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How to Energize a Sales Team During a Downturn | Dodging Landmines

Salespeople at small and medium-sized businesses are working harder than ever to stay competitive in this weak economy. Executive coach Barbara Russo says sales teams should focus on customer service -- not price -- to stay in the game.

Speaker: Barbara Russo, Barbara Russo Strategics

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Tags: Sales Team, Sales Strategy, Smb/Sme, Sales Force Management, Sales, Barbara Russo

 

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How to Energize a Sales Team During a Downturn | Dodging Landmines

Salespeople at small and medium-sized businesses are working harder than ever to stay competitive in this weak economy. Executive coach Barbara Russo says sales teams should focus on customer service -- not price -- to stay in the game.

>> In this economy it's not surprising that large corporations are doing whatever it takes to increase their market share, in some cases they're just trying to keep their market share. So this could mean everything from cutting costs and fees to even dropping prices. So how can I as a manager of SMB motivate my sales team to compete against the big guys?

>> What you want to do is reinforce to your team that it's all about relationships, trust and execution, to know what it is that they do best, what their product and service is and then go out there and deliver it. Decisions to purchase are not predicated on price alone, it's about relationships, trust and execution and you want them to go out there and deliver impeccable customer service.

>> So might I have a competitive advantage then as an SMB?

>> Absolutely! Remember price is a factor; it's not the only factor. Your team's advantage will come from their ability to deliver outstanding customer service and quality control. You as a leader and a manager want to come from a place of confidence and optimism so you can keep your head in the game as well as that of your teams. Inspiration comes from in the inside out. What you want to do is ask your team to define for themselves what do they do best. What can they offer that no one else can and then go out there and deliver it.

>> I hear what you're saying and your advice makes sense but at some point its inevitable, or at least likely that my team will loose a deal. So how do I address that specific disappointment?

>> The good news is you're still in the game and in this economy being in the game is significant. So what you want to do is reinforce to your team their effectiveness and their efforts and also at the same time prepare them for the next opportunity and to do that you want to be strategic. You want to ask them to look at what did we do well? What might we want to do differently moving forward? How might we best serve this client? How might we best use our resources? And then go out there and deliver it so that they can secure that deal.

>> In summary.

>> In summary, remind your team that it's all about relationships, trust and execution and that their advantage lies there. And what you want to do is also prepare them for the next opportunity so that they can leverage the assets and resources the companies to the companies best advantage and they can go out and be clear on their purpose and go out and secure the deal.

==== Transcribed by Automatic Sync Technologies ====