Video Mystery Shopping: POP! 10 Secrets to Build and Manage a Firecracker Sales Team!
Are you ready to build a Firecracker Sales Team? Most new home sales managers WANT to build the best team possible; however, it isn’t always as easy as it sounds. Before we start giving you tips on HOW to build your firecracker, I thought it might be useful to share with you some common mistakes that sales managers make in the process
Most managers assume that A GREAT new home sales rep will have the same characteristics of a GREAT new home sales manager. Not true. The characteristics you need to be an effective manager is pretty much the polar opposite of the characteristics needed to be a firecracker salesperson. Take that into consideration when building your team.
1-Hiring in your own image and beneath you.
When hiring your sales reps, sales managers often think they need to hire someone in their own image. While this might be flattering to the sales manager, it doesn’t always work out since the skills sets for the two roles vary so much. Also, I have seen sales managers hire people ‘beneath’ them, or with less sales talent. One reason could be that they do not have to worry about the sales rep wanting to take their job, but the reality is these ‘under achievers’ require a great deal of hand holding and training.
2-Becoming the Fire Marshal
Fire Marshals are always solving everyone else’s problems. Don’t take on the problems of your team. Allow your team members to become their OWN fire marshals.
3-Getting too friendly
It is common nature to want to become friends with the sales team. However, as a sales manager you must always remember that YOU are the boss. It is often hard to discipline or reprimand a friend.
4-Only interviewing when you have a spot to fill.
Part of your role as a sales manager is to Interview all the time. You always want to keep abreast of fresh talent!
5-Managing, not developing, the team
Develop your team into becoming strategic thinkers. Poor video shop scores are a direct sign of poorly developed or trained sales people. It is YOUR job to get out there in the trenches with your team on a daily basis. Remember, you can’t run the zone if you are sitting on the throne.
Next, let’s discuss Sales Meetings. This is your one consistent opportunity to be in front of the entire team. It should be a time for team building, training, and motivating! Not just a time to update everyone on policies and procedures! Here are 5 Secrets for conducting a Super Sales Meeting.
1-Involve the sales team –
How do you involve the team? You get them engaged and interacting during the meeting. This can be accomplished in a variety of ways:
- Delegate a team member to host and coordinate the sales meeting
- Ask Questions throughout the meeting. No one likes being ‘talked at’ for an hour.
- Team Building activities
- Add a Training component – ask your sales people to conduct a mini-workshop on a skill or subject matter they excel in (IE. Overcoming objections)
2-Change it up!
Sales people getting bored easily. If you are conducting your sales meeting week after week in the same sterile conference room, think about changing it up a notch!
- Try meeting in a mystery location (a car dealership or retail store)
- Hold your meeting in spec home that’s sitting a long time, and use part of your meeting to brainstorm ideas on how to sell the home
- Have a ‘standing’ room only meeting (Meetings tend to move much quicker if the entire room is standing up!
- Give the bagels and donuts a rest! Why not take the team out for pancakes, or better yet, have a pot luck meeting and ask your team to bring in their favorite breakfast or brunch foods.
3-D-I-M-E…..Develop, Inspire, Motivate, Educate.
Make this the overall theme of ALL your sales meetings. Keep administrative topics to a minimum. Your role is to motivate your sales team to SELL more homes, not bore them to death!
4-Have an agenda with action items and “next steps” for accountability
People don’t plan to fail…they fail to plan. All the great advice and motivation you provide your team will be for naught if they set goals and create action plans to meet those goals. Ask them to get very specific with their goals…providing you with dates, names, next steps, and timelines.
5-Show Best Practices
SHOW your sales people what you expect from them. If you have a sales associate who did exceedingly well in a video mystery shop, SHOW specific scenes to the entire team. Another idea is to incorporate role-playing into your meeting.
These 10 Tips will help your sales team to grow, prosper, and become the FIRECRACKER team you envisioned. It ALL starts with you. Remember, you are their leader and you lead by example. By getting involved with your team, and showing them that you are their coach, they will support you and do everything possible to make your proud!
