This is the 3rd article in a series I wrote for Susan Solovic, a frequent guest on Fox Business News.  If you are in B2B sales, you should follow Susan to gain insights as to how you can provide more value to your clients.  Follow Susan at www.susansolovic.com

All sales managers should find this post helpful in retaining your sales team.

 

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Create Fusion in Your Sales Team

 

As a small business owner, you begin to create fusion among the various stakeholders in your business when you develop a culture where everyone in all relationships provides more in value than the simple transaction would require.

 

That process starts with you and how you interact with your employees.

 

You provide an income to your employees. You may provide a benefit package of some type. You provide a safe working environment.

 

For the most part, that is all of the value that the simple transaction of your employees working for you would require.

 

It is certainly a fair trade.

 

However, to create fusion, you need to be creative in providing more value. In most cases, you can do so at little or no expense. The return you get on your investment will be amazing. Most importantly, when you provide more value, you create one of the strongest Fusion Points® between you and your employees.

 

Doing so generates huge levels of loyalty to you.

 

Provide more value and create Fusion Points® in your sales team by doing the following:

 

Link their personal and family success to their career success.

 

Sales people have to deal with more negative than almost any profession. They will hear the word “no” more often than they will hear the word “yes”. That fact alone is the greatest reason for turnover in a sales team. Your company will never consistently achieve your needed sales growth unless you reduce the turnover in your sales team.

 

Coach your sales team in discovering their “why.” What are the things in life that mean so much to them that they will fight the great battles and never give up? For most, it becomes their family and the life they want to provide. Have them get specific about those things. Give them the assignment of setting their personal goals with their family. Have them discuss how their family will celebrate in the rewards of their hard work.

 

Have a sincere focus on helping them achieve the goals they want for their future. Communicate your honest desire to work together to make that a reality. Then follow through.

 

Establish your value proposition and what it means to your customers.

 

Your sales people need to understand clearly how your customers’ lives will be made better by what your company does for them. Use stories to illustrate the difference your product or service makes and how important the role of the sales person is in making that happen. Equip them to communicate this effectively to your potential customers.

 

Find creative ways your sales team can bring more value to the customer.

Brainstorm with your sales people about what they can personally do that will provide more value to the customer than the simple transaction for your product or service would require. Some areas that cost little or nothing might be:

  1. Customer contacts and customer service that goes above and beyond the norm
  2. Sending articles of interest to the customer
  3. Referring business to the customer on a regular basis

 

Other ways to create Fusion Points® with your sales people.

  • Insure that each sales person is trained by a “Tour Guide” and not a “Travel Agent”. Being side by side time in the field in live selling situations makes for more effective training and creates stronger bonds within your team. Travel agents stay in the office and tell. Tour guides get in the field and sell.
  • Pay sales teams based on incentives for greater performance and the profitability of the sale.
  • Have sales and non-sales employees work side by side from time to time learning how their jobs affect each other. This can be a real eye-opener.
  • Hold social and team building events for your sales team. Hold additional social events for all employees.
    Recognize good performance often and in front of their peers.

 

“When you create Fusion Points® in your sales team, they “get it”. They become more productive and you become more profitable.”

– Jeff C. West

 

In our next Thursday post, we will discuss how to create Fusion Points® in your non-sales employees.

 

Stay tuned…