Poorly defined roles and work structure
There is power in being systematic. According to an article on LinkedIn Pulse, a common problem with sales teams is everyone being expected to do the best they can, while individual roles are not defined and individual salespeople do not have an allocated area of responsibilities. Yet division is necessary, be it based on, for example, demographic or geographic factors, industry or contact type. Organisation of work is equally important: it should have a structure, clearly defined priorities and defined sub-steps.
Inappropriate recruitment system
Selection of team members can also be an issue. Ascertain where individual employees have problems and find a way of detecting these negative characteristics during the selection process. If necessary, overhaul the entire recruitment system. Change the way potential employees are approached, as well as the practice of selecting from the pool of applicants themselves. Pay close attention also to training employees, onboarding them after their hire, and do not underestimate subsequent follow-up with them.
Limited competence of employees
For many sales teams, a long-standing problem is employees not being empowered to undertake larger projects and lacking sufficient authority to do their jobs. More interesting and larger jobs are often handled by team leaders; nor is it uncommon for a team manager to take over contracts from a certain level, even if a line salesperson has been there from the beginning. Give employees enough authority, trust them and let them do their job, even if sometimes in a limited way. If you cannot trust your subordinates to that extent, you need to think about replacing them or changing the way you work with them.
-mm-