How can employee empowerment drive sales management success?

Employees do not deliver what you tell them to deliver, they deliver what you motivate them to deliver. Empowering an employee or a team means delegating responsibilites, accountability and, ultimately, trust. Trust is one of the most effective propellers of motivation, it has a positive impact on all activites related to sales management.

1.Getting them connected with vision of the company. 2.Their KRA must be designed by themselves based on the Goals set for the company itself. 3.Making them understand the reverse calculation to decide the price /discount that they offer to the customer The major drawback of most of the organisation is the disconnect between the Visionary goal and the task the sales team is asked to do. This ultimately kills the enthusiasm of the team resulting high degree of attrition. The lack feeling of ownness makes them indifferent in the company - and end of the day no one can win the race with the unwilling horse.

The most important thing you can do as an employer is to listen to your employees. The fact is that all employers were employees once. Allow your employees to voice their ideas on current or upcoming projects/designs. That employee has often been to other places and can shed great insight into what you are trying to develop. Also, keep those employees engaged in your ideas. There are many ways to get to the same solution.

One thing I found helpful, is to give space to the team to add their personal touch to products and services they are offering. The key is building a connection with the end users and customers where they felt that they are getting the value based on their true needs.

Employee empowerment is pivotal for sales success. Trusting our team with decision-making enhances agility in responding to customer needs and market changes. Empowered employees engage customers personally, fostering loyalty and repeat business. This approach is essential in the dynamic foodservice industry. A culture of innovation and adaptability emerges when employees are empowered to contribute ideas, ensuring we stay ahead of industry trends. Higher motivation and morale result in a positive work environment, crucial for meeting sales targets. Continuous learning opportunities keep our sales team abreast of industry best practices and trends. Foodservice performs best around fantastic empowered teams!

In my view, one of the key elements for the empowerment of a sales team is connected to the mindset of the sales manager. Most probably, the sales manager is a former salesperson that because of his/her good performance was promoted to a sales leader. The sooner this person understands that his/her role is to manage, train, guide, coach and ultimately serve the sales team, rather than continue to sell and remain the focal point, the faster the team will be empowered, produce results and grow. We need to constantly remind ourselves that as sales leaders, our main contribution to our organisations is to make sure that we empower our people to such an extend that they become better than us.

1. Communicate vision and the purpose consistently 2. Set clear expectations 3. Track progress 4. Celebrate not just the wins but the effort and learnings from failure 5. Analyze what could be improved and provide constructive feedback and coaching

The growth and prospect of any organization is dependent mostly on the manpower,and this manpower needed to be empowered. Key points in my opinion are as follows. Organization should work to provide innovative and challenging assignments to the employees,so that employees get motivated and devoted,secondly employees participation should be encouraged so that innovation and creativity could take place.in every organization there should be a provision of providing sufficient training. Employee's beleifs,opinions should be prioritized.Friendly environment,transparency,single window and peer to peer support makes sales team competitive and innovative.

Empower your sales team through open communication and continuous training. Recognize achievements to boost morale and foster a motivated, high-performing environment.

Most important step is to set up realistic sales targets, considering all aspects of the sales area starting from analysing our own offer, strengths and weaknesses. Ask our selves why customers would rather buy from us instead of from competition or vice versa...

Here, it's not about micromanaging metrics but observing the curve in the long run. How are they evolving? Where lie the obstacles, and who clears those obstacles easily? Regular calls with new clients on how they experienced everything.

Measuring the impact of employee empowerment involves assessing various factors to determine its effectiveness. Key metrics are: Employee Satisfaction Surveys Performance Metrics Employee Turnover Rates Decision-Making Speed Innovation Metrics Training and Development Participation Employee Feedback and Suggestions Leadership Effectiveness Combining both quantitative and qualitative data will provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of employee empowerment within an organization. Regularly review these metrics to make informed decisions about the ongoing effectiveness of empowerment initiatives.

Ownership in daily decisions Long term & Short term impact on KPIs Management style (Manager or Leader) Stability & Team Performance

We live in a world where there is vast multitude of options and employee experience. The classical way of zooming in on particular metrics just to drive compliance is obsolete. The best way to drive a successful empowerment teams is about measuring outcomes and avoiding by all means micromanaging the team and setting a long list of metrics that hinders the team to operate with the right level of autonomy.

Honestly, in sales the result should be quota attainment. Period! If the team is attaining quota (>80%+) then empowerment is working. Sales leaders, reconsider your empowerment/enablement program in case quota attainment is consistently low.

Sales Managers sometimes get the urge to jump in and insert themselves in the tactical sales role. Especially if they too were once in the field. The downside to this is that it confuses the customer as to who really should be the POC. As soon as a customer realizes they can go right to the manager to get things done, it devalues the role of the salesperson. This in turn discourages empowerment. There should be a very clear picture of the role of the sales manager vs the role of the salesperson. When you are a sales a manger, it is no longer about you (thrill of the kill, closing deals, etc), it’s about the team. Support, Enable, Empower.

Continuous Improvement: Regularly review and refine empowerment strategies based on feedback and results. Flexibility: Adapt empowerment initiatives to suit the evolving needs and dynamics of the sales team. Leadership Role: Managers need to lead by example, demonstrating trust and supporting empowered decision-making.

To further enhance the impact of employee empowerment, consider implementing the following strategies, effectiveness of these strategies may vary depending on the organizational context and the specific needs of workforce. Feedback Loops: Establish regular feedback loops where employees can share their experiences, suggestions, and concerns. Act on feedback to show that their input is valued and can lead to positive changes. Recognition Programs: Implement formal recognition programs that highlight and reward outstanding contributions. Recognizing employees publicly reinforces the value of their empowered efforts. Continuous Improvement Leadership Development Flexible Work Policies Cross-Training Opportunities Technology Integration

Be a human first. I believe you have two jobs as a sales leader...mindset and productivity. If you focus on those aspects first and foremost the revenue will follow!

To improve sales performance whilst empowering sales managers, I will add the following key points to the propositions already listed in this article : - put in place an efficient CRM that will allow exchanges of informations as well as sales team efficiency toward customers expectations - more importantly, train the sales team on digital approach to sales management, namely customer centric approach with company touchpoints analyses, persona definitions, conversion channel, etc.... - additionnally set a culture of networking in the company around assisting, servicing and providing useful informations and supports to nerwork contacts Merry Christmas to all