Troy Harrison On How To Turn a Good Sales Team into a Great One

An Interview with Phil Gray, Editor of RevOpsTeam

Spend at least half your time coaching. That means being in the field with your salespeople, observing live sales calls, and finding ways that they can improve. When you find those ways, NEVER reprimand; instead, sell the benefits of changing the coachable behavior.

A strong, high-performance sales team is critical to a successful business. But what makes a sales team successful? What strategies can leaders use to create a highly successful sales team? To address these questions, in this interview series, we are talking to CROs, marketing leaders, and sales leaders about “How To Turn a Good Sales Team into a Great One. “As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Troy Harrison.

Troy Harrison has trained salespeople from 23 different countries on two different continents. He’s worked with principals of companies in the United States, Canada, Europe, and the Middle East. That’s why they call him the “Sales Navigator” — he helps clients all over the world navigate the Elements of Selling on their journey to success.

Thank you for doing this with us! Before we begin, our readers would like to learn a bit more about you. Can you tell us the “backstory” about what brought you to this career path?

Sure. I’ve been in some form of sales for over 30 years now. I was what I call an “accidental salesperson,” as many of us are. My original plan was to be a marketing executive. It sounded glamorous. But, as a first job out of college, I ended up going to work as a salesman, figuring I’d get that marketing gig later. After a few years in sales, I did in fact get a job as a marketing manager and I hated it. I was too far removed from the customer. So, I went back into sales and have loved the career ever since. Over the years, I realized that I had a passion for teaching and developing people, and I come from a long line of entrepreneurs. Following my passion and following in my family’s footsteps, I opened my business as a sales coach and trainer in 2004. It’s been the best decision I ever made.

Can you share with our readers the most interesting or amusing story that has occurred to you in your career so far? Can you share the lesson or takeaway you took from that story?

In 2015, I had my first training engagement in Europe. I was, as you can imagine, excited, but also a bit nervous — I figured that cultural differences meant that sales was very different “over there.” So I researched — and the one definite result of all that research was that I “learned” that cold-call prospecting was not something that was done in Europe. As my session began, I asked each attendee to share something they were doing that was working well for them. The third person said, “Cold calling.” I shared my research with the 60 trainees, and asked them if they cold-called. 58 said they did. So, I rewrote my training on the spot, at their request, and included material on cold-call prospecting. I was invited back the next year. What I have learned from training people from 23 different countries (so far) is that sales is the universal language — 95% of the challenges experienced in the USA are experienced elsewhere, and vice versa. Cultural differences live in that 5% in the margins.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?

Yes. I’m developing on-demand, Web based sales training, as well as a Web based sales management coaching program. I intend to launch these programs by July 2023. Until now, there has really been no cost-effective way for a company to train one salesperson, or for a salesperson to individually access my curriculum. This will make my “Elements of Sales” program much more accessible, and will help managers and salespeople develop their skills and grow as professionals. I’m very excited about it!

None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?

We all have help. Certainly, my family has always been a source of support and inspiration, and every day, I try to live up to the example set by my Grandfather, Bill Harrison, and my Dad, Gerry Harrison. Outside of my family, I’d have to say Darren Pearce. He was the General Manager who took a risk by giving a sales rep an opportunity to be a Sales Manager. His gamble worked; I turned the sales team around and won awards with that company. It was this job where I discovered my love of teaching and developing salespeople and other sales managers. I’m proud to say that Darren is still a friend, 25 years after he gave me that shot.

For the benefit of our readers, can you tell us a bit about your experience leading sales teams? How many years of experience do you have, and what size teams have you worked with?

As a sales manager, I led four different sales teams. My first sales management position was a worst-to-first situation; I took over one of the lowest performing sales teams in my company and in a year, turned the team into the national champions, two years running. From there, I worked for a few smaller, single-location companies, doing sales team turnarounds. Those teams were smaller — 10 people or less. Since opening Troy Harrison International, I’ve worked with companies who have sales teams numbering from 1 to 1,000, and I’ve enjoyed them all.

What do you think makes a sales team great? What strengths or characteristics do you try to cultivate?

The biggest characteristic of a great sales team is what I call a “culture of engagement.” That means that the salespeople are doing more than just going through the motions — they sell because they enjoy their customers, they enjoy the company, and they enjoy the job of selling. Great sales teams are always working to improve themselves, bit by bit, even with something as small as learning a new question to ask a customer. Great sales teams don’t necessarily have to be made up entirely of superstars (in fact, that’s nearly impossible), but they are made up of salespeople who get the most out of their abilities, day in and day out.

Great sales teams also have a positive group dynamic. Yes, competitiveness is important and even vital. But it has to be healthy competition. In a great sales team, top performers help lower performers without being asked. They do it because they know that the rising tide lifts all boats.

Great sales teams are FUN. They are fun to work in and they are fun to manage.

As with any department, there can be a lot of different strengths, weaknesses, and personalities. How do you manage such diversity on an individual basis? Is there such a thing as a blanket motivator?

Great sales managers know that they have to individualize their management style to get the most out of each team member. There is no such thing as a blanket motivator, and if you’re trying to motivate your team all one way, you’re going to miss some members. Once, as a salesperson, I was on a sales team where everything was about golf. Every contest, every sales meeting, every analogy, everything. I’m not a golfer and neither were a couple of other members. We all performed well, but none of us were as engaged or felt a part of the team. Good managers recognize the individuality of team members and work with them as individuals.

