Five Ways to Help Your Salespeople Think Like Business Owners

By Mark Roberts

“I want members of my salesforce to act like business owners in their territory.” - Every Business Owner of Every Company. What’s the secret? In our last post we shared 13 skills entrepreneurial salespeople have. How can you help your sales force become more engaged, motivated, and use their inherent ownership skills and drive profitable sales growth?

I’ve heard some version of the above statement from almost every C-Suite executive I’ve ever met. Initially, I translated this request as “if everyone gave their all, we’d blow up our number, disrupt the market and grow like crazy.” In an uncertain economy, I hear the more pragmatic: “I want my reps to be more accountable for hitting their number, “ or, “I want them to take a big-picture view of their territory,” or “ The sales team needs to understand (and communicate) the value we bring to all of our clients.” Upon reflection, I’ve learned to interpret these statements into a need for salespeople to take a leadership position in their territory or, more simply, to act like owners.

“Nothing happens until someone sells something.”

- Peter Drucker or Thomas Watson

Salespeople understand that they are the last (and vital) link in the chain between company and customer. They are the feet on the street and closest to their customers. Additionally, since the entire purpose of every business is to make sales, earn revenue, and become profitable, the very nature of the sales position requires some ownership skills from the salesperson. However, most sales folks don’t really act like owners. Imagine what your organization could accomplish if every member of the sales team was self-motivated and focused all their energy on making your business successful, knowing they, in turn, would become successful also. The good news is they can!

So, how do you leverage all their intellect, ingenuity, market knowledge and relationships, energy, and grit for competitive advantage? Ultimately, how do you build an ownership culture? 

Here are five things you can do to help your sales force become more engaged, motivated, and use their inherent ownership skills and perhaps build a few more:

● Be transparent- Today, Shared purpose and motivation is a significant driver in achieving success. Increasingly, leaders are expected to be open. Sales teams want to understand how leaders make decisions and how the choices will impact the team, their clients, and the entire market. When executives are forthright with the salesforce about company goals, priorities, initiatives and challenges, and the trade-offs they as leaders must make, employees can better prioritize their work and develop solutions that benefit all parts of the business.

Also, remember that transparency is a two-way street. Salespeople need to use the CRM, document their activities, and strive for accuracy in forecasting. Regrettably, there are still salespeople who work outside the system (via excel spreadsheet, hide their opportunities, and pad their forecasts. I believe that if the team sees leadership as transparent and fair, they will follow suit. 

● Let the sales team assist in goal-setting- In all companies, executives set the company goals and total projections each year. From there, the sales team should be enabled to set quarterly and monthly goals for revenue and bookings. These targets are divided up by territories and verticals. The marketing team takes the target and derive a marketing target. In addition to these targets, sales team members should be encouraged to develop 2-5 KPIs and a detailed territory plan that will help ensure the team makes its targets. This method requires buy-in from each team-member and strategies that are thorough, time-bound, and fixed on outcomes. Also, everyone understands that they are committed to and accountable for their goals.

● If the company wins, they win- If you want the sales organization to act as business owners, you should give them a stake in the success of the company. There are lots of ways to do this over and above commission incentives such as profit-sharing or an employee stock purchase plan. I recently saw a studyconducted by the London School of Economics and Compushare. They found those who participated worked more hours, called out less, were less likely to quit, and had higher job satisfaction. 

● Offer upskilling- I’ve not met the sales team that isn’t interested in up-skilling. Did you know that offering career training and development would keep 86% of millennials from leaving their current position? When your sales team gains new skills and up level their competencies, they will be more ready to smash their quota and tackle challenges within their territories. Today’s buyer is more educated than ever; training will give your team a fighting chance. Teach them business acumen and the how their customers make money. Keep in mind what salespeople want are individualized learning plans that meet their needs just in time and just enough to drive performance improvement. They do not want to be in 2-3-day boring death by PowerPoint trainings that take them out of their markets. They need to evolve from sales reps to Trusted Advisors to their customers.  Also, when you proactively help employees gain new skills, not only will they become promotable, they’ll also be more loyal to your organization. (If you want to learn more about modern training download this eBook)

●      Be less of a boss and more of a coach- If you want your sales team engaged be mindful of how you communicate with them. If you are going to pay them a compliment, highlight the specific contribution they made, especially when they show ownership. Besides, when your employees come to you for help, ask questions, and challenge them to come up with the solution themselves. This way, they’ll eventually be capable of planning, evaluating options, and tactics－finally discovering their own solutions. These are crucial skills for ‘owners.’

When leadership takes the time to build and foster an ownership mentality with your salesforce, they will become both more productive and effective. Equally important, your team will feel valued.

Do you think it’s essential that your sales team has an ownership mindset? 

What are some ways to promote ownership mentality you’ve found?

Please answer in the comments. Thanks for reading!