Whether our favorite sports teams win or lose, we expect to see the coaches out front explaining how the successes will be repeated – or failures mitigated – the next week. Why? Because no matter the outcome, the ultimate responsibility for winning lies with the person in charge.
The same is true in a sales environment. The proverbial buck stops with the owner or senior manager, which is why teaching and instilling a sense of commitment in the sales team is an absolute necessity. Commitment – either as a set of behaviors or a single act – doesn't just happen on its own. But commerce doesn't occur until buyers and sellers exchange commitments.
Commitment is an unwavering covenant between the business and its team members. It also represents an agreement between salespeople and customers. This means that even in an era when instant gratification seems to be the norm, owners and senior managers must train team members – especially salespeople – to understand the role, importance, and mechanics of commitment.
Psychological research shows that people are much more likely to exchange commitments when they believe the other individual shares their level of interest. In other words, if I sense that you are committed, I am more likely to be, too.
If the company is committed to its sales team and trains them in the practice of commitment, salespeople will feel more empowered and accountable, and they will act in the best interests of the business while showing a higher level of respect for customers.
They will offer to help customers solve problems. They will ask questions to determine customer needs, take the time to understand what customers already knows and fill information gaps. They will offer solutions and suggest next steps before seeking an exchange of commitments, which is the essence of moving a sale forward.
It is not enough for the owner or senior manager to know what to do. It must be communicated company-wide. This is not as easy as easy it might sound. It requires self-discipline, initiative, a sense of competitiveness, emotional intelligence, and influence skills. Most of these are essential communication capabilities that people are unlikely to develop without training.
This is the type of training Molloy Business Development offers. Combined with detailed data on how incoming calls are handled, this can transform the way businesses engage with customers and salespeople exchange commitments with customers that result in increased sales.