Here’s how to get the sales team to work together for everyone’s benefit
By Marcia Gauger, for SBT
Question: While I have primary contact with customers, my sales rely heavily on the input and execution of team members. Lately, we have lost a couple of sales because of poor decisions made by the team and plain lack of follow-up. This is especially a problem when we are under pressure or deadline. Do you have any tips to help?
Answer: While this may seem obvious, communication is key. Even if intentions are good, professionals can get lost in their individual roles and lose sight of the big picture. If you haven’t already, I suggest that you take the lead role for your team.
Don’t assume others will follow up or even have the same sense of urgency you do. Set checks and balances for communicating progress. Make sure each team member understands his or her role, the deadlines and the impact that his or her involvement has on the customer. You may consider renting a movie such as We’re on the Same Team, Remember? It’s a wonderful illustration of how each department within an organization can impact a sale.
Regarding decision-making, there are certainly decisions that each individual will need to make independently as it relates to his or her specific department or function.
As a team, decide when decisions should be brought to the team as a whole for consideration. When you are under pressure, it’s especially important to get together as a team to make decisions. If not, the entire process may breakdown.
As humans, we tend to make poor decisions under pressure. If you get your team together and follow some simple guidelines, I think you’ll find it easy to stay on track and avoid making costly mistakes.
Here are some suggestions for making decisions as a team when you are feeling the stress and strain of pressure and deadlines:
Gather information – While it may be tempting to jump to solutions as quickly as possible, it’s critical to first share information. Obtain as much information as possible regarding the project, where each individual is at in terms of progress and what the issues are.
Get creative – Look for new ways to view situations and solve problems. Be careful not to fall back on what was done in the past. You may consider brainstorming or dividing the group into subgroups to consider creative alternatives. Don’t limit yourself at this stage of the decision-making process.
Even if a potential solution seems way out of the norm, don’t discount it. You may also consider gaining inputs from those that are not directly involved in the decision, like production people.
Make sure all team members are involved in the solution – Ensuring full participation in the solution promotes commitment to the final outcome. In addition, the "wallflower" may have insights that could enhance the overall decision. Typically, the more perspectives to a problem, the better the decision-making.
Allow sufficient time to discuss alternatives – One of the problems with decision-making under pressure is the tendency to engage in "group think." This happens when you push for a unanimous decision just to get one made. The end result may not be the best, but group members just go along with it to get the decision over with. One way to avoid this is to insist that discussion to alternative solutions has to happen before a final decision can be made.
Challenge assumptions – In high-pressure decision-making, people’s assumptions may go unchallenged in an effort to reach a quick decision. During your group meetings, appoint a devil’s advocate to positively challenge assumptions. It’s a good idea for each team member to play this role at various meetings.
Break large/complex decisions into smaller ones – Have you ever heard the saying, "It’s hard to see the forest through the trees?" It is often helpful to break decisions into smaller decisions to help expedite the overall decision. Doing so will also seems less overwhelming to the group.
Continue to review decisions – The need to evaluate a decision doesn’t end once the decision is made. Any new information or input from the customer should be considered. Decide how your group will meet to evaluate new information and what action steps will be taken.
While team meetings can often be time consuming, if you follow these guidelines you will find that the time spent will save you possible frustration or even a lost customer in the future.
Marcia Gauger is the president of Impact Sales, a performance improvement and training company with offices in Wisconsin, Florida and Arkansas. You can contact her at 262-642-9610 or marciag@makinganimpact.com. Her column appears in every other issue of SBT.
July 25, 2003 Small Business Times, Milwaukee
