Seven Steps to Building a Winning Sales Culture

Culture is the foundation of every solid business. It reflects what you stand for, what you value, and what you aspire to achieve. It defines your company's personality and shapes how you behave, work, and communicate. Sales leaders have a responsibility to create a positive environment that keeps their teams motivated and engaged. This is not only pivotal to boost productivity, it’s intrinsic to your company's profitability and longevity.

Building and maintaining this culture is no easy feat, but the results are well worth it. Here are some strategies to establish a sales culture that motivates, inspires, and drives success.

A company is only as good as its people. This certainly rings true when it comes to maintaining a winning sales culture. Make character fit a large part of your hiring process. It's not hard to teach new skills to people who are open to learning. It’s much harder to change their character. When you hire people with a negative attitude, big ego, or poor work ethic, you run the risk of infecting your entire sales team. Experience and skills matter, to be sure, but a person who doesn’t embrace your mission will not be the team player you need to drive your overall success.

Clear communication about goals and expectations is a must for sales teams. Without it, your team is likely to lose momentum. Goals should be challenging enough to keep salespeople engaged, but also achievable. An activity-based sales plan really can help drive success here. Salespeople have little control over who buys and who doesn't. Activity-based selling involves setting achievable goals your sales team can manage. Instead of asking a team member to make ten sales, ask him or her to conduct 30 product demonstrations - in line with an anticipated conversion rate. This approach boosts confidence and also will help keep performance on track.

Don’t let numerical targets monopolize your goals. Think about setting other targets to enhance a team member’s skills. Find out what motivates your employees on an individual level. What are each team member's strengths and weaknesses? Establish key performance indicators (KPIs) around these elements to maintain a focus on improvement. Employees like to feel valued, and they'll appreciate your willingness to invest in their ongoing learning and development. Demonstrate your dedication to their professional growth, and you'll see a increased productivity.