Develop an effective sales team

It's important that your sales staff are managed properly and given direction to allow each salesperson to achieve maximum results and fulfil their potential.

Begin with the basics and develop a sales strategy that everyone is aware of. This should make clear what your sales objectives are. For example, is the priority to target new or existing businesses? Which products or services are you most keen to promote?

Your staff should be clear on what their roles are within the sales team. It's usual to allocate responsibility so that one member of staff looks after a particular account, product or service or territory. This allows customers to build a relationship with a particular account manager.

Use data such as sales-activity reports to keep track of how well your sales staff are performing and combine these with reviews where you can discuss results face-to-face. This will give you the chance to address any problems or issues.

Feedback from your sales staff can be very valuable in shaping business direction because of the close contact they have with customers. Of all the staff within your business, they are likely to have the best idea of what your customers want.