Building a High Performance Sales Team: 5 Action Steps

A high-performance sales team is the cornerstone to driving sustainable revenue growth.

One of the most important responsibilities of any sales executive is providing your organization with the ability to consistently engage prospects and customers in high-value business conversations. Sales teams who are audible-ready to articulate value and differentiation sell larger deals more quickly.

That point earned a lot of validation last week at the 2015 Battery Ventures Sales Summit. When Managing Director, John Kaplan, presented “Building a High Performance Sales Team,” we received a lot of great response on Twitter. So much so, we decided to share five key takeaways with the Command Center.

Twitter Takeaways: Building a High Performance Sales Team

1. You Need a Cadence

"Sales people expect a rhythm, a cadence" @ForceMgmt #BVSalesSummit

— Reza Malekzadeh (@malekzadeh) May 5, 2015

Bingo. A rhythm and a cadence behind key selling activities drives repeatability. When it comes to your sales process, if your organization defines what to do and when to do it, your salespeople and front-line managers have a rhythm that focuses on high-value activities and prevents time wasted on cumbersome tasks that don’t drive revenue.

2. Uncover the Business Impact

You must teach your salesforce to connect to the biggest issue facing the customer's co. @ForceMgmt #BVSalesSummit

— Battery Ventures (@BatteryVentures) May 5, 2015

If you want your sales teams selling higher in organizations, they need to uncover problems that can’t go another day without being fixed. You need to equip them with the ability to execute an effective discovery process. Thoughtful questions drive valuable answers. Valuable answers provide your sales people with the information they need to demonstrate the value of your solution.

3. Help the Customer Determine the Right Solution

People rarely argue with their own conclusions. @ForceMgmt #bvsalessummit

— Bridget Gleason (@bridgetgleason) May 5, 2015

What makes you different and better than your competition is a critical component to executing an effective value-based sales conversation. Effective discovery helps customers come to their own conclusions. Focusing your question-track in a way that highlights your differentiation forces the customer to realize that your solution is the only solution. Remember, people rarely argue with their own conclusions.

4. Participate in Your Own Rescue

favorite line of the day so far: "you have to participate in your own rescue" @ForceMgmt #BVSalesSummit

— Alex Yost (@alexfyost) May 5, 2015

If you want to drive change, you need to “lead from the front.” Our sales transformation approach demands buy-in from leadership and cross-functional alignment. You can’t just tell your sales teams to drive more revenue. You have to develop the processes, tools and content that help enable them to execute easily and repeatedly in front of the customer. Don’t yell at the scoreboard. The scoreboard can’t do anything for you. But those that are on the field can. Coach them to success. Participate in your own rescue.

5. What Constitutes a Good Sales Presentation

It's a good sales presentation when the speaker says, "Am I beating the crap out of you? Are you ok?" @ForceMgmt #BVSalesSummit

— Battery Ventures (@BatteryVentures) May 5, 2015

Okay, maybe we shouldn’t have called this a “takeaway.” More of a “if you know John Kaplan, you appreciate this tweet.”  We had to share it. Thanks for having us, Battery Ventures. Rip their face off.