How to build a sales department that sells well?

Do you remember the new millennium years? Just a decade ago a business had almost been working by itself.

There was no urgent need in internet-marketing, SEO or competitors market analysis. Nobody had paid enough attention to active sales because clients were coming by themselves. Moreover it was a lot of them.

Nowadays marketplace situation has recently changed. The clients aren't coming by themselves any more, and the competitors have even became more active: have begun to reduce prices and acquire customers.

As a result, many businessmen faced such a difficulty like choosing from many new ways of acquiring customers those ones that will definitely lead to sales upturn. If you are not sure, you would just throw your money down the drain.

What is meant by sales department and how to build it properly?

Many companies have already had a certain sales department that has been functioning for several years or even from the very  foundation. Some of businessmen has begun building their sales department actively just now when crisis had hit their business. But what sales department is?

Sales department is the army and its success is based on three pillars:

• Discipline;
• Goal setting;
• Time-management.

How to build sales department properly in a such way it will be running like clockwork and carry out sales plans steadily?

1. Recruitment

Do never hurry up with this question and hire for sales managers those ones who responded to or came for an interview first.

Look for a person who meets all your requirements and expectations. Hire those ones who are close to you spiritually. In other case you are risking to spend a bunch of time on their training, motivation, working control and do not achieve the result-a person would probably leave you or you would finally give up and fire him.

2. Newcomers rehabilitation

When you have finally found “your” person don't leave him on his fate. Don't hope that a newcomer would cope with everything on his own. Thinking if he is  able to swim out then it's Ok, if he is not then it's not your person will let a manager reach a good sales level in a half a year only. But if you do it another way he will reach it in two months.

To make your newborn manager adaptation as fast as possible you need to write down a guidance for your sales department. There you should mention the main points of your department's work:

• Sales department mission;
• Structure of the department;
• Staff duties;
• Sales department rules;
• General work regulations;
• Working rules with the customers (from A to Z);
• Sales vocabulary glossary;
• The plan of the manager's working hours;
• CRM user manual;
• Sales funnel;
• Sales scripts;
• Sales life hacking;
• Additional material for self-study.

This manual is a must for your sales department because:

• it will help you to train your newcomers without spending much time and efforts;
• will give you a benchmark where you can always check whether your actions correct or not;
• will act as a third party in disputable situations.

However, sales world is in a constant change: sales methods, customer behavior etc. Thus, sales manual is not something that you onetime wrote and put on the shelf. It's your desk book that you will always reread and  modify.

Sales department is an innovation department which is always at the cutting edge of the blade.

3. Sales department work organization

Who is responsible for this target is the head of the department. He should build a system where a department will be running like clockwork. To make it real you should:

• reach mutual understanding with your subordinates according to department work organization;
• describe all the department processes;
• elaborate rules for working with customers;
• draw up a list of quantitative and qualitative effective work indicators ;
• elaborate control and motivation system;
• monitor sales plans implementation and all regulations compliance.

Competent work department organization, system and constant discipline maintenance are the key points to make a perfect team that will sell well for sure.

4. Planning

Many people see the future period through the prism of the past. Analyzing sales quantity, the average bill amount etc. Thus, according to these data they make their plans for the next year sales. Planning your work this way may never lead to a breakthrough because you are thinking of your previous experience only.

Actually, there is another one much more effective way-to plan according to this points:

• quantity of goods that you are willing to sell;
• number of clients that you are going to draw;
• market capacity;
• your manager's physical abilities;
• KPI (key performance indicators), that you are willing to reach.

This planning method is named ending mind. First you set goals that you want to reach and then you make a to do list for its achieving.

Using this method you are to build a great sales department and ensure the company's growth.

5. Controlling

To control your department, make a list of quantitative and qualitative indicators that you will constantly monitor.

Quantitative indicators like:

• first contacts;
• meetings held;
• transaction funnel;
• contracts concluded.

Qualitative indicators like:

• conversion on different stages;
• manager's communication with the clients ;
• % of clients left;
• the number of repeated sales;
• working with clients rules abidance.

Analytics is your road map that will show you what way to take and help to constantly improve your department's work.

6. Motivation

There are two main blocks of motivation: material and non material

Material motivation

Sales specialist should always be “hungry”. Thus, sales managers should be paid small fixed rate and a good sales percentage for them to understand that everything depends of their efforts only.

If a manager has fulfilled the plan it's normal and you don't have to praise him for it. But if your sales manager has exceeded the plan you should mark him and pay an additional bonus .

But material motivation is not always appreciated by everybody and influence their work productivity.

Non material motivation

On a par with material motivation there is also non material one:

• make a competition among your sales managers;
• create a board of fame;
• reward your best managers at the end of the month. For example, grant a gym membership card.

Believe it or not, it's really important. Every of us likes to win, likes being noticed and rewarded for our achievements.

Motivation system importance shouldn't be underestimated. It identifies strong sales managers and sweeps away weak ones.

7. Reflection

Don't let yourself bog down in tactics and forget about the strategy. Every week set aside time for analyzing and thinking over. What has been done? What results were achieved? What do you have now and what are you going to get in the nearest future?

If there are strong sales managers in your team as well as middle and weak ones you should better:

• analyze step by step what is the difference in behavior between these managers;
• create a to do plan for middle ones;
• consolidate a mentor for him.

In the result you'll get a perfect fighters team

Improve yourself constantly and apply innovations. As soon as you stop your sales department will begin to fade and in a half a year the former effectiveness will be over.

It can appear so the world of sales will go far ahead, but unfortunately you won't be able to jump into even the last carriage.

8. Sales department training

There is no need in inviting outside speakers. You are able to make your own inside training and sharing experience system. The main factor to succeed is to make it on a regular basis and to imply these knowledge on practice immediately. Thus, everybody will benefit from it.

Who does want to succeed, he will. If he is not, hence,  it's not your person. You should get rid of such kind of people as soon as possible. Otherwise, it can be projected negatively on the hole sales department work.

Sales department is a team that your's business success and growth is totally dependent on.

Remember, success is your intentions implementation by conscious actions only.

Wish all success as well as clear objectives and actions.