A strategic imperative is an objective or business goal that the company is working towards. It is of high priority to keep the strategic imperatives in mind when planning out projects. Having a common business goal or goals in place for sales leadership personnel will reinvigorate the sales force’s effectiveness. These are a few strategic imperatives that help build and sustain a high-performing sales team.
Prospecting Plan
Simply telling your sales force they need to prospect is not as effective as giving them a prospecting plan that gives them direction. They need to be educated about the tools to build relationships that create sales opportunities. Giving them their targets and fostering understanding will encourage them to prospect for potential clients more often. With this simple form of direction, your sales force will be much more productive.
Personal Development
As a leader, you should always be concerned with each member of your team and their level of development. Take time to talk with them, review their work and write some notes on their personal development. How have they improved over the quarter? Review this document with them and make sure to cover any areas for improvement. This shows them your investment in their development and
Differentiation
If you were to ask one of your salespeople how your company was different than another in the same industry, how confident are you they would be able to give you an answer? Knowing what makes you different or unique can make or break a sale with a prospective client. Why would they want to choose you over another business, even if that means spending more money? Even if the client never asks why you are different, you can always create the opportunity to present it to them.
Effective Sales Process
You have salespeople on the front lines sifting through prospects and turning them into qualified leads. Because you cannot be with every one of them at the same time, it is more effective to have a sales process in place. By training them in this process, you can be more confident that they are taking the right steps to create value for the prospect without micromanaging them.
Exemplary Sales Managers
Having these strategic imperatives in place is fruitless if you don’t have the right people to implement them. The Sales Manager needs to be an innate leader that coaches the sales team, both as a group and individually. Provide them with a model that you find is most effective for mentoring salespeople. Here is a great example of a possible sales mentor or sales coach. Giving the team an anchor helps keep them on target and produces a stronger sales force.
Hiring those who have previous experience in sales doesn’t necessarily mean they will thrive in your company’s environment. Provide your sales leaders with as detailed of a blueprint that you can for each aspect of the sales process and they will guide the sales teams along the way. It is to your benefit if they know how to build valuable relationships with prospective clients, differentiate how your company is better than another, and convert the prospect to a qualified sales lead.
