Your sales team is struggling to meet their targets. How can you help them turn things around?

Start by looking at the only 3 things that a sales professional can control...their own Behavior (Are they doing the right things, at the right time with the right frequency), assess their Attitude (How do they feel about themselves, the market that they serve and the organization that they work for, and then their Technique (are the applying the appropriate skill to the situation. As you identify gaps in the above, ask yourself if the issue is 'conceptual' (they don't believe) or 'technical' (they don't know how). This will help you begin to apply the right coaching (help them self-discover) and/or training (impart knowledge/work on skill)

Start by diving into the data, look at sales figures, customer feedback, and market trends. It's like putting on a detective hat – you're searching for clues to understand what's going wrong. Analyzing the data can reveal patterns and insights that help pinpoint areas for improvement. Maybe certain products aren't selling well, or there's a disconnect in the sales process. Once you have a clear picture then find out what works and what doesn't.

To help your struggling sales team meet targets, identify challenges, provide targeted training and support, set realistic goals, foster a positive culture, implement performance incentives, encourage collaboration, monitor progress and provide feedback, stay flexible, and celebrate successes.

Analyze data, such as CRM data, market research, and sales pipeline, because sales data is often built on opinions, and sometimes these opinions can be biased. Analyzing data to check its validity is important. Discuss with your sales team and have conversations about their sales process, any challenges they face, and the customer buying journey. By discussing these aspects with the sales team and understanding their challenges and interactions with customers, it becomes possible to identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) more accurately, leading to more informed decision-making and strategic planning

Para ayudar a mi equipo de ventas a superar las dificultades para cumplir sus objetivos, primero me aseguraría de comprender las causas subyacentes de los problemas. Luego, trabajaríamos juntos para establecer metas claras y alcanzables, proporcionando capacitación adicional donde sea necesario y brindando apoyo emocional y motivacional. Implementaría un sistema de seguimiento y retroalimentación regular para identificar y abordar rápidamente los obstáculos, y promovería un ambiente de colaboración y trabajo en equipo donde los miembros se sientan valorados y apoyados en su búsqueda de éxito.

Coaching doesn't mean they do exactly as you say, because that's not coaching; that's micromanaging. Coaching is more about providing them with a framework and direction, monitoring their progress, making corrections if necessary, tracking their pipeline progress with data, and validating it through conversation. Train your team to discuss, let them give ideas, and allow them to receive credit for their achievements. Give feedback to develop and direct them on how to improve, rather than criticizing them.

A team is always a reflection of is leader. Take the time to invest in your employees. Conduct daily one on one meetings to assess the previous days wins and losses and identify areas where you can assist in making their job easier. Make a few follow up calls with them. Construct a few emails together. Make it a collaboration of ideas, not a lecture. Provide feedback and training materials. Lead by example at all times. Use weekly assessments to make sure your employees are inline with their goals and adjust accordingly.

If your team isn’t hitting, you better be prospecting too. Don’t ask them to struggle if you aren’t willing to. Get on the phone, send emails, network like crazy. Take advice, feedback, and data from everyone on the team. Each team member is having success somewhere - highlight or & share it with everyone so they can start doing it too. And most of all, don’t be a d*ck and take your stress or frustrations out on your team. You are the team so act like it

Stretegy is everything. To understand problem, first of all basic team dynamics should be correct. For example there are two types of salespeople: hunters and farmers. ?Hunters take new business and farmers cultivate existing fields (accounts). ?There is a shortage of hunters everywhere. ?Only 10% of sales people are true hunters who consistently bring in new business month after month and there is a huge supply of farmers, aka (account managers). ?Most companies face a lack of new business and accounts because they employ their hunters in account management. ?There should be separate teams for that. ?It has been scientifically proven that humans work more diligently on monotonous tasks than when faced with multiple tasks at once.

To adjust strategy, you need to assess the current situation and conditions of your team, competitors, and customers. Conduct analysis using data, knowledge, and experience to identify necessary changes to adapt the strategy. Determine your team's strengths and weaknesses, and how the strategy can support them in selling and building rapport and trust with their prospects and customers. Encourage team members to visit prospects to understand what improvements are needed, comparing data in the pipeline with gaps in the sales process, and work on enhancing it.

One way to motivate and reward a sales team member, is by putting a lot of energy in coaching that person till they observe improvements by themselves. The best way to do this is through field coaching. Being an active observer during the interactions with the customers, allows you to pinpoint what and how to improve, immediately after the interaction.

To motivate your team, you need to recognize their efforts and give compliments. Show them that you care about their efforts, maintain communication, and engage in conversations to motivate them. Small celebrations for their progress and achievements, along with discussing their next steps and how you can support them, are essential. Showing them that you support them is the best way to motivate your team. Rewards like public praise, bonuses, commissions, or vacations can provide even bigger motivation for them. However, remember that this is not a contest or competition; your goal is to motivate the entire team. Overpraising some people can create the perception of favoritism, which will demotivate your team.

At the same time as analysing each sales person's pipeline, I'd focus on motivating them. When you help them to win their next deal by maybe finding a resource or offer that will help it convert you revitalise their energy and help to reset their mindset. You can also remind them of past successes because if they've done it before they can do it again! Once you've got one sale in the next ones follow much more easily.

Seeking external help is sometimes necessary because you need viewpoints from different angles, particularly from people who are experts in the problem you're facing. Consulting with experts or mentors may help, but most importantly, you must learn to listen to their advice and input, especially if they identify latent problems that you may not recognize, being open to feedback and willing to make necessary changes are crucial for personal and professional growth.

Regular review is a must because one of the sales leader's jobs is to prevent mistakes from happening. Since most data in the pipeline and funnel are based on opinions, having conversations and conducting acid tests for their progress helps determine if their opinions are correct and valid, or if corrections are needed. Assess whether your strategies and tactics are working well or if improvements are necessary.

Sales leaders with teams that are falling short need to start by looking in the mirror. Have you set goals, quotas and expectations properly? Are you holding your teams accountable to the proper performance? Have you set a culture of winning and accountability? Have you hired poorly? Now isn’t the time to try and “create a culture” or “just work harder.” It is time to evaluate how you are approaching your customers. Are your salespeople making enough contacts every single day? Is the message your customers hear hitting home? Have your salespeople identified the proper need or pain that your product solves? It may be time to ask for some outside help by engaging either a sales trainer or consultant to help provide a new perspective.

When you're not hitting target you need a laser focus on closing the deals that you've already worked on. But that makes it very easy lose sight of the top end of the pipleine. The risk? You get back on target this month but next month there's nothing in the pipeline. So whilst you work to convert sales make time to refill the top of your pipeline. Do this using the Law of Replenishment. If one of your team is closing 1:3 opportunities then for every sale they make they need to put 3 new opportunities in the top of their pipeline. Help them look for new markets and customers who are growing, investing and spending rather than shrinking markets so your sales are consistent and sustainable

Install a culture in the team for continuous incremental improvements. If your team succeed in realising an improvement of 1% of conversion in each interaction, you will see massive improvement results. As a sales manager, it is your duty to nurture that culture.

When your sales team faces challenges in meeting targets, it's imperative to explore additional avenues for support and improvement, consider fostering a culture of innovation and experimentation. Encourage your team to explore new approaches, test different tactics, and share their findings collaboratively. Embrace a mindset that values continuous improvement and learning from both successes and setbacks. Additionally, invest in professional development opportunities to equip your team with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in a competitive market landscape.