 “I wish I could get more people in the organization to sell our products. We miss so many opportunities just because we don’t even ask for the order. My employees don’t seem to care, or they think that the only people who should have to sell are in the sales department.” I often hear comments like this coming from business owners and sales managers. They are frustrated and appear to have the weight of the world on their shoulders with everyone expecting that they will somehow magically bring in enough business every month to pay the bills and pay for raises and bonuses for the whole organization.
Sales results can be dramatically improved by having a culture where everyone in the organization understands and is involved in the sales process. This means everyone from the receptionist and clerks to your delivery people, collections and billing staff and certainly customer service personnel. To take some of that weight off their shoulders that comes with the burden of feeling responsible for it all, here are a few things business owners or sales managers can do to help establish a sales culture in an organization.
Lead by example. When interacting with every department in the organization help them understand that the customer is really paying the bills not Joan or Jack in payroll. Never engage in negative conversations about problem customers. Help everyone in the organization focus on how helping customers solve their problems leads to opportunities for your company. Never say anything about a customer that you would not say to their face.
Include members from other departments out on sales calls. Letting key players from your organization see and hear first hand what the customer’s needs and seeing how challenging sales really can be, will go a long way in building understanding and empathy for what it takes to deliver a sale. Often in the course of these meetings you will be pleasantly surprised by the ideas that arise from people who really know the system that you may not have thought of, which lead to new opportunities for additional sales.
Use Positive Reinforcement. Chastise in private but praise in public. When you see or hear of someone in your organization who has done something to help a customer or that lead to a new opportunity let everyone know how much it is appreciated. Beyond words consider a small gift or perhaps, depending on your commission structure you could offer a small percentage of the commission as a way to encourage future behavior.
Create a newsletter. Develop a sales newsletter or other formal communication tool that updates everyone in the organization on the progress of your organizations sales efforts. Keeping everyone informed on a regular basis helps keep the importance of sales more top of mind and helps keep employees thinking about how they may be able to help. Let everyone know where sales efforts are being focused and invite ideas on how customers or prospective customers could be serviced better or presented with new products or services they currently don’t buy from you.
Celebrate your successes and distribute the credit. When you make a sale celebrate with the organization. Give credit to everyone who helped in the process and let them know you appreciate the role they played in landing the business. Don’t just wait for the big orders to celebrate but help make your organization a fun place to work by catching people doing something good and thanking them for it. It could be as simple as thanking them for a nice smile or asking them if they answer the phone in an uninspired manner if they are having a bad day (and then giving them some encouragement).
By instilling a sales culture into your organization you will take some of the burden off of your shoulders, create a more engaged and understanding work force and let everyone have more fun!
About the Author – Scott Francis is President of Topline Development LLC a Strategic Marketing Consulting Group that provides helps companies determine how they can make the most amount of money with the least amount of resources. To learn more about Topline Development LLC visit their web site at www.ToplineDevelopment.com or contact Scott directly at scott@toplinedevelopment.com. |
