How do you create a continuously improving sales team? (Why “small change” strategies can help you win more work)

“If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it” is a dangerous strategy

Surely, if something works well, you should carry on doing the same thing? If you carry on with this strategy, you may find that your results start tailing off. Let’s say you have a sales message that works particularly well with customers. After a while, the message will become less effective.

Firstly, not all your prospects will be receptive to the message. So, assuming you convert a number of prospects to begin with, you will have a diminishing pool of potential prospects. Secondly, even the prospects that are receptive to the message will begin to become deaf to it. It won’t seem as new and different as it once did.

Sales people always need to be improving

What are you doing to make sure your sales team’s results improve

However, it can be hard to create continuous improvement in the sales team. You have to keep coming up with new ideas and new strategies. It can be hard to keep being creative.

You also need to come up with “small change” strategies. If you make big changes to the way sales people work, it can take their eye off strategies that still bring in work. In addition, continual big changes mean that it can be hard to successfully implement any changes.

Here’s a way to keep sales people trying out better strategies

Have a weekly sales meeting. Make this a strategy and success meeting. At each session, introduce one small change they can make to their sales process. At the following session, ask the team to share successes that they have had by using the strategy. This helps encourage those who are not so convinced about changes!

“Sales people always need to be improving” https://t.co/MzhcUwPXDq #print #sales

— Matthew Parker (@PrintChampion) December 14, 2015

Here’s a resource to help you introduce small change strategies

Check out “The 1% change plan. How to increase your print sales in 23 minutes a week.” Every week you receive a new print sales strategy that helps you create a continuously improving sales team. Just remember – what isn’t broken now may need fixing sooner than you think!