You're struggling to manage your media sales team's deals. What's the best way to get them back on track?

Identify the Root Cause: Take a moment to analyze why the team is struggling. Is it a lack of motivation, insufficient training, external factors like market changes, or something else? Understanding the root cause will guide your efforts to address the issue effectively.

I think setting clear and realistic goals should always be first as it is the foundation. Once goals are set, everything else can be overlayed to drive efficacy in meeting those goals.

When commission/bonuses are part of the comp plan, one of the most effective strategies is working 1-on-1 with your reps to determine what THEIR income goal is and working backwards from there. Use your reporting and analytics to gauge your team's sales metrics (# of calls to reach decision maker, closing ratios, etc.) and then create attainable goals that are both activity and revenue based. Activity goals are at the core of ensuring sales reps can follow the very disciplines that lead them to hitting those overall revenue goals. Activity -> Results. Cannot have one without the other.

Clearly understand the company's positioning in the market, understand its customers, competitors and then structure a sustainable goal according to the strategy of the shareholders.

Utilizing a CRM system is another effective strategy for managing your media sales team's deals. It centralizes prospect and client information, including preferences, proposals, and feedback. Additionally, it aids in tracking team performance metrics like conversion rates and customer satisfaction. With a CRM system, you gain a single source of truth, enhancing efficiency and accuracy in deal management.

I Think having an active sales operations department will help to handle a proper CRM system in collaboration with IT , Ensuring that we maintain a good data base system for customers & sales operations.

Teach your sales team the importance of fully utilizing their CRM upfront, and instill the understanding that this is not just a tool for management to track them. Rather, it's a tool absolutely detrimental to their own success (especially note taking, which I am a stickler for). At the same time, it is imperative that you know your way around the CRM as management so you can build effective reporting and tracking tools.

The relationship between you and your client/business partner is critical to the sales process' success. Open-ended questions, personal and professional relationships with business partners, and customer focused tailored sales solutions will all influence the outcome of successful sales deals.

Implementing a sales process is crucial for managing your media sales team's deals effectively. This process guides the team through each stage of the sales cycle, from prospect awareness to purchase. It standardizes practices, streamlines workflows, and identifies and addresses any bottlenecks. By following a sales process, your team can enhance productivity and maintain consistency in deal management.

Having a streamline Basic call procedure is important for pre and post media sales transaction is important for the team to implement

Lead generation is often a very time-consuming, draining process. Create a symbiotic relationship between your marketing and sales department to let them brainstorm and work together in unison to create various methods and automations that bring in leads, qualify them, and even automate several aspects of the sales process. Automation can singlehandedly change the face of your business, overhead, and revenue operations.

Utilizing marketing automation software can significantly enhance your media sales team's deal management process. This software automates tasks like lead generation, nurturing, and email marketing. It helps attract and engage qualified leads while personalizing messages to match their needs. Additionally, it aligns marketing and sales efforts, improving collaboration and communication. Leveraging marketing automation software boosts team efficiency and effectiveness in managing deals.

By providing resources and support, we can foster a collaborative environment. Providing time and space for creativity is also important because it allows the team to develop new skills. This allows us to quickly identify and improve work quality.

Regular feedback and coaching are vital components of effective deal management for your media sales team. Provide constructive feedback on their strengths, weaknesses, achievements, and areas for improvement. Additionally, coach them on overcoming challenges and objections and effectively utilizing provided tools and resources. This approach fosters team growth and development, enhancing deal management capabilities.

Recognizing and rewarding your media sales team's successes is crucial for maintaining morale and motivation. Acknowledge their hard work, efforts, and results regularly. Offer incentives and rewards that align with their goals and preferences, such as bonuses or recognition. By doing so, you foster a positive work environment, enhance loyalty, and encourage continued success.

Offer Incentives: Consider implementing incentives or rewards to motivate the team. This could include monetary bonuses, recognition programs, or opportunities for career advancement. Tailor incentives to align with the team's goals and individual motivations.

Rewards and appreciation for both individual and team efforts must necessarily not be expensive. Being deliberate especially when the spirit of the team is low can be a great game changer.

Struggling implies that at one point there was success. Sometimes it’s as easy as reflecting and retracing your steps. How did you get here? Passion, hunger, desire? Within each great sales person is a reason for it all. That will drive whomever it is back to winning. Even if that means somewhere else.

Evaluate and Adjust: Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies and be willing to make adjustments as needed. Solicit feedback from team members on what's working well and what could be improved, and use this input to refine your approach over time.