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What separates good sales networks from truly great ones driving growth? At first glance, it may seem success comes down to the individual talents of salespeople. But there are key levers beyond individual contributions that fuel top performance. This article uncovers some of the hidden drivers that allow some sales networks to constantly outshine others. By implementing strategies like incentive programs, opening communication channels, and flattening organizational structures, companies can empower sales teams to reach new heights.
Rewarding Top Contributors
According to the people at Motivation Excellence, one major lever is establishing incentive programs to motivate standout performers. For example, channel incentive programs provide individual sales reps and partner organizations with tiered rewards based on metrics like:
- Total sales revenue generated
- Year-over-year growth rates
- New customer conversions
Recognizing top talent with bonuses, increased commissions, and other benefits means companies spur friendly competition. Non-cash rewards also provide value. For instance, awards and public recognition fuel pride. Access to exclusive training and mentoring helps skill development and earning trips and experiences creates lifelong memories that deepen loyalty. Reward programs turn job responsibilities into fun achievement hunting tied to measurable targets.
Encouraging Open Sharing Between Silos
Often, sales teams operate in rigid silos that limit collaboration and communication across regions, product lines, and partner networks. However, high-performing sales organizations tear down these walls. They facilitate better information sharing so reps can leverage others’ wins.
For example, sales leaders can organize online forums for reps to exchange advice, discuss what works across accounts, and circulate marketing collateral and tools. Or they can create universal CRM databases so reps can pull insights from colleague account activity. Making this information easily available helps all sales representatives improve. This prevents leaving sales potential trapped in information silos.
Bringing together channel partners, internal sales divisions, and marketing teams for regular meetings smooths coordination. Unified teams align on processes, events, product developments, and promotions to appear cohesive to customers. This collaboration closes operational gaps, so efforts integrate rather than fight each other. By linking all the legs of the sales machinery, the entire network runs at optimum efficiency.
Flattening Hierarchies to Empower Employees
Although traditional companies structure sales teams with rigid hierarchies, elite sales forces embrace flatter, more agile structures. This empowers even frontline reps with greater ownership and accountability.
For example, decentralized decision-making allows reps to quickly solve small customer issues without constantly requesting permission from above. This nimbler approach provides faster, more personalized support fueling satisfaction and expanding authority over territory activities to reps foster proactive innovation not reliant on top-down directives. This avoids situations where reps simply comply with handed-down tactics rather than drive initiatives rooted in deep customer intimacy.
Cultivating an Ownership Culture
High-performing sales organizations cultivate a culture of ownership at all levels rather than solely top-down accountability. This means encouraging all reps to think and act like intrapreneurs, actively seeking new ways to drive impact.
Giving sales reps control over their schedules and customer visits empowers them. This promotes self-direction aligned to individual working styles. Leaders verbalize trust in reps’ judgment and ability to constructively chart their own course. This empowerment liberates reps to amplify strengths and pursue new in-roads, not just follow prescribed formulas. When given freedom, reps often devise clever maneuvers, making them more effective owners of territory growth.
Conclusion
Building a standout sales network requires looking beyond the capabilities of individual sales reps. It means implementing supportive systems, incentives, tools, and information flows behind the scenes. Companies that focus on tapping hidden performance levers like motivation programs, cross-team connectivity, and decentralized empowerment unlock immense potential from teams. This leads high-performing networks delivering results far surpassing the sum of their parts.
