When you employ both an inside sales team and an outside sales team, how do you divide your sales responsibilities? Without a clear definition of responsibilities, inside and outside sales reps can battle with each other instead of with the competition. If they battle over territories, customers and job roles, your customer gets caught in [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Building a Sales Team category.
Inside Sales vs. Outside Sales
Business owners and sales managers frequently debate about whether to invest in an inside sales force, an outside sale force, or some combination of the two. With inside sales, your sales reps visit with customers and prospects via the telephone, email, and internet. They do not leave the inside of your office, hence the name. [...]
Managing Your Sales Force
Five key elements help you manage effective sales teams and grow a successful business: Well-defined plans Clear communications Processes and tools Performance metrics Flexibility and adaptation Well-Defined Plans Well-defined, precise plans are roadmaps to success. They present your goals and strategies for how you will achieve those goals. Success follows when you develop specific plans [...]
Sales Training
Sales reps are made, not born. Plus, selling is a skill which has evolved from “getting people to buy” whatever you are selling to fulfilling customer and market needs with your products. Like elite athletes, your most successful sales representatives are always “in training.” They are learning your market, products and competition. They’ve been trained [...]
Sales Force Mix
Multiple channels exist for bringing your products and services to market – inside sales, dealers and distributors, and direct sales. Is one channel preferred over another? Can you use multiple channels simultaneously? Can the different channels support one another? Channel Preference Different channels efficiently address different markets and situations. Inside sales teams effectively sell commodity-like [...]
Negotiating Job Offers
When you bring new sales reps on board, you need to negotiate job offers. To drive a successful outcome, there are a number of principles and strategies to keep in mind as you negotiate. Negotiation Basics Define the limits of your offer before you begin a negotiation. Understand what your goals are, the value of [...]
What Support Should I Give My Sales Force?
Honor and glory typically go to the soldiers on the front line. In business, the front-line soldiers are your sales force. Sales reps are in the field working with your customers, understanding their needs, developing solutions, selling your products and services. Your sales reps drive revenue every day. But, can they do it alone? No. [...]
When Should I Expand My Sales Force?
To determine when to expand your sales force, you need to ask yourself two questions: “What can I afford?” and “What can the market support?” What Can I Afford? Sales reps produce revenue. They prospect for customers, present your products and solutions, and close deals. The more sales reps you hire, the more revenue you [...]
How Many Sales Reps Should I Employ?
The number of field sales reps you need to cover a market is a function of the size of the target market (number of prospects, number of customers and size of geography), the complexity of the product or sale, and the level of sales support. The number of sales reps you employ is a balance [...]
How Much Territory Should I Give My Sales Reps?
When it comes to territory, often less is more.
