeople's performance and identifying their potential
• Importance of selling value and creating urgency in sales
• Insights on the current job market, including demand for hiring in various sectors

The trends in sales teams [00:03:41] Discussion on the current trends in sales teams, including laying off salespeople and the importance of taking care of employees during uncertain times.

Selling value and creating urgency [00:06:59] The importance of salespeople being able to sell the value of their company, product, and themselves, and create urgency in their sales.

Providing a diagnostic of the organization [00:10:05] How Smart Moves helps organizations by providing a diagnostic of their salespeople, sales managers, systems, processes, and strategies to identify areas for improvement and revenue growth.

The hiring trend across industries [00:11:45] Discussion on the hiring trends in various industries, including tech and manufacturing.

The importance of mindset in sales organizations [00:12:41] I chat about the significance of mindset, particularly in sales organizations.

Free report on hidden mindsets in salespeople [00:12:51] I offer a free report that identifies hidden mindsets in most salespeople and provides actionable tips to address them.

The Current Trends: Challenges and Opportunities

Many companies are laying off employees, including salespeople. This is a mistake, as the sales team is crucial for generating revenue.

I shared a recent phenomenon of the "quiet quitting" and the uncertainty in the marketplace due to factors like the debt ceiling issue that is coming up again. In these challenging times, it’s even more important to take care of employees and help them develop and maintain a growth mindset. 

When to Make Cutbacks in Sales Teams?

It's essential to measure the performance of salespeople and identify those with potential, even if they haven't been top performers.

“If you can't measure it, you can't fix it.” 

Avoid only looking at revenue numbers. Instead, use tools to determine who should be kept on board based on their potential. This approach underscores the importance of looking beyond immediate results and focusing on long-term potential. They could be top performers if given the right tools, training and coaching. 

So there are means by which an organization can first determine who of their people stands, not only is going to succeed, but who should they keep on board because they have that strong potential, even if they have not been the star in the organization.

The Changing Face of Sales Teams

In terms of trends in sales teams specifically, it’s crucial for salespeople to sell value and create urgency in their sales. Building relationships and connecting with customers emotionally is more important than ever. They have to be able to sell the value of the company, the value of the product and the value of themselves. Because people buy from people they like and trust. And more importantly, if we can't connect to people emotionally, they can't see the value of either the product or the service or the company.

We have a much more sophisticated audience today, and it's more sophisticated because of social media. And social media demands that people build relationships. We can’t simply show up and start presenting our products.  Buyers don’t care!  They want to know what’s in it for them

So the the reason it's so important today is that it's what the market demands. People need relationship, especially since so much of business is being done over Zoom. It's very easy to have a disconnect. And if we do things the old fashioned way, the way it was done literally 20 years ago when I started in the business.

The Current Job Market: Opportunities and Challenges

While there have been layoffs in the tech industry, there is a significant demand for hiring in various sectors, including manufacturing and blue-collar jobs. There are resources, that you can take to help you hire the RIGHT people and evaluate your sales force. 

A Parting Gift and an Invitation

Before concluding our conversation, I offered a free gift to listeners, a special report that identifies the nine hidden mindsets in most salespeople and provides four actionable steps to address them. Access the report by visiting http://theguide.vip