In an ideal world, sales teams should operate like well-oiled machines, seamlessly passing clients between them and approaching sales with a similar mindset to always ensure the best results. These are business basics, but what happens if a weak cog is given a chance to break through into those operations?
Obviously, this is something that any manager in their right mind will take all precautions to avoid, through not only stringent recruitment processes, but also on-the-job training drives that cover everything from pitch planning to negotiation activities and beyond. Still, despite your best efforts, exaggerated personal skill sets, or that good-old sales bravado, could see a less-than-strong contender creeping in.
Worse, either through loyalty or a lack of notice, you may leave that weak cog to wreak untold havoc on sales overall. To prove why that’s never a good idea, we’re going to consider just a few of the things that can go wrong when your sales machine isn’t operating at full capacity.
# 1 – Pitch efficiency is likely to struggle
While most managers will nominate the strongest possible member of their teams to take care of pitching, the work that happens behind the scenes is very much a group effort. Sure, that fantastic figurehead might be in the driving seat, but they’ll rely on other members of the sales team for even small details like smooth technical running, or the proper sourcing of reliable statistics. Getting these things wrong can both ruin the strength of any pitch, and leave every team member with way more work on their plates as they seek to check, undo, and rework unnecessary mistakes. All of which can compromise the efficiency of pitches that, too, often, run on surprisingly tight deadlines.
# 2 – Sales will ultimately slip away
Regardless of where they’re placed within your sales team, weak cogs can also create problems when it comes to the business sales that you’re all trying to increase. After all, if clients have to deal with repeated phone calls, missed communications, and even the risk of things like rearranged meetings, etc. early on, then there’s no way they’ll even consider doing business with you. And, that’s guaranteed to cost in the long run.
# 3 – Team turnovers could be higher
The longer the members of your sales teamwork within your company, the better able they’ll be to sell your products well and quickly. Unfortunately, if there’s a weak cog holding back that progress, then hard-won high-quality candidates, in particular, will likely jump ship for a far better offer as soon as it comes along. That pace of turnover can then lead to lower morale and an entire team that only ever functions at half efficiency, and costs you sales in the process.
In short, a weak cog in your sales machine can lead to backups that entirely negate the efficiency you should expect here. Hence, avoiding these problems and others like them means always knowing who you’re employing, how they’re performing, and how the rest of your sales team feels about working with them.
