At One of a Kind Sales, we have a LOT of experience assessing and training sales teams. Unfortunately, what we see is that most companies have mediocre sales forces with way more “B” and “C” level players than “A” grade salespeople. Here are some tips on how to assess YOUR sales team with suggestions for how to identify people worth training and how to build your own “A” team for sales. 

The first step is to assess your team.  

You probably know your “A” team salespeople. They are the ones who are making the calls, setting appointments and closing sales. These are the people you want to identify for advanced training, so they MASTER their craft. We have a good track record with training people like this to become reliable and effective producers. Click here to read more about our training, monitoring and management program, Call Center in a Box. 

Your “B” team players are the ones who might have some success but are unreliable or inconsistent in their performance. If they are consistently making calls, have a positive attitude and are receptive to training, this group may have the ability to become “A” players. We have a proven program to train “B” players to produce at “A” levels. Click here to learn more.

“C” level players are usually the ones who whine about having to make calls, push back against suggestions for new ways to approach the job and/or resist training. Here are some ways to address poor performance and to see if they are worth training:

  • Back up your assessment with data – show them their stats compared to others or a stated benchmark.  
  • Explain that consistently positive behavior is REQUIRED of them. 
  • Define the consequences of poor performance. 
  • Define the resources and/or training that is available to them. 
  • Request their ‘buy-in’ and permission to help them.  

If they are still not performing after your attempts to help them, it may be best to find them a different position or to just let them go. Having negative people who do not produce and/or follow the company’s specified approach can sap the energy and ambition of other team members, leaving you with less than stellar results.

And just because someone is NEW or does not yet have a book of business does NOT necessarily make them a “C” player. Being a “C” player is more about the lack of commitment and having a negative attitude. If they are committed and have a positive attitude, we can train new and young associates to get them to “B” and “A” level performance.

Remember, no matter how senior your people become, Cold Calling must ALWAYS continue to be a part of your sales team members’ daily, if not weekly, task list. This helps keep their skills sharp and your pipeline full.

If an experienced salesperson’s book of business IS truly so large that their entire time must be devoted to servicing clients, you need to outsource your Cold Calling in order to keep your pipeline FULL. A full pipeline is one of the only ways to ensure your company’s continued growth and success. Click here  to see how WE can make Cold Calls for YOU and deliver the qualified appointments you need to  keep your pipeline packed with prospects!

How does YOUR sales team stack up? Give us a call at 908.879.2911 if you would like us to come in and assess, train and get YOUR sales team up to speed!