Each year annual sales quotas and long-term goals are set. While they are important, when too focused on the end game, it is easy to take your eye off the pipelines. To keep new leads coming into the pipeline, also set manageable prospecting goals.

To get a sales team to perform beyond expectations, we focus on these five essentials: 

• Characteristics of a High Performing Sales Team
• Hiring Best Practices – building the best team
• Data Mining – providing the right data
• CRM – the right tool for your organization
• Training - the ongoing need

Sales-as-a-service (SAAS) is not yet clearly defined and could be considered as software or services (or a combination of both), which provides businesses with “sales capabilities as a service” whereby, businesses can access relevant and crucial sales resources when they need them. For instance, if you are looking for an efficient sales channel or sales team, SAAS software can help you acquire the resources you need to meet your company’s goals.

One of the most common challenges faced by business managers of both established and growing businesses are “how to compensate their sales teams effectively.” Managers need to implement a compensation model that motivates their sales team to land new accounts, while at the same time upselling the existing ones. But, how do you identify the most efficient compensation model to use? And how do you measure performance against the compensation model?  Well, the information given here will answer these and more questions about some of the most efficient sales compensation models to keep a team motivated.

Setting goals is easy, “I will meet my sales goals; I will achieve success in business.” This sound’s great but how will you achieve this (your goals)?  The “how” part is the sales methodology; the strategies you use to achieve your target or goals. Professionals usually refer to sales methodology as the fundamental approach to sales and the terminology used when relating to customers to “close the deal.”  The ‘how’ is usually the most difficult part of a sales process, as it determines whether you succeed or fail in making that sale.

How can you develop a sales methodology to meet your goals? There are different sales methods which have been developed by sales leaders and professionals over many years. You can combine these different sales approaches to developing a sales methodology or use one (single) method.

Sources you can use to develop a sales methodology include books and/or professional training. How you develop a sales methodology will largely depend on your “selling environment,” or your target audience.

Here is a brief summary of sales methodologies
frequently used:

Profits increase when you have engaged, passionate people on your team. Having the wrong people in those seats can be a barrier to growing sales and increasing the overall profit of your organization.

With the level of the talent available today in the marketplace, you can always replace someone if you don’t find the right fit the first time. After a quick hire, a simple plan of “wait and see for 90 days” seems logical with so many available. If the new person on the team does not perform in the first 90 days, terminate and hire the next. However, it's much better if you hire the right candidate from the start.

Much of the conversation focuses on how people can find a job.  “How to get hired” is a question answered again and again. Employers still need to do their part, to hire the right people.  Hiring doesn't have to be gamble. The right recruiting and selection process is one of the most important strategic plans your company needs to improve revenue and profits results exponentially.

Les McKeown, President and CEO, Predictable Success puts the responsibility of success on the employer in this Inc. Magazine article:

Managing leads to convert them into more sales requires good timing and persistence. This infographic presents four best practices to follow to close more sales.