Sitemaps
Let's Get Back to Our Why
Does Startup Success Validate Us Personally?
How We Secretly Lose Control of Our Startups
Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
The Evolution of Entry Level Workers
Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
Was Mortgaging My Life Worth it?
What's My Startup Worth in an Acquisition?
When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
The 5 Types of Startup Funding
What Is Startup Funding?
Do Founders Deserve Their Profit?
Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
Will Investors Bail Me Out?
The Value of Actually Getting Paid
Why do Founders Suck at Asking for Help?
Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency

4 Steps to Tame Your Team for Better Sales

Matt Sunshine

4 Steps to Tame Your Team for Better Sales

All salespeople — even top stars who seem to have innate abilities to close deals — can benefit when they have reliable selling tactics; so can their employers. Yet far too many startups are filled with starry-eyed salespeople operating like lone wolves. As each goes his own way, the sales experience becomes fragmented and less attractive to prospects and clients.

Don’t think it’s just a small business problem, though. The issue faces even longstanding behemoths like Sears Holdings: It’s big, but it’s not immune to problems associated with crumbling, chaotic, and undependable sales strategies. According to CNN Monday, by the final quarter of 2017, Sears Holdings reported a $558 million loss, cementing annual consecutive losses since 2010. If companies of Sears Holdings’ magnitude and standing can fall, any organization should pay careful attention to all facets of operations, specifically sales. Besides, a fledgling business doesn’t have the margins or savings to endure a seven-year revenue plummet.

Want to gain the confidence that comes from knowing sales are on target? Create and install repeatable conscious steps to improve the core competencies of players and to avoid a downward spiral that could signal the end of your startup.

Predictable sales strategies under the microscope

Training Sales Team

The notion of predictability in the sales arena involves fleshing out a standard method of steps that can evolve with the needs of the company.

First, discover ways to identify high-potential accounts, or the leads that will be most apt to make a purchase within a prescribed sales cycle. Next, use insights to connect with those accounts and begin to uncover what they need in order to succeed. As a relationship develops, the sales team member can recommend tailored situations to the lead, fostering stronger rapport and a growing sense of engagement and trust.

Finally, the sales professional can develop a no-surprise proposal, earn the account’s final agreement, and proceed to deliver on all promises. This cycle can then be repeated as the connection with the client deepens, expanding the sense of loyalty.

No bottlenecks. No issues. Just streamlined experiences on both sides that lead to best-practice outcomes and award-winning recognition.

Closing in on selling predictability

Training Sales Team

Not sure your business has established steadfast sales processes? Tighten them by making the following moves toward predictability:

1. Outline the sales steps necessary for your business.

Each company has a unique sales funnel; all have a beginning, though. Begin by evaluating each step, starting with how to stop wasting time on prospects who don’t fit your ideal personas.

This may involve creating a survey or series of questions that your sales team can ask to solidify that a prospect is actively interested and not just “tire kicking.”

Prospects who move to the next stage may be moved into a discovery process to determine needs and then on to a proposed course of delivery for goods or services.

The objective is to ensure the outline of steps is optimized, replicable, and easy to follow for both current salespeople and new hires.

2. Work with experts to create solid sales flows.

“Always be improving your inner circle.” It’s one of those deceptively simple John Wooden quotes that sales teams should remember.

Sometimes, your best help at developing predictable sales processes will be outside mentors or seasoned entrepreneurs. These are the people you can turn to when you need advice on tweaking your sales rhythm because they can counsel you about areas of opportunity you might be missing.

Working with like-minded individuals — also occasionally known as “mastermind groups” — includes collaborating and innovating with thought leaders, fellow entrepreneurs, marketers, and industry giants.

Allow these masterminds to become your inner circle.

3. Provide sales crews with ongoing training and coaching.

No one gains sales mastery overnight. Excellence happens with practice and regular execution.

Although most startups sit down with sales staff on a monthly or quarterly basis, a weekly sales meeting solidifies ongoing practice discipline. It’s much easier to reinforce a proper, dependable sales flow every seven days than waiting months to reintroduce it to a team.

And, according to HubSpot, the proof is in the pudding: Sales organizations are twice as likely to perform better than others if they promote and execute ongoing, regular sales training.

4. Implement sales accountability metrics.

Your organization is sitting on a wealth of data. Use it to establish the three most important metrics you and your team need to track weekly.

This could be the number of “discovery” or “solution-oriented” appointments made, number of proposals sent, or number of closed contracts. Be sure to track only the metrics that make sense for your business.

VF Corporation discovered the value of metrics when it wanted to grow its brand. Though it used metrics hunting for marketing purposes, VF Corporation’s end results were akin to those a sales team could expect: The metrics gave an objective viewpoint and avoided the problems associated with one voice making all the decisions.

If you’re dealing with a sales team filled with wild ponies, each doing his own thing, you have to take the reins. Instead of allowing the situation to potentially bring down your startup, get everyone into alignment. You’ll move forward skillfully and never worry that anyone is too far out of step.


Also worth a read:

  1. Channels & Partners: Master class by Steve Blank
  2. 4 Sales Strategies to Consider for Your Startup: Bot, Human Being, or Bear Hug?
  3. How to Build a Kickass Sales Prospecting Process

Find this article helpful?

This is just a small sample! Register to unlock our in-depth courses, hundreds of video courses, and a library of playbooks and articles to grow your startup fast. Let us Let us show you!

Submission confirms agreement to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

Already a member? Login

No comments yet.

Start a Membership to join the discussion.

Already a member? Login

Create Free Account