How to Build a Star Sales Team

A lot of us have negative perceptions about sales, and by extension, salespeople. People who are genuinely excited by sales are few and far between. It’s no surprise then, that to mitigate the negative connotations attached to any job title with the word ‘sales’ in it, people have come up with ingenious ways in which to reword their sales positions. Calling a spade a spade – or a salesperson a salesperson – might even do more harm than good.

Yet in reality, all of us are involved in sales in some form, regardless of the role we’re in. We’ve all had to sell a concept to our team, or sell a report to a manager. Negotiating, justifying, educating; these are all moments in which we take on – albeit fleetingly – the role of a salesperson.

Traditionally, when hiring for sales roles, people generally look at current or former salespeople because it’s simply easier to recruit that way. Over time, however, I’ve steered towards working with recruitment partners who can identify other types of talent who might fit the bill. Now, we look at vertical expertise rather than sales knowledge. The truth is that sales skills can be taught, and hiring for sales skills alone limits you from exploring the broader pool of talent who could add valuable insights to your team.

You could also hire for industry. For instance, if you’re hiring for an online salesperson, you look for someone with x years of experience doing just that. While this approach might work in your favour, it is also much more difficult to find talent who will fulfill your criteria, especially if you’re hiring for an area that is very niche. In this case, you could also hire someone who has experience in traditional ad sales and train them on selling online.

Overall, if you’re looking for exemplary salespeople, it’s better to stay away from fixed rules. Go after broader talent. Talk to people in various industries, and this will help you build a holistic view of what kind of talent is out there.

Traits to Look For

It goes without saying that the wrong hire can end up costing your team and company time and resources. How do you make sure that you’re hiring the right people who not only have the technical skills to succeed, but also the soft skills to work well with colleagues and clients? There are a few traits you should look out for.

Empathy is a key factor. Working in sales isn’t easy, and salespeople can often find themselves in environments that are stressful, fast-paced, and pressurising. When you’re juggling a mounting workload with client pitches, someone with high empathy will manage to focus on the clients’ needs despite it all.

Of course, technical knowledge is important. Especially for account managers, you’ll need to understand the numbers to report and interpret analytics accurately. In salespeople, however, drive is a key trait. For client-facing roles, it’s always important to hire people who carry themselves well. You should be able to confidently trust this person to represent your company.

To get a sense of how a potential candidate thinks, I like to ask them to share their end-to-end process of working on a deal: from the first contact to meeting, and eventually closing the deal. Or I might even ask about a deal that ended badly. I’d ask them to walk me through why things went awry, what their learnings were, and how they recovered from it.

The Right Mix

When hiring for sales, you’ll really need to look at the size of the team you’re trying to build, or what kind of book you’re managing. Based on that, you’d have to strike a balance between hiring strategic sellers and technical sellers. How you figure out the percentage of each type of salesperson really depends on the type of business you’re building.

Suppose you’re building a strategic set of books, where only ten accounts drive 80% of the revenue, you’ll need to hire strategic salespeople. These salespeople come with a strong consultative background, with experience in handling large businesses. Their expertise and skill set will poise them perfectly to build relationships within layers of the company and plan ahead for the business. Strategic salespeople are typically more experienced, and have been selling in your industry for quite some time.

If you’re looking at building a new business that’s untouched, where all you’re doing is growing the number of advertisers in your book, for instance, go for salespeople with a lot of drive. These are people who are excited to bring your product to the market: to pitch, to go out there and meet people, who have the “hunter” mentality.

Turn Offs

When interviewing candidates there are certain no-no’s that immediately signal that you should think twice before hiring them. Being late is a big factor. A candidate who is late for an interview – unless they have a really good reason – will naturally rank lower than someone who showed up five minutes early and had the time to gain composure before the interview began.

And while a suit and tie isn’t required, it pays to be dressed appropriately in a properly pressed outfit. Especially for sales roles where first impressions really matter, turning up sloppily dressed indicates that a candidate wouldn’t be the best person to represent the company when meeting clients.

