Sales Managers, 5 Tips on Helping Your Team Build Better Relationships
Young sales bucks come into the game with their sales guns blazing. They are fired up to hit the phones and make as many calls as possible (which Spiro’s proactive relationship management platform can help with). But what they sometimes fail to recognize is that it’s not just a numbers games.
Much of landing a deal is about building a relationship with your prospects and customers, not how many times you email them.
As a sales manager, your job is to coach your team on how they can build rapport and build better relationships with customers. Here are some tips for talking to your reps about this important sales lesson:
1. Communication is Key
When you talk to your sales reps about the importance of keeping up good communication with their prospects, it can be misinterpreted into thinking good means often. Yes, reps should be checking in with their contacts on a regular basis, but the way in which they communicate is equally as important as how often. If the customer prefers to be reached via text at 8AM, then tell your team to adhere to their wishes to show they are listening and are considerate of their customer’s time constraints. This builds mutual respect and strengthens the relationship.
2. Get the Message Right
The message of your company has to be tailored based on whom you are addressing. Companies pay big bucks to have a Marketing firm deliver different variations on their materials that speak to different audiences. Coach your reps on the fact that it’s always worth the time and money to know who you are pitching to. Your reps can make their customers at ease and better understand what your company is selling when they can use the customer’s internal company jargon and have a grasp on who they are calling before they pick up the phone.
3. Own Up To Your Mistakes
Making a mistake is something all new salespeople are going to have to face. Mistakes happen all the time. What you have to get through to your team, is that nothing will destroy a relationship faster than making a mistake and NOT owning up to it. But on the flip side, you can build better relationships pretty quickly by showing you have human flaws and righting your wrongs. Coach your team on how to professionally own up to any mistakes they make and how they can utilize this to build an honest relationship with their prospects.
4. Picture the Person
Deals. Deals, Deals. That is all new reps hear about. Try instead to instill upon your team the idea of focusing on the contact, instead of the deal. Have them worry about building a sales relationship instead of perfecting their sales pitch to win the deal. When they turn their attention to the person on the other end of the phone, the relationship starts to naturally develop, and the sale will hopefully follow.
5. Work on Internal Relationships
The best way to coach your team on building better relationships is leading by example. Work on your internal relations with your reps, so they can see good behavior in action. As a manager, make sure you are a good listener, can address your reps’ concerns, and focus on each salesperson’s strengths and areas for improvement.
