How to reset your sales team By Inside Selling @insideselling http://insideselling.hubpages.com/ Introduction • Good leadership is one of the leading reasons for team performance Research has shown that teams have a tendency of reverting to a state of ‘least organization’ and even the best teams are susceptible While our work with sales teams has shown that most teams don’t need to start from zero and reset themselves • Here are a few indicators that could mean you need to reset your team: • • • • • Despite your best efforts the team refuses to deliver The team’s overall skillset is not up to the mark Even your rock stars are struggling to meet their quota You have swapped leaders but nothing has really changed Your team may be meeting numbers but their methods are questionable and your best efforts have failed to bring them out of their comfort zone Step 1: The reset plan • Don’t jump into a team meeting without a clear roadmap with milestones for the team Before the reset, you have to identify common trends that are hurting your team You then work out how you can fix these issues Some will be skill issues, some (unfortunately) will also be will issues In either case, you have to have a plan before you start considering a reset for your team Sometimes a reset may involve rotating team members and switching staff relationships around • The key point to remember is that your plan has to factor in last minute refinements The best reset plans are not just team specific but also centred around individual team members Step 2: The meeting • Send out the team invite well in advance with a clear agenda and timings A common problem with teams working across time zones is getting the team together At Inside Selling we solved this by sending an invite out on Friday for the meeting for Monday This allowed the team sufficient time to adjust their body clocks to get to the meeting on time • Our experience has shown there is no easy way to reset a team People walk into an all hands concerned, especially about getting fired • Start the meeting with a clear agenda and let the team know no one is getting fired This helps put the team at ease and concentrate on the real reason for the meeting Step 3: The reset • Most teams are aware that they are not delivering before a reset But sometimes a reset also happens because of poor practices, in particular questionable selling techniques As a leader, you have to remember that some of the things that are glaringly wrong for you are a way of life for the team So skip the blame game completely and assume nothing • Start the reset by clearly outlining what is wrong with the team You may face resistance but remember to play along and listen to every concern they throw at you Once you have heard them out enough, you can then outline why their concerns are not valid Make sure, you not impose the reset on the team The team must see what is wrong Once they see what is wrong, you can then start working with them to fix what is wrong • Next, start with fixing major issues and get the team to commit to an action plan Again, let them chose the most reasonable action plan Your instructions should be nothing more than guidelines Let the team realize what needs to be done Your role as the leader is to simply keep the team aligned with direction you want them to move in Step 4: Periodic reviews • Most resets start out great However, without periodic reviews there is a chance the team will be back to square one Remember, if they were fully functional they would not have needed a reboot in the first place! • Make the reviews quick and data driven Don’t harp on about what happened in the past and expect a few bumps along the way • We hope the guidelines above can help you get started Just tweet to us on @insideselling if you need more help! ... most teams don’t need to start from zero and reset themselves • Here are a few indicators that could mean you need to reset your team: • • • • • Despite your best efforts the team refuses to deliver... for team performance Research has shown that teams have a tendency of reverting to a state of ‘least organization’ and even the best teams are susceptible While our work with sales teams has shown... your best efforts have failed to bring them out of their comfort zone Step 1: The reset plan • Don’t jump into a team meeting without a clear roadmap with milestones for the team Before the reset,