Lastly, come prepared. You’d think this would be an obvious one, but I’ve met numerous candidates who have shown up to interviews thoroughly unprepared. This is especially apparent at the end of the interview when I ask them if they have any questions for me. If they’re asking questions that are very basic, it is clear that they didn’t take the time to think critically about the role and what it entails. A successful candidate is someone who comes prepared with insightful questions that demonstrate that they have a strong grasp of the nuances of the role, company, and industry.

As a manager, you need to give your sales teams the space to think. Between the rush to hit their targets and managing clients, the average salesperson spends a majority of their day working to deliver. As a result, there’s little room for thinking or reflection. This is hardly going to bring out the best in them. Instead, you can build in times where your sales team has nothing on their calendar. This blank space is what will help them become even more successful. During this time, encourage them to sit back and reflect upon what has worked well, and what they’d like to take on next.

More Empowerment, Less Micromanagement

My team has also given me valuable feedback that they’d like to be empowered more in order to be more effective. A great manager is someone who empowers their sales team to make their own decisions and take on tasks that allow them to shine. You should always listen to the team, and support them to grow and take on more. As a manager, you have to find your unique style of engaging and motivating a high-performing team. Some managers are the high-energy type, who create a rah-rah environment to get people revved up to go. You should find your own authentic way of helping to motivate each member of your team.

Remember, a high-performing salesperson doesn’t want to be micromanaged. They want work environments that give them the freedom and power to make their own decisions, learn from their mistakes, find solutions, and grow. If you’re telling your salespeople exactly what they should do and how they should do it, you’re killing some of their drive and motivation. Not only will your relationship with your team suffer, you’ll also be eroding trust between you. There’s a fine line between helping your team progress and micromanaging. Explore where you and your team draw this line.

However, it is equally important to communicate with your team that for this arrangement to work, they’ll have to be proactive in meeting you halfway. Encourage them to be transparent in communicating with you about their challenges and successes. On an organisational level, too, it helps if your salespeople are able to feel at ease while doing their jobs. In companies like Twitter, employees are offered the option to work from home, and there are great benefits that make people feel valued and comfortable.

Communication

Managing people is not easy but it’s a dynamic journey that comes with a lot of learning attached. For me, learning to accept people for their unique characteristics without judgment has been vital in building strong relationships within the team.

Make it a point to spend time with the people you’re managing. Schedule brief weekly one-on-ones with every member of your team. This helps you get to know them as human beings and build a rapport with them. You’ll also have a better idea of what their personal goals are, and what they want to achieve in the long term. With this knowledge, you’ll be in a better position to align their goals with the organisation’s needs. As a result, you have a team of people who feel valued and motivated to perform at their best. Indeed, in my career, my managers have been pillars of support who have listened to my challenges and helped me work through them.

In your meetings with your sales teams, you should also play the role of the visionary who encourages them to think past just hitting their numbers for the quarter. Instead, direct them towards where the potential is – the next peak for them to scale. Push the boundaries beyond the current sales targets and into the realm of what could be, what’s next. This shift in thinking should begin with you. A simple way to implement this is by changing how you highlight things to the team. Don’t just talk about immediate goals. Always open up the discussion to have a bigger picture view.

Lastly, encourage your team to voice out their challenges. People are often afraid to be vulnerable. But as a manager, create that safe space where your salespeople feel comfortable opening up about their struggles, and make sure you’re reaching out to support them when they do. Build a culture of asking for help when it is needed. Your peers are the best people to lean on at work, and a great manager should embody the philosophy that at the end of the day, we’re all working together towards a shared goal.

1. Broaden Your Talent Pool

Don’t be afraid to hire from a different industry or sector. Sales skills can be taught, and ultimately we’re all salespeople in some form or another. Meet candidates from various industries to understand what value they could bring to your team.

2. Hire Strategically To Solve Business Needs

What are your most pressing business challenges? Depending on whether you’re looking at driving strategic accounts or building new business, hire consultative sellers or driven sellers with a “hunter” mindset.

3. Don’t Micromanage

Nobody likes a manager who micromanages! Give your team the space they need to make their own decisions and learn from them. Build a culture of openness where they feel comfortable asking for help if they need it.