What it takes to build a winning sales team
Hitesh Oberoi on hiring, training and retaining your sales team
It is the most essential part of any company that sells directly to its customers,it is the revenue driver and also where these revenues are spent. Your sales team is the beating heart that keeps the business alive and keeps you connected with the real customer on-ground.
On our Building it up with Bertelsmann Podcast, we had the opportunity to host the Sales guru of the country — Hitesh Oberoi, CEO of naukri.com and Info Edge. Hitesh, who has built and managed one of the most effective sales organisations in the internet sector, is literally the encyclopaedia on how Rockstar sales teams are built and how to solve some of the biggest challenges of a fast-growing sales team. Here’s what he had to say:
Get Your Hands Dirty
There’s no better way to motivate your first employees and sales team than by being “out in the field” and showing them yourself, as a role model, the best sales tactics to pitch your products and services to potential customers. This also helps create a strong bond among employees, as everyone is equally engaged in starting up the essential acquisition process.
Don’t Plan Too Much
Don’t waste too much of your precious time on setting up specific sales strategies and trying to gain prestige by only selling to the big players, start off by selling to anyone that is willing to buy from you. As Hitesh experienced ”there is no point in strategizing and applying a lot of logic here, just go out and sell to whoever is interested in buying and let them buy”.
Have An Incentive Structure That Self-Regulates The Workforce
As Hitesh puts it:” We are in the business to make money”, therefore one always has to keep an eye on the high operating costs of such a team. The best way to choose the right team is by establishing a base salary that is enriched with a system of success related payment schemes.
The result of this system is that low-performers will earn less than the market average, therefore will automatically leave the venture. On the other hand, top performers will earn substantially more and stay with your company and continue to perform better. Congratulations! You just created a self-regulating process that “picks” the right employees
Evolve Your Business
Once you have outlived the starting phase and have acquired a solid base of customers, you have to pivot your sales strategy to upsell the existing customers, in addition to customer acquisition.
This new business requires a restructuring of the sales team, splitting it in two separate teams: one that continues “hunting” new customers and the other for account management. This step may lead to tensions within the team hence, it is critical that every concern is taken seriously and the team sees the bigger picture. This step is necessary for the well-being of the venture.
For more on sales teams, acquisitions and the challenges of an IPO, listen to the complete conversation with Hitesh Oberoi, Click here.
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