Ask any sales manager what makes a good sales team, and you will be told that the ability to hit and even exceed sales targets is what makes them great. It makes the team look good, as well as the management and hierarchy, and there are many people that will just be looking at the bottom line.

Success can be fleeting though, and it is true that a sales team is only as good as last month’s figures. The job of a sales team manager is to keep their team producing these figures month after month, year after year. This is a little bit more complicated than just looking at the bottom line, so what makes a great sales team?

Knowledge

Knowledge is power and this is certainly true if the sales team wants to stay great. Giving them the right knowledge to do the job isn’t just limited to the onboarding process though. They need to keep their knowledge of the industry up to date and understand how new rules and regulations will affect company products. They also need the knowledge of what the competition has been doing so that they know how to sell their products over your rivals. Regular training is important regardless of how long they have been working for the company.

Tools

Having the right tools is imperative to a great sales team. They may be able to sell ice to the Eskimos but if they don’t have a good technical system, and the product they are selling isn’t great, they are going to have an uphill battle. Sales enablement encompasses the entire process of giving salespeople the right tools to do a great job. Here Allego explains why sales enablement is important.

Atmosphere

It is important to create a great atmosphere in the office as employees feed off the atmosphere they are working in. They could be as happy as can be outside work but if the atmosphere in the office is oppressive because two teams aren’t talking to each other, or the management is overly critical, this is going to bring their mood down. A miserable sales team can’t sell as well as a happy one because their mood will show in the way they talk, present, and attempt to do deals. This will make them less successful. If you want to make a sales team great you have to work in the office atmosphere.

Motivation

Salespeople thrive on hitting targets, getting recognition, and achieving sales bonuses. This is what keeps them in the job and keeps them happy. A sales team that is hungry for success and reward will be a great one, so make sure you have plenty of incentives in place if you want to make a sales team fly.

Follow these four guidelines if you want to turn your sales team from good to great. You will be rewarded with great sales and a happy, well-motivated team that will want to increase the profile of the company they love working for.