1. Choose individuals with complementary skill sets.
The primary advantage of a sales team over an individual salesperson is that regardless of the problem faced, one or more team members should be able to handle the situation.
2. Select at least a few team members who have buyer compatibility.
There should be members of the sales team whose knowledge or background is compatible with the targeted buyer or targeted market segment. For example, it is good to have, if possible, a team member who shares the targeted buyer's educational background or interests. If the targeted buyer is an engineer, it is good to have an engineer on the team—even better if he or she has studied the same discipline or graduated from the same educational institution as the buyer. It is also useful to have team members with first-hand category knowledge of the buyer's problems as well as expert knowledge of the product or service category.
3. Don't tolerate egos.
To have a successful team one needs team players. Teamwork depends upon superb coordination in which members play their own parts without stepping on others' lines. Sales professionals who want to make names for themselves and who are unable to suppress their egos don't work well on teams. Eagles are efficient hunting birds, but they don't fly in formation or hunt in flocks.
4. Communicate expectations.
Make sure that all team members have a clear understanding of their expectations, roles, and responsibilities. Define each member's role and set limits. Each team member should know precisely who the team leader is, who takes notes, who speaks on what topics, who answers which types of questions, and so on and so forth.
5. Build trust.
Team members need to build confidence in each other. They should share their worries about the team's selling efforts, identify potential problem areas, and devise possible solutions through discussion and team-building sessions.
6. Develop a single unified sales philosophy.
The group must speak as one and develop and commit to a unified sales philosophy to be effective.
7. Develop a clear set of rules.
Once roles and tasks have been explained, it is time to develop rules of conduct for the sales session and get team consensus regarding the following guidelines:
- The team has only one leader.
- Only one person speaks at a time.
- There can be no deviations from rehearsals, unless initiated by the team leader.
- Team members must follow the nonverbal cues of the leader and monitor themselves accordingly.
- Participation must be balanced; the discussion should not be allowed to grind to a halt, but neither should a single team member be allowed to steal the show.
All team members are equal before and after the sales call, but during the actual sales session, only one person should lead. This ideally should be the person who can best convince the buyer, but he or she should also display a certain degree of leadership talent. The sales session leader doesn't need to be the most popular team member. Leadership of the same sales team can shift according to the nature of the buyer.
9. Research and rehearse.
Research your targeted buyers, their attributes, and their problems. Give team members individual assignments, and review their sales techniques by conducting rehearsals. One cannot overemphasize the importance of this step. Chart all possible challenges a buyer may present and rehearse the solutions.
Now you've prepared your team for the kill.
