Managing Your Sales Team

1. What You Want

1.1 Use your sales strategy to define the type and number of sales people you need.

• For example, if you have decided to cold-call prospective customers, you may prefer sales people with telesales experience.

1.2 Look out for skills that reflect your business needs.

• At least some experience of sales and sales negotiation is needed, particularly in newly established businesses.
• You may need sales people with existing contacts in your customer base.
• Decide how much knowledge about your product and market you want.
• Develop existing skills through training (see 3).

1.3 The key attribute for many sales people is attitude and enthusiasm (see 6).

• Demotivated sales team members make ineffective and reluctant sales people.