What strategies have you tried to increase motivation, engagement, and productivity? We want to hear it all; the stranger, the better!

I don’t know that anything I’ve tried has been “strange,” but it does seem to be unconventional. When I started in sales management, I didn’t have any sales management training besides working for some pretty awful sales managers. So, early on, I was Bizzarro Sales Manager. When confronted with a situation, I’d think about how they would have handled it — and then I did the opposite! It turned out that this was a winning strategy most of the time. My sales management philosophy has always been more about selling to my salespeople than dictating to them. If you can sell salespeople on the benefits of doing the things you need them to do, you’re 90% of the way toward building a great sales team. Then, when you do have to hold people accountable during that other 10% of the time, you’ve built credibility with them. A dictatorial management style can generate short-term results, but it burns salespeople out and leads to higher turnover. Turnover is expensive and it hurts customer relationships — plus it sucks your soul.

Of all the strategies you’ve tried, which did you find to be most effective? How did this have a direct correlation to sales?

As I noted earlier, individualizing my management style was by far the most effective. If you have a sales team of 10 people, you might have 10 different key motivators to get the most out of your people. You have to get to know your salespeople and learn what they are seeking from their careers. Assess their needs and wants, and then create and present a plan to them to achieve those needs and wants. If this sounds like successful sales management is more about selling to your team than it is managing them, you’re not wrong.

One key element as well was that I never did their jobs for them. Some sales managers think that they have to be the “super salesman” and close all the big deals. I didn’t do that — instead I trained each person to be so good at selling that they didn’t need me to be the closer. Then, when they got the big wins, I didn’t take the credit away from them. Sales management is a job of reflected glory, and the sales manager who remembers that his or her salespeople are the stars of the show are probably going to succeed.

Can you tell us about a time that your sales team outperformed their targets? How high over did they go, and what was that like for everyone involved? Can you share a possible reason for this unique performance?

All of my teams outperformed their targets. That’s what made them great teams. I’ve had teams that doubled their targets (as a whole), and I’ve had teams that were 10% over. Regardless, having an overperforming team is fun for everyone. It’s difficult to put into words, but there’s an energy in the room whenever you are around those team members, and everyone feels it — even if they are not in sales. Winning is contagious.

The biggest reason, I think, is a management style that individualizes (as I noted above) and constant coaching and training. I don’t care how good a salesperson is (including me); they can always be better. My approach was that, every day, I wanted to make one of my team members just a little better and more effective at their job. If I did that, it was a good day. In fact, it still is. The most fun I can have is helping someone improve themselves. It’s what keeps me excited every day.

Great things often take time. What do you think is a realistic timeline to take a sales team from good to great?

In my experience, it typically takes anywhere from six months to a year, depending on the size of the team and how set the team members are in their ways. You’re going to make mistakes along the way — everyone does. What speeds the timeline is the ability to recognize wrong directions quickly and course-correct without recriminations either to your team or from it.

Ok. Thanks for all that. Here is the main question of our interview. What are your five strategies that will help turn a good sales team into a great one? Please share a story or example for each.

1 . Individualize your style. Too many managers think that money is the main motivator for salespeople. It isn’t. For an example, I had a salesperson once who wanted nothing more than to have my job. Some managers would consider this a threat. Instead, I looked at it as an opportunity to make myself promotable by having a ready-made successor. So, from time to time, I’d show him a little of my job and groom him as my replacement. By doing this, his performance went through the roof; in fact, he went from near the bottom of a 300 person national sales team to being the national champion. Sure, he liked the money, but he liked it more that I was investing in his career.

2 . Always be training. Always. Every sales meeting you have (and you should have them at least every 2 weeks if not every week) should include a training component. It can be something as small as having each salesperson come up with a new question to ask for the next meeting, then reviewing them as a group, but sales training should never end and it should always evolve and adapt.

3 . Don’t take the glory away from your salespeople. I’ve seen entirely too many sales managers come back in from winning a big deal and being the one to get all the high-fives and congratulations while the salesperson whose job it was to sell the account is sitting in the wings. Don’t be that guy. Train your salespeople to be the big closers. Even if you are there and even if you are the one who closes the account, let the sales rep take the glory. Everyone knows already that it’s your team.

4 . Spend at least half your time coaching. That means being in the field with your salespeople, observing live sales calls, and finding ways that they can improve. When you find those ways, NEVER reprimand; instead, sell the benefits of changing the coachable behavior.

5 . Have good processes and KPI’s to use for accountability’s sake, but always present them as a “road map to success.” Salespeople hate to feel like the boss is snooping on them, but they like knowing that the company has its act together enough to know how salespeople succeed. It’s all in how you present it. Again — sell, don’t dictate.

We are nearly done. You are a person of enormous influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the greatest amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I’d like to inspire a movement to reinject an appreciation for capitalism and business into our education system (and yes, sales is part of that). This is something we have lost and it is hurting us culturally and economically.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

Sign up for my newsletter at www.TroyHarrison.com, or follow me on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/troyharrisonsalesguru.

Thank you for the interview. We wish you only continued success!

About The Interviewer: Phil Gray is the COO of Black and White Zebra, a digital publishing and tech company. He hails from rainy Glasgow, Scotland now living in the not-quite-as-rainy Vancouver, BC, Canada. With 10+ years of experience in leadership and operations across multiple industries, he applies a broad scope of experience in business that lets him see the big picture. His love for data and all things revenue operations landed him this role as resident big brain for the RevOpsTeam.