So your business is amidst a sales success renaissance; performance is better than ever, and your organization is experiencing significant growth. What now?
After giving your sales team some much-deserved praise, the next step is to grow the business. Companies often respond to a boost in revenue by pushing for more growth. Key decision-makers might initiate new product roll-outs, expand into new markets, and invest in long-term corporate dominance.
Those steps can lead to ongoing success, starting an exciting new evolutionary period for your organization. But before the company gets ahead of itself, there's one thing you need to do: Scale your sales team.
With growth comes an ever-growing demand for products and services. Your organization is getting more popular, leading to increasingly lofty sales goals that your existing team will struggle to meet. Your current team paved the way for your company's success, but they will need some help to maintain it!
Scaling your sales team will help you keep up with revenue targets, pushing the business further than ever before. It's not easy by any means. But if you follow these tips, you can scale your sales departments quickly and efficiently.
1) Start the Hiring Process ASAP
One of the most valuable tips you can get about scaling your sales team is to start hiring new people as soon as possible. If you're struggling to meet sales quotas, you're already behind!
Your current sales reps can only do so much. Even with fantastic support and enablement, there's a limit to how much selling they can do. Failing to hire new people will put you behind. Not only will you miss out on tons of potential revenue, but you run the risk of overworking your sales agents and creating awful workplace morale.
Ideally, the right time to hire new reps is when you first learn about higher sales expectations. Don't wait to see if your current team can swing it. You should know their capabilities. If the numbers aren't adding up, get some new team members on board to bridge the gap.
The earlier you get new sales reps, the better. Remember: You'll have to train them and go through the ramp-up process. Giving your newbies plenty to get up to snuff is always a good thing.
2) Ensure Your Onboarding and Training Process Is Top-Notch
Speaking of ramping up, how's your onboarding and training process?
There's nothing worse than bringing new people in and having them twiddle their thumbs because you don't have a training program set up. It creates a massive bottleneck that costs your organization more money in the long run. The onboarding and training process should be smooth sailing from the jump.
Set up a learning management system platform, create an easy-to-follow manual, and have plenty of training materials on hand. Give your new hires all the support they need to learn the ropes and obtain the sales skills to succeed.
3) Develop (and Document) a Clear, Repeatable Sales Process
The best way to hit the ground running and scale your sales force quickly is to have a repeatable sales process. Every deal is different, but you can have a defined sales pipeline that every representative uses to close deals.
The goal is to make it easy for every agent to make informed decisions, access the tools they need, and follow repeatable processes that lead to success. Your sales strategies should be so well-defined that new hires can quickly jump in as they learn the ropes.
Whether you're selling physical products, software, or SaaS doesn't matter. If done correctly, you can create a system that every rep can use moving forward. That means new hires become easier to train, and existing representatives will have a new way to maximize their sales potential.
Of course, it takes some experimentation to figure out what works and doesn't. Typically, creating a defined process involves looking at crucial sales key performance indicators, developing structured lead qualifications, and establishing clear actions salespeople can take at every step of the pipeline. Work with your most successful salespeople; documenting those details should be a breeze.
4) Empower the Top Sales Reps Already on Your Team
Don't neglect your sales superstars! Every member of your existing team is a valuable asset you want to keep. But those top sellers? They can be the sales leaders of tomorrow.
You want to continue cultivating that talent and making them feel valued. Recognize hard work and record successes. Don't take your star sellers for granted. In addition to supporting the company's growth, your top reps could shape your growing team moving forward.
Best practices involve creating a workplace culture of praise and support. Encourage those top sellers to mentor new hires and take on a sales leadership role. They can pass on their knowledge and experience, helping you scale your team up while maintaining a high level of performance across the board.
5) Cultivate a Culture of Peer-to-Peer Learning
Of all the tips we can give, this one can leave a lasting impact on your company. In addition to having mentorship programs, work hard to develop a grander culture of peer-to-peer learning.
Your training materials and structured sales processes will help your growing team develop their skills. But the key to creating a high-performing sales force is to create an environment where people can collaborate, share ideas, and learn from one another.
When your sales professionals don't view each other as direct competition or rivals, they can work together for the team's collective success. They can share new strategies, help each other with challenging prospects, make unique pitches to new customers, and coach one another to reach a new level of success.
There are many ways to foster this type of environment. The easiest method is to have a platform for straightforward communication and enablement.
6) Remote or Hybrid Teams? Create a Virtual Sales Floor
Do you have sales reps working remotely? While many people think remote work is less personal and more difficult for sales-oriented roles, it doesn't have to be that way!
Flockjay makes it easy to connect remote and in-office teams in real time. Let people share ideas and learn together in a virtual environment. It doesn't matter where your sales force works when you have the right people and tools. Platforms like Flockjay let you capture that same energy on a virtual sales floor, continuing the culture of success as your sales department grows.
7) Use Sales Performance Analytics to Assess and Improve
Things change once your team grows. The days of personally checking in on individual reps are over. The best approach when scaling your sales department is to rely on analytics. Data provides a clear picture of overall team performance, providing insight into your scaling efforts.
Don't rest on your laurels. Always look into data analytics and use it to improve wherever possible. When dealing with growing numbers, it's easy to let small things slip through the cracks. But when you neglect issues, they quickly snowball and become big problems that can stunt your company's growth.
Spot weak points in your strategy and let your reps know how they can improve. Efficiency and continued success rely on insight. Your representatives need to understand how they're doing to take steps towards improvement.
8) Motivate Your Team with Leaderboards and Gamification
Finally, make things fun!
Going through a repeatable sales process can get monotonous and dull over time. The last thing you want is for your employees to lose that fire that led to growth in the first place. Keep them motivated even as you grow.
How? Try gamification elements. Turning sales goals into games keeps people engaged. You can do a leaderboard to recognize top sellers, provide prizes once reps meet established thresholds, and more.
Don't be afraid to think outside the box and infuse a little fun into the mix. Scaling your business is already exciting. Keeping that motivation alive can keep performance high even as your sales organization transitions to loftier goals.
Learn How Flockjay Makes Scaling Sales Teams Easier
Need help scaling your sales team? Flockjay has you covered!
Flockjay is an all-in-one sales platform with all the features you need to do things right. With the LMS features, you can make onboarding a breeze and train every new hire to be a success. Then, you can utilize enablement tools to provide continued support. Meanwhile, your team can collaborate and share information with the live feed and robust communication tools.
That's just a glimpse of what Flockjay can do. Book your demo and see how it can make scaling your team effortless!