Sean Huckstep Are you considering expanding your sales teams?
If yes, that’s great news and a sign that your business is thriving. However, it’s important not to rush into things and instead make smart decisions about scaling at the appropriate time and place.
In this article, we’ll explore some tips on how you can confidently build a sales team with the aid of sales tracking software by asking, planning, then learning.
Ask Yourself: Is There Room to Scale?
Assess Current Reps’ Performance
Before beginning the recruitment and hiring process for outside sales reps, it’s crucial to ensure that there is sufficient room for them. Hiring new reps without considering the capacity of your current team may result in low morale and high turnover, as current reps may feel threatened by the new hires taking away their shares.
Before you hire, assess your current areas and rep numbers. Determine if there is adequate potential in your current areas for your reps to work in and grow. It is essential to give your current reps room to improve and progress, and to avoid limiting their motivation.
Leaderboards can provide a comprehensive picture of your current team’s capabilities and can help you keep track of the potential in your areas while also comparing rep performance.
Assess Expansion Opportunities
If you plan to expand to new areas, it’s crucial to conduct research on the area’s sales potential. Collecting accurate data is the best way to avoid overexpanding your sales team.
Say you’re selling solar door-to-door, and you get to an area where houses owned by people who make $150k+ are twice as likely to buy than those who make under $100k.
If you expand to the area without conducting that research and knowing that data, you may think there are enough deals to keep four reps happy, only to realize it’s a lower-converting area with the potential for only two reps.
Scaling without data can cause discouragement for everyone involved and hinder expansion. SalesRabbit’s DataGrid AI is an excellent tool to obtain the information you need before scaling.
Plan: How Can You Ramp Up Quickly?
Onboarding and Training Development
Once you have analyzed your areas and your current reps’ performance and concluded that it is time to bring on new hires, it’s important that you provide them with everything they need to succeed from the beginning. This means a planned onboarding process and training materials.
One of the most effective ways to reduce employee turnover and shorten the runway to rep profitability is through an efficient onboarding and training program. By demonstrating an investment in the employee, you help make them feel valued and motivated.
Effective Options for Training
While some companies already have a decent training system in place, others may not have invested much time into it. SalesRabbit has developed a learning platform, allowing you to upload your content and track your employees as they work through it.
Building an effective onboarding and training program is an investment in your new hires and your company’s success. A well-planned training program not only accelerates new hires’ productivity and success but also creates a strong foundation for future growth.
If you haven’t developed any training or don’t want to invest additional resources, SalesRabbit Learn offers a full library of pre-made, elite-level training videos.
Learn: How Can You Communicate at Scale?
Don’t Overwhelm Reps
Maintaining effective communication is one of the biggest challenges that outside sales teams face. With reps spread across different cities, states, and countries, keeping everyone on the same page can be a daunting task.
Sending out a mass text or email may not be the best approach since you need to ensure that the right information reaches the right people, without overwhelming everyone else.
In addition to communication challenges, building a motivated team culture is crucial for the success of sales teams. However, this can be difficult to achieve when company-wide interaction is limited.
Use Messaging Designed for Sales
Communication is an essential aspect of outside sales. When they don’t have the right tools, sales reps can struggle to effectively communicate with a large group of people, especially when there are different levels of hierarchy within an organization. This is where in-app messaging platforms designed for the industry come in handy.
Collaboration is a critical aspect of sales, and messaging platforms can help facilitate this. Sales reps can use a messaging platform to communicate and collaborate with other members of their team, such as sales managers or customer service representatives. This can help ensure everyone is on the same page and has access to the same information, ultimately leading to a more productive and efficient sales process.
If you need sales reps to send important updates and promotional texts to a large group of people, you can do that with just a few clicks. You can also facilitate communication with specific regions or teams, enabling sales reps to personalize messages and build stronger relationships with prospects and customers.
Using a messaging platform that is built into a sales app has the added benefit of reps not needing to switch between multiple apps or platforms, which can be distracting. With everything in one place, it’s easier to focus on talking with prospects and customers, which can lead to a more productive and efficient sales process.
By utilizing a messaging platform built for sales, you can build a strong and inspiring company culture that consistently enriches everyone’s experience within your growing company.
Need Help with Sales Team Management?
We understand that each situation is unique, and we’re happy to offer customized assistance for scaling. If you’re facing growth challenges or want to explore how technology can enhance your processes, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’re eager to collaborate with you and support your growth.
Recommended Reading
3 Steps to Train Sales Reps for Mental Toughness
What is a Sales Process + 3 Ways to Build One
Sales Process Automation: Definition and 4 Steps to Get Started
