Sales is one of the most important divisions in any business. Even the greatest products will collect dust without adequate sales efforts. The better you can empower your sales team, the more inventory they can push. These soaring sales numbers begin with company leadership learning the ins and outs of managing sales team expectations.
You can make an immediate difference if you adopt the right sales toolkit, which must have detailed sales team productivity and accountability protocols. It allows you to set up meetings, define your terms, and course correct as you and your team navigate the sales pipeline. All these things make it easier for you to move towards your sales goals as one cohesive unit.
As with anything in business, your sales toolkit should be uniquely tailored to your company. However, there are some general guidelines to follow to get your productivity and accountability team plan rolling.
Guidelines to kickstart your own productivity and accountability plan
1. Give ownership and support for positive team expectations
Accountability starts with ownership, instilling a sense of responsibility in each team member. That sense of responsibility translates to them making more effective and thoughtful sales decisions. Those individual decisions can spell the difference between success and disaster for the entire team.
Implementing a productivity and accountability plan simply elevates your sales agents by enabling them to recognize these truths. Specifically, it should specify exactly what each team member is responsible for, including tasks, due dates, and a measurable standard of success. It should also contain input from the team itself. Set everyone up for success by helping them help you!
Helping the team overcome individual challenges improves accountability by helping them prosper. As a result, empowering them to reach their goals in the best ways will foster greater employee satisfaction and sales.
2. Have open lines of communication
Communication is a cornerstone of all of the best things in life. The same is true when it comes to sales. Open communication lines make team members and customers feel heard, valued, and respected. That, in turn, empowers them to speak up. Again, help them to help you! The more comfortable they feel engaging, the better you can understand their goals and identify potential problems. It also conveys a sense of mutual respect, strengthening communication and ensuring that team expectations stay consistent. Needless to say, any productivity and accountability plan should include concrete steps to foster open lines of communication.
We recommend starting with a reliable sales CRM app. That way, everyone can freely engage via a shared, readily accessible forum. Regular check-ins and milestones are also key, as they keep team expectations in line by quickly disseminating any changes or developments.
Furthermore, it pays to encourage openness and directness when communicating. Time is money, after all – beating around the bush means both parties stand to lose. Open lines of communication mean you can converse freely (albeit respectfully), top-down, and vice versa. This openness reduces lag time and helps you to tackle problems much more effectively.
3. Use an accountability framework and technology
An accountability framework is a specific means of gauging productivity and is an invaluable part of your sales toolkit. With it, everyone understands their expectations and how success will be measured. All in all, directly stated and readily accessible team expectations benefit everyone.
There are several ways to build such a framework. The RACI template, for instance, breaks down specific components of each task: responsible (R), accountable (A), consulted (C), and informed (I). It’s simple: one task component per person. This framework divides up responsibilities, while plainly stating who’s in charge of what. It promotes a sense of shared ownership and teamwork while fostering accountability.
Moreover, the right technology can help you leverage an accountability framework in no time. That’s especially important if you have loads of agents in the field or use a hybrid work model where some or all of your team members work remotely. Optimal apps and software can further boost accountability by ensuring everyone has up-to-date information in their pockets. Investing in the right tools empowers your staff by keeping team expectations reasonable and productivity high.
Your sales toolkit needs Skynamo field sales CRM
Now that you know that a strong sales toolkit will help you define a quality productivity and accountability plan to match your company goals, which will enable you to effectively manage team expectations and send your team – and your profit margins – soaring, you need to identify the technology that will get you there faster.
Luckily for you, you don’t have to go it alone. Skynamo exists to elevate sales teams to reach their full potential.
As a leading provider of field sales software, we work tirelessly to keep your team connected and on track to meet their goals. We do this by accurately tracking sales (in real time!), highlighting likely follow-ups, monitoring field activities, and even charting the most effective routes for your team. And because everything is centralized, your entire team can stay informed at the touch of a button.
Set achievable, agreed-upon, crystal-clear team expectations with Skynamo. Let us help you get the most out of your productivity and accountability plan today. Let’s chat!
