The sales game requires a team effort for sustainable success. Ask any successful sales rep and they will tell you about their team. Whether it is the accountant, spouse, children, tech support, delivery people, instructors, or suppliers, the rep acknowledges their contribution and is thankful they are part of her team. Without this team she knows she would not be as successful.

Your team
Selling involves so many different steps and activities that no one person can manage them all alone and be successful. Your team allows you to leverage your time, your selling skills and your success. To manage time effectively, a rep needs to ask: How can I delegate activities so I can sell more?

An important exercise is to look at your sales cycle and determine:
• Who are your team members?
• How do they make you successful?
• How do I need to support, coach and manage these individuals?

Once you’ve answered these questions, you’ll have a group of people that will support you in every way and at every step of your sales efforts and you can use their expertise to manage your sales cycle. You need to trust these members and allow them to do their jobs so they can support your sales activities.

When I was in the printing business we had a rep who treated everyone on his team the same way: terribly. I managed my team with respect. I could wander back to shipping on the Friday of the July long weekend and ask to get a large piece of equipment onto a client’s production floor by Saturday morning at 9:00 am. The shipping department would make it happen. And I’d close the deal and get the business. If the other rep asked for the same favour, he wouldn’t get it shipped. This would cause him to make a scene and go over everyone’s head. This, of course, alienated him even more from his fellow workers. Which rep do you want to be?

Solo sports
Even if you play a solo sport, you have a team. As a professional you have a coach, an agent, business manager, doctor, and accountant. You cannot be successful without this team. The same applies in sales. You cannot reach your goals without a team of people supporting you.

It is lonely in the sales game. While you need to succeed alone – you will not succeed alone. Sales reps must contend with traveling to new places, the stress of RFPs and presentations, dealing with “the office,” managing and serving clients and prospects, growing revenue and income, yearly changes to the comp plan and that feeling of “How am I going to top last year?” I don’t know anyone who can manage all these issues without the support of a core group of people.
Building trust
Your team is going to need to trust you, in the same way that your customers do. You need to deliver on promises, stand up for them when needed, get them tickets to the baseball game or theatre, and— most importantly—treat them with respect. Some of you may say, “Isn’t that obvious?” Yes, it should be obvious yet look at how many reps truly value their team and behave this way. Not too many.

Remember that old saying: Careful what you ask for as you just might get it! If you say, “I don’t need anyone’s help,” then you’ll get no help. If you believe and or voice the opinion that everyone around you is an idiot, then you will get nothing but idiots and you are the biggest idiot. If you ask for help and trust those who help you, you will get a trusted team.

In the next few months, watch successful sales people and ask them about their teams. Then, create a list of team members that you have or need to have on your team. Next, determine what activities you can delegate and see if you need more (or different) team mates. Then, go out and find the missing teammates. Remember: ask for what you want!

Sayers says:
• Who is on your team?
• How are treating your team? (I hope with respect.)
• How do you build trust on your team?
• What are you asking for?
• So what sport are you playing: solo or team?

Author's Bio: 

Bill Sayers speaks, coaches, leads education sessions and provides management consulting services to a variety of companies. For the past five years Bill has run his own sales consulting practice. He has recently completed the writing of his new book – “Funnels and Forecasts – The Great Game of Sales”. He has been a professor at George Brown College teaching Personal Selling Skills to the Sports and Event Marketing Graduate Program, and is on the faculty of Canadian Professional Sales Association and Canadian Management Centre.
To receive our free “How are you Playing The Game” Scorecard and a 45 minute one-on-one session with Bill Sayers, email: info@TheSayersGroup.com or visit: www.TheSayersGroup.com.