[Pictured above] Emma Maslen, founder and CEO of inspir’em, a sales strategy consultancy.Sales are the lifeline of a thriving business, and a strong sales team needs to be confident and fully believe in what they’re selling. If your sales team don’t buy into the product or service they’re selling for you, bad things happen. They fluff their words during an elevator pitch, lose leads, and potentially reduce customer confidence in your brand, all things to be avoided.Here’s how founders can build a strong sales team and better support them to deliver, according to Emma Maslen, who is the founder and CEO of inspir’em, a sales strategy consultancy.
1. Get them pitch-ready
“They have to be able to pitch, and that’s where I begin,” says Maslen.“So, what does the company do? What problems do you solve? Get them to say those words out loud. People don’t do that enough. You want them to pitch the company and say, what does the company do? How do we help people? The use cases we solve? Those types of things.”
2. Attend meetings with them
Don’t leave your sales team out on their own, especially if they are new, advises Maslen. In fact, attend early meetings together so they can learn from you: “Don’t just hire a sales team and set them off into the ether. We’ve got to onboard them and do proper side-by-side training. So get out, let them hear you, and through osmosis, they’ll pick that up. Then allow them to answer some questions and take a step back.”
3. Get them networking savvy
Not all networking opportunities have wine and nibbles, says Maslen. “You can just reach out and talk to somebody. It doesn’t have to be an event with a load of strangers.” For those attending a traditional networking event, get your questions ready. “Think about what you’re going to talk to people about. Say things like, what brought you to the event today? What was the one thing you learned that you didn’t know before? What will you follow up on after this event? Or, who was the most interesting person that you met here today? Those questions you could ask of anybody who’s in the room. That’s all useful data. So, have your questions ready, so it’s not a wasted exercise.”
4. Get them out the door
Move away from remote devices, says Maslen, as in-person connections still matter as customers increasingly want to know who businesses really are. “It could be front of the funnel, at networking events. It could be engaging with new contacts or walking the floors of your customers. It could be formalised meetings, demonstrations, those types of things. It could also be the stuff that goes on within sales, contract and negotiation meetings.”
[Pictured above] Emma Maslen, founder and CEO of inspir’em, a sales strategy consultancy.
Sales are the lifeline of a thriving business, and a strong sales team needs to be confident and fully believe in what they’re selling.
If your sales team don’t buy into the product or service they’re selling for you, bad things happen. They fluff their words during an elevator pitch, lose leads, and potentially reduce customer confidence in your brand, all things to be avoided.
Here’s how founders can build a strong sales team and better support them to deliver, according to Emma Maslen, who is the founder and CEO of inspir’em, a sales strategy consultancy.
