The task of a sales manager is to help salespeople. But managers often do not know what is really bothering their team. Unresolved problems then affect the whole team and even the whole company for long periods of time. The most frequent problems of sales teams and how to deal with them was described at Sales.about.com.
1) Lack of self-confidence
Salespeople often face rejection and this can easily influence their perception of themselves. Signs of a lack of confidence include call avoidance, spending as much time as possible on non-sales activities and negative comments. Your job is to support your team's confidence even if their sales are not very successful. Self-confident people have a greater chance of success.
2) Over-dependence on you
Occasional assistance with closing sales is all right but it should not happen that your salespeople always ask you to listen to their calls and help them or accompany them to appointments. The worst situation is when they want you to close their sales for them. Your team should know that they can rely on you but at the same time salespeople must be independent.
3) Burnout
It often happens that salespeople are emotionally exhausted. They do not feel motivated and have a hard time doing anything above the minimum. Try to involve such salespeople in new work. You can give them a new calling script or tell them to write a new one for themselves. For recuperation of energy, it can also be useful to try a new sales channel such as social media.
4) Frustration
If salespeople are unsuccessful long-term, they may become frustrated, which, in contrast to a lack of self-confidence, manifests itself through anger. Here you can help by giving them chance to vent their feelings rationally. Set up a one-on-one meeting and let them talk. Then form a plan together. Identify certain stages on the way to a target so they can celebrate achieving interim goals.
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