Salespeople are often naturally motivated individuals. Their strong inner drive can be deceptive, however. 

When salespeople are so strongly motivated, sales team leadership can become complacent when it comes to team engagement. They can rely on their team members’ inner drive to do the work of keeping them engaged. When stress creeps in, times become uncertain, or salespeople start to question their purpose and goals, leadership may feel lost as to how to help them.  

Sales team leadership can avoid this potential crisis by making small but powerful changes in how they engage with their own teams, including: 

Improve Communication and Transparency 

Communication and transparency play big roles in engagement. When your staff feel as if they have the information they need, their stress level is reduced and they are able to focus on doing their jobs well. When staff knows they can communicate freely with leadership, they bring up problems and concerns more readily, making it easier to support them.  

Trust, But Hold Accountable 

Micromanagement is one of the fastest ways to kill engagement. It also has a deleterious effect on managers’ ability to do their own tasks. Providing clear expectations and then letting salespeople take charge of their own processes offers a way to build trust and engagement by encouraging sales staff to take responsibility for their own results. 

While freeing sales staff to pursue results can help avoid the micromanagement trap, a consistent method of checking accountability is a must as well. For example, consider checking in with your team via email at the end of every day. Ask each team member to report one or two significant tasks or goals they reached that day. This simple form of accountability can help ensure staff stays on task, knowing they’ll be asked to explain what they did all day. 

Hire the Right People 

Salespeople who excel at organization and time management can help an entire team stay engaged. When hiring, look for candidates who not only fit well with your existing team but also offer qualities your team needs. 

Need help building a strong sales or marketing team? The recruiters at SMR Group specialize in connecting our clients in the pharmaceutical, medical device and biotech industries to some of the best available sales and marketing talent nationwide. To learn more, contact us today.