How do you coach and mentor salespeople during tough times?

Actually, when sales are tough this is a good time to remind, train, and educate your sales and marketing teams. As a leader you must guide the teams in the right way that provides motivation for the future, hopefully when trading conditions are better. In tougher times, you should also review your marketing strategies to ensure your sales team are covering the potential customer base with the right products or services at a competitive price point. We train our clients to use quite times in a proactive way to make the business better, make changes, and to develop new skills. Business starts with great marketing data, branding, customer perception and the value proposition, it is the task of sales to take all this to market.

During tough times, coaching and mentoring salespeople requires a supportive and empathetic approach.Actively listen to their concerns, acknowledge their challenges, and offer encouragement.Provide personalized feedback & constructive guidance to help them improve their strategies & adapt to changing circumstances.Set realistic goals and focus on achievable milestones to boost their confidence. Offer training and resources to enhance their skills and stay motivated. Be a role model by demonstrating resilience and positivity.Celebrate their successes, no matter how small, and remind them of their past achievements. Maintain open communication and let them know you are there to support them through the tough times, building trust and loyalty.

One of the most valuable exercises is to sit with your team and have a conversation which honestly recognises their struggles in adapting to change because yes, sometimes sales targets may be set too high or adequate resources might not have been provided. Open communication allows us to come together to reset targets and expectations if needed, but more importantly it's a way of supporting team motivation and providing a safe space for sharing.

1. Training and Development: Provide access to sales training materials, workshops, and webinars to equip salespeople with adaptive strategies and skills to navigate tough times effectively. 2. Mentorship and Support: Pair salespeople with experienced mentors who can offer guidance, share coping strategies, and provide personalized feedback during challenging periods. 3. Motivational Resources: Share motivational content such as videos, articles, and podcasts to uplift salespeople's spirits, boost morale, and maintain motivation throughout tough times.

Sales is not an easy job! Meeting targets and dealing with customers daily can be tough! Stress management and self-care therefore two of the most important resources we can provide for our team. This can be done via interactive Lunch & Learn sessions or informal team meetings where practical techniques on how to manage stress, maintain a healthy work-life balance, and fit in time to exercise as well as spend quality time with loved ones are shared as well as discussed. A useful cool tool to support the above and for organizations to consider (because it's so easy to set up) is an online company repository which houses YouTube videos, podcasts, articles and blog posts on Stress Management and Prioritizing Mental Health.

This is a quite helpful concept. Before providing resources, we must analyze the need and preferences. Take insights and feedback from the team. Maybe they require skills training and we are only providing them with information and printed material.

3 Tips for boosting your team's morale: Lead by example - show the behaviours you are encouraging; be resilient and have a positive attitude because your team is watching you. Provide positive reinforcement - highlight the importance of team work while recognizing as well as celebrating the big and small victories; all wins matter! Be available to chat - let your team know it's ok to come and talk to you about anything; be a good listener and make sure your office door is always open to them.

Providing genuine support, understanding and realistic practical strategies on a continuous basis can help everyone on the team better navigate challenges to come out stronger on the other side. We can do this by continuously listening, offering feedback, keeping everyone accountable and recognizing a job well done. It might be tough to stay on top of the challenges, but tough times are temporary when your team is motivated and everyone is working together on the same page.

Sometimes the challenges sales persons face come from within their own organization e.g. the billing department keeps forgetting to send off invoices on time and the payment of commissions is delayed, or there have been changes to the stock room personnel and so managing inventory or ordering stock are duties passed on to the sales team as people are laid off but not replaced. It is therefore important to represent your team especially when others in other departments drop the ball, and have the necessary conversations to keep everyone accountable. In times of tumultuous internal changes, open communication is key for discussing options and implementing realistic coping mechanisms, especially if targets cannot be adjusted down.