Did you know your sellers may spend only 39% of their time working deals with potential customers? This may seem low, but it doesn’t indicate a lack of effort.
There are many reasons why it’s tough to improve sales productivity. Poor training, unrealistic goals, competing priorities, and changing market conditions are just a few factors that make it difficult.
Sales leaders, here are eleven tips to help you improve sales productivity and achieve maximum pipeline throughput.
What Is Sales Productivity?
Sales productivity refers to the rate at which a sales organization can generate revenue through its sales process, starting with lead generation and ending with closed deals.
To maximize sales productivity, you must progress deals through the sales cycle as quickly as possible with optimal results and minimal expenditure. This means following a consistent, repeatable sales process that helps your sales team manage its time efficiently while getting the highest close rate.
11 Strategies to Increase Sales Team Productivity
Sales team productivity begins with a plan and proven strategies to achieve optimal sales output. The first thing you should consider is how your overall business works.
While your main focus is the sales organization, you’re not operating in a vacuum. Know your company’s goals and values and use them to set goals for your sales team. Then follow these strategies to boost sales productivity.
Start with minor changes and work your way up to more major adjustments. Making several significant changes at once can disorient your sales team and lower productivity.
1. Focus on What You Can Control
It may be a hard pill to swallow, but sometimes there are things you can’t control, despite your best efforts. The most you can do is focus on maintaining a healthy work environment and optimizing your sales process. Do not try to change the world; change your workplace.
2. Provide Sales Training
Productive sales teams are well trained, confident, and equipped with the knowledge and selling skills they need to be effective. Continuous training can help increase the rate of sales by up to 50% for each sales professional. While the best sellers may be naturally charismatic, most sales professionals need sales training and practice to perfect the sales process. Be sure your sales training and reinforcement are up to date.
3. Understand Your Goals
Every business has goals, and every department has its own objectives. Productive sales teams align the sales organization’s aims with the company’s so they’re working in sync.
You have a better chance of reaching your goals when they’re clearly defined. When goal setting, ask yourself:
- Why is this my goal?
- How will this goal benefit my team?
- How will this goal improve my company as a larger entity?
4. Measure Your Progress
Tracking and monitoring sales performance metrics is vital to improving sales productivity. Measuring sales activities and milestones lets you forecast revenue accurately and identify potential roadblocks before they become significant problems. Measuring your sales team’s progress can also help you calculate conversion rates versus sales volume on an individual or team level.
5. Be Consistent
A consistent sales process is key to repeatable success. Sales organizations with a consistent structure can operate at maximum efficiency. Consider whether your team is facing issues or needs sales training to work at a consistent level.
6. Onboard Effectively
Studies show that effective onboarding can help new hires reach optimal performance 30-40% faster. When done well, onboarding for sales puts them on a faster track to meet sales targets and, ultimately, ensure success for the organization. Make sure you have a plan to welcome, train, and engage new sales professionals.
7. Lower the Pressure
Sales are competitive. It’s easy for sales professionals to feel constant pressure to perform. While this might seem motivating, a high level of stress is counterproductive and may lead to reduced performance. Sales burnout can severely impact your results. Consider taking measures to lower the pressure on your sales professionals. Keep your sales team happy and they might perform better.
8. Use Digital Sales Tools
There are hundreds of digital sales tools that can help sellers work more efficiently. Whether you use AI sales tools to improve prospecting, CRM software to manage leads, or social media platforms to connect with customers, modern sales software can greatly improve sales productivity.
9. Maintain Open Communication
Open communication is one of the best ways to help boost sales productivity. By sharing information, customer insights, and feedback, your sales team can help each member overcome roadblocks, avoid conflicts, and work more efficiently.
10. Stay Organized
Being organized is essential to sales productivity. By keeping everything and everyone in its place, you have ease of access that can save time. Encourage your team to create daily schedules. Maintain stable routines and provide sales coaching and training to promote organization skills in your sales team.
11. Innovate and Iterate
You can’t improve productivity if you’re happy where you are. Keep up with sales innovations, new opportunities, and market trends. Innovation can help you forge a more productive sales process.
How to Improve Sales Productivity
Prioritizing sales productivity is crucial for driving revenue growth and staying competitive in today’s fast-paced business landscape.
Sales leaders can invest in ongoing sales training to enhance team productivity—equipping reps with the skills and knowledge needed to excel.
Find out how sales assessments and targeted training from The Brooks Group can improve the productivity of your sales team. Contact us today to learn more.
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