Managing a field sales team can be challenging, especially since field sales reps spend much of their time outside the office. Developing a structure, as well as, practicing habit-forming processes among your field sales team, will boost your efficiency and maximize sales throughout. Read through five of the best practices of high-performing sales teams, to see how you can increase the performance of your team.
Clearly distinguished territories and ensuring reps know which territories are their responsibility will help eliminate any confusion and allow field sales reps to plan their sales meetings accordingly. This will also enable them to direct their focus on a particular set of customers, which builds a better customer-to-rep relationship and, in turn, guarantees sales.
Communication is key in making any team work efficiently. However, being on the go can make this difficult for sales reps working in the field. Luckily, there are many ways to stay connected, no matter where you are. Sales rep managers should be sure to respond to questions quickly and stay consistent in sharing information, so reps have what they need to keep going about their day. It is also important to listen to the complaints and concerns of your reps – they are the eyes and ears of the team and can share valuable information that will help determine sales strategies.
Having a defined process that has been proven for sales reps to follow will provide them with the steps they need to close deals at a consistent rate. If they don’t have to waste time determining what works, based on trial and error, your field sales reps will be able to reach peak productivity in a shorter span of time.
Setting achievable sales goals and offering incentives to meet those goals will serve as encouragement. These are known as tiered incentives - these have proven to be the most successful, as they offer motivation to everyone, instead of just those top performers on your team. Consider including goals surrounding the speed at which deals are being closed as well. Shortening the sales cycle will free up reps so they can close more deals at a faster pace.
The problem is that sales reps spend most of their time completing administrative tasks when they should be focused on selling. By choosing to adopt a field sales software that can automate most administrative tasks, you will help to increase efficiency and productivity among your reps. Not only will a field sales platform make your field rep's jobs easier, but it will also lighten the load of the administrative team.
While your reps make the sales, it's important for you to guide them and provide them with all the tools to be successful. The practices discussed above, combined with our b2b sales software, will help your sales reps increase their efficiency and sales.