When working with Selling Teams- those teams designed to sell as a unit usually to satisfy larger accounts – I have noticed three common characteristics with the high performing selling teams. These characteristics or traits are limited or missing in the team selling environments that are unsuccessful or under-performing relative to their peers.
Assuming you are looking into team selling or are currently engaged with team selling, this information will be highly beneficial to your and your team, Share this information with the team and discuss ways to make it even better to ensure your continued high performance status.
Here are the three characteristics of high performance team selling…
3 Characteristics of High Performance Team Selling
- Clear and Elevating Goal
The high performance selling teams all have a clear goal. Their goals are not easy to meet – their is a requirement of effort and innovation to reach the higher levels they are reaching to achieve. Yet, I have found no one who is demotivated or low energy or even suggesting any negativity relative to their shared goal. In fact, shared and common are two additional traits or characteristics for the goal section here. Everyone on the selling team – no matter what the position – knew the goal, could state the goal clearly and believed the goal is and will be attained. Now that is exciting stuff, no wonder people are competing to get one the top selling teams. They rock! - Trusting and Supportive Environment
There is a clear element of respect for each individual on the top selling teams – no matter what level or position a person holds, respect is present and accounted for each one. Also, I found a noticeable different in how much each team member supported other members of the team as well as the organization and the customer! The last two parts were a surprise bonus – yet, I should have know since the operative description is “high performance.” Trust and Support go along way in the overall health (mental and attitude as well as physical) to a higher level of performance. Learn the techniques and practices of the most trustworthy group to model. - High Standards with Shared Responsibilities
I have been seeing this characteristic in all high performance teams and organizations for years. Higher standards of performance drive high energy and the performance indicators for success. Having higher standards of performance keeps a group of people working at a higher level than the norm – except when everyone is doing it, well, high standards and performance become the new norm. Increasing information! Now shared responsibility is somewhat new to the world of performance, yet, you will find it in high performing selling teams as well as Championship Athletic Teams. Since I love college football, I follow what the best coaches do to create the championship caliber football programs. This lead to the ideas of Shared Responsibility and Shared Leadership – whereby no one person has to lead the entire group. The entire team is providing leadership in their responsibility areas and provide support to others without trying to take over their responsibility – holding them accountable for their outcomes and results. I call this the area of multiple wins! Try it you will enjoy it as will everyone else on the team.
Your Selling Team should always have a desire to out perform both the individual who handled the account prior to the team being formed ( due to leverage of strengths rather than an individual issue) and the competition. When a Selling Team is working this well and using all three of the high performance characteristics or traits – well, no one else can come close to equaling their performance. It works and is proven with major accounts from many organizations – make it work for your organization.
If you would like to discuss how you can implement a Selling Team environment or culture in your organization, please contact Voss Graham at 901-757-4434. Or, go to the “contact us” page on this site and write your comments and best time to contact you and Voss will call you. One of our core competencies is assisting sales teams to move from only transactional, short term, bid based sales teams to creating long term account relationships, based upon team selling techniques and methods. Call me.
Voss Graham
Latest posts by Voss Graham (see all)
- Help Me Target my Content for You – March 22, 2016
- Six Steps to Seven Figures – January 3, 2016
- Play a Bigger Game in 2016 – December 29, 2015
- Improve Your Success Using Clear Communication – September 14, 2015
- Seven Keys When Handling Objections – July 12, 2015