{"id":1509,"date":"2019-12-18T08:26:18","date_gmt":"2019-12-18T08:26:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/?p=1509"},"modified":"2019-12-17T16:05:07","modified_gmt":"2019-12-17T16:05:07","slug":"effective-accountability-in-sales","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/effective-accountability-in-sales\/","title":{"rendered":"Effective Accountability in Sales"},"content":{"rendered":"

Even if your company employs the best sales professionals, there\u2019s no guarantee of success. In our last post<\/a>, we looked at some secrets of high-performing sales teams. One thing the top performers all share is a high level of accountability in sales.<\/p>\n

In many organizations, this word has acquired a bad reputation. Accountability is about much more than punishment and managers looking over the shoulders of their sales reps, though. It should be about making sure your team is on the right track and meeting sales goals<\/a>.<\/strong> It\u2019s also about rewarding top performers. Salespeople who are held accountable perform at a higher level and are more motivated. <\/strong><\/p>\n

Is your sales team being held accountable?<\/p>\n

Align Expectations and Goals<\/h2>\n

This is where your accountability plan needs to start. In order to effectively hold salespeople accountable, they need to know what they\u2019re being held accountable for. A plan without specific and shared goals and expectations isn\u2019t much use to anyone.<\/p>\n

In creating this part of your plan, focus on developing expectations for the entire sales team as well as individuals. This process doesn\u2019t have to alienate sales management from the rest of the team; come up with goals as a team<\/strong> to give everyone some ownership of the process.<\/p>\n

This stage of developing an accountability plan is a great opportunity to focus on alignment. A sales team that is on the same page as far as expectations and goals is an effective team. Thinking more broadly, use this chance to make sure everyone has the same clear understanding of your company\u2019s mission and vision.<\/p>\n

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Create Clear Consequences and Rewards<\/h2>\n

Do your sales professionals know what\u2019s at stake? Sales team accountability doesn\u2019t mean much if there\u2019s nothing to lose or gain.<\/p>\n

After you\u2019ve defined expectations for your team members, it should become clear whether or not they\u2019re meeting those expectations. An important part of holding sales reps accountable is having set consequences for underperformance. A lack of any consequences can be detrimental to the drive and motivation of your team.<\/p>\n

Of course, it\u2019s important to focus on the positive side of accountability as well<\/strong>. Recognizing the successes of your sales reps will do great things for morale and drive.<\/p>\n

There are several ways you can go about rewarding your employees. How frequently will you issue rewards? This will help determine the size of the reward. Rewards that are given weekly, for example, should be smaller than those that are awarded monthly.<\/p>\n

Also, consider how public the rewards are. \u00a0Rewards that are given in private may be effective in motivating the recipient, but they do nothing to motivate the team. Generally speaking, recognition from peers and acknowledgement of well-deserved rewards are high on the list of motivators for sales professionals.<\/p>\n

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Make Sales Activity Transparent<\/h2>\n

How competitive is your sales team? Many effective sales professionals have a competitive streak, and this is something you can leverage in your accountability plan.<\/p>\n

One way to let your sales reps know where they stand is to make your sales numbers transparent. Instead of only displaying them at sales meetings, find a way to broadcast them where they\u2019re always accessible. This can be via mobile app or a display in the office.<\/p>\n

In this way, the competitiveness of your sales team provides them with their own motivation.<\/strong> They also get realtime feedback about their performance and how close they are to a reward or consequence.<\/p>\n

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Coach Your Team<\/h2>\n

There\u2019s another necessary element when it comes to holding your sales team accountable: coaching. It isn\u2019t much use to hold your team accountable for something they aren\u2019t equipped to handle. If your sales reps aren\u2019t meeting expectations, it\u2019s important to consider whether you\u2019ve given them the proper tools for success.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sales leaders need to offer guidance to their team members for them to be held accountable. Without this step, sales goals can be unrealistic and hurt the motivation of your sales team. In addition to enacting consequences for underperforming salespeople, be sure to first consider whether you can provide coaching that will improve their performance.<\/p>\n

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Regular Follow-Ups<\/h2>\n

Following up with your sales team is a crucial part of maintaining an accountability plan that works. You should do follow-ups both with individuals and with the entire sales team. They should also happen at regular intervals, i.e. a weekly sales meeting followed up by individual one-on-ones<\/p>\n

The purpose of the check-ins is two-fold. First, it\u2019s beneficial for your sales team members to know exactly when they\u2019re going to be assessed and<\/strong> held accountable. If they have a one-on-one meeting every week or two they\u2019re less likely to lose motivation than if they had sporadic, semi-monthly meetings.<\/p>\n

Second, follow-ups give the sales team opportunities to provide feedback on the sales process<\/a> and accountability plan. If multiple team members have similar concerns or problems, management will know what needs attention.<\/p>\n

This ties in with the previous point regarding coaching. The individual follow-ups in particular will highlight the specific struggles underperforming sales reps are experiencing. Your sales managers can then address these in training and sales meetings.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hold Yourself Accountable<\/h2>\n

Setting your team up for success with sufficient training<\/a>, creating clear expectations, and then following up with your team is all part of accountability, but so is leading by example.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s little that\u2019s more inspiring than a leader who publicly holds himself accountable<\/strong> and little that demotivates more than one who doesn\u2019t. Sales leaders can hold themselves accountable by offering guidance to the sales team when goals aren\u2019t met and by championing the successes of others when they are.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to remember that your company\u2019s sales management and sales reps are on the same team. Accountability doesn\u2019t have to create an \u201cUs vs. Them\u201d attitude, and it shouldn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

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Is Your Business Accountable?<\/h2>\n

Holding your sales professionals accountable means more than just penalizing poor performance. It means recognizing the successes and failures of the sales department in your organization. Good accountability provides support when goals aren\u2019t met and at the same time rewards for great performance.<\/strong> It\u2019s instrumental in helping your team realize its highest potential.<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t already, spend time creating an accountability plan for your sales team. It\u2019s one of the best ways to make sure your team meets sales goals and performs as well as possible.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

We Can Help Your Sales Team with Accountability<\/span><\/h2>\n

To expedite meeting and exceeding your sales goals, it might be time to call in reinforcements.\u00a0Schedule your free consultation here<\/a>\u00a0to find out how we help sales teams break sales records.<\/p>\n

Image Attribution<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Even if your company employs the best sales professionals, there\u2019s no guarantee of success. In our last post, we looked at some secrets of high-performing sales teams. One thing the top performers all share is a high level of accountability in sales. In many organizations, this word…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":1545,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[122],"tags":[187,188],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1509"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1582,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1509\/revisions\/1582"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1545"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c1mdevsite.com\/360consultingdfw.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}