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How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team

How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team

What makes a high-performance sales team? And more importantly, how do you build one? We’ll give you the answers and a step-by-step guide that you can use as a framework for your own success.

Kayvon Kay
Kayvon Kay

April 4, 2022

Building a sales team is one thing… but “how to build a high-performance sales team” is the real question you need to ask.

After all, you want results… right?

You want a sales team that scales your business!!

You want success. Growth. You want to achieve your vision. A sales team helps you achieve all this. Yet hiring the wrong one burns your dreams to the ground—let alone costs you a lot of time and money.

What you really want is a high-performance sales team.

Well, I’m happy to say you’re in the right place. Here’s the plan

Table of Contents — How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team

  1. What is High-Performance Sales?
  2. What is a High Performing Sales Team?
  3. How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team
  4. How Do You Create a High-Performance Sales Culture?
  5. How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team — The Conclusions

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How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team

We’re The Sales Connection, and we live and breathe sales. We take what we do seriously. We work with world-class sales professionals. We know where to look to find these people. We’ve built an A-Class sales team for ourselves and helped our clients do the same.

What we’re about to share is based on real-world experience.

We know what a high-performance sales team looks like—we know what it takes to build one.

Take notes as you read on 🖊 📖

A high-performance sales team is made up of people who complement one another.

What is High-Performance Sales?

When we talk about high-performance sales, we don’t focus on entry-level sales reps that follow a script. A high-performance salesperson is one that understands your:

  • Business
  • Industry
  • Offer
  • Prospect!!

They’re adaptable. They have a fluid approach. They know what to say and when to say it. They’re successful, not just in closing the sale… but building trust and loyalty with their customers. These are the people that transform a business from good to great. Once you have a few of these, you thrive. 

If you build a team of them… well, get ready for an exciting ride 😎

What is a High Performing Sales Team?

A high-performance sales team isn’t one that just achieves high profits and financial success. This is a byproduct of what they do, sure. But that alone doesn’t define them.

A high-performance sales team goes beyond this. It’s made up of people that complement one another. They’re not clones who follow the same script. Each individual possesses certain skills, styles, and approaches. They’re masters of their craft.

Sure, they share certain characteristics.

Yet they’re also unique. Together, they form a team that achieves huge success.

Not just in the short term. Not just in a way that makes their business money. 

But in a way that truly helps an organization scale from good to great.

How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team

Right now I imagine you’re on board. It’s one thing to build a sales team, but it’s another to craft a carefully selected high-performance team of A-Players! If you want quality like this, there’s a certain process you need to follow…

1: Identify What a High Performer Looks LikeA

To start with, you need to identify what a high performer looks like in YOUR business. What you do and who you are are unique. You cannot replicate what another organization does. What matters is you build a team for your business!

  • What are the skills you need?
  • What key characteristics do all team members need to share?
  • What differences do you want different people to possess?
  • What personality types do you value?

Before you do anything, you need to think about what high-performance looks like for you. 

Until you’re clear on this, you’ll never build a high-performance sales team.

2: Empower the high-performers on your team

Chances are, you already have some high-performers on your team. Soon, you’ll have more of them.

Whether they’ve been with your company for long or not, empower them. Give them freedom.

You cannot treat a high-performance salesperson like you would a standard rep. Give them certain freedoms to do what they need to. You still hold them accountable, and you continue to observe what they do… but it’s important you set them up for true success.

3: Create shared goals

Although each individual has their own goals, targets, and focus… you need to create a common vision.

This is true when building any successful sales team.

A high-performance one is no different.

Create a page. Make sure everyone is on it. Ensure everyone remains on it! Just because you have a group of A-Players doesn’t mean they can act as a group of individuals.

4: Provide Constant (and consistent) Feedback

As with any other sales team, it’s your job to provide constant feedback.

  • Celebrate wins
  • Learn from losses
  • Create healthy competition
  • Find ways to motivate
  • Reward successes
  • Challenge those on your team

Don’t let complacency kick in. Keep your team ready for change because change will find you. It’s your job to drive this. Never take a step back.

5: Produce Effective, Relevant Sales Training

Even though you’re dealing with experienced A-Players doesn’t mean they’re perfect.

They still have lots to learn.

They can still grow.

They remain a work in progress.

Make this crystal clear. Celebrate it. Ensure everyone on the team embraces it. Make training fun again. Make it relevant. Give them access to the tools and resources they need to thrive.

6: Track Data and Listen To It

You don’t need me to tell you how important it is to set KPIs, track certain metrics, and consistently measure them. The problem is—and this is especially true when dealing with a high-performance sales team—is that too many people forget to listen to it.

After all, you have a world-class team. They know what they’re doing. You don’t want to rock the boat…

Wrong. Always listen to the data. If what you measure tells you something, take it into account. One of the best parts of having a high-performance sales team is that they’re adaptable. If your data tells you something, use it to transform good to great. After all, you have a team that can pull it off.

7: Focus on Quality (ALWAYS!!)

The final step is to keep quality top of mind at all times.

  • Fire those that aren’t a good fit for your sales culture.
  • Hire more of the ones that do fit your culture
  • Optimize your training, systems, and processes
  • Set new goals… new challenges… keep motivation high!!

Don’t think that once you build a high-performance sales team you’re done. This is never done. The process never ends. You can always improve. People that are a good fit today may not be tomorrow.

Quality matters above all. Don’t forget this!

You need to create a common vision.

How Do You Create a High-Performance Sales Culture?

A big way of ensuring you don’t forget this—and keep complacency hidden in the shadows—is to not just build a sales team but a sales culture that thrives.

We have another guide that dives into this: How to Build a Sales Culture.

Be sure to study it in full, as well as these other articles that show you how to build a high-performance sales team:

How To Build a High-Performance Sales Team — The Conclusions

As you can see, there’s a difference between building a sales team and carefully crafting a high-performance one. In essence, the process remains the same. Yet it also differs in a BIG way.

Most of that comes down to quality.

This is what you need to focus on if you want to know how to build a high-performance sales team.

Experience. Adaptability. Mastery. Unique skillsets. They all play a role in a team like this.

Yet there’s still room to grow. Accountability remains important. Complacency remains the enemy.

That’s where YOU come in…

Of course, this is easier said than done. You’re busy as it is, so maybe you need help to make this happen. If so, you should turn to an experienced agency like us as this is what we excel at!

To learn more about how we can specifically serve you, Apply To Partner with US — we’d love to learn more about your team so you can scale up and beyond.

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Kayvon Kay

Kayvon Kay

Kayvon has over two decades of experience working with high-level closers and perfecting his sales methodologies. He has earned the title of Canada’s #1 pharmaceutical sales representative and continues to share his expertise as a keynote speaker and through his multi-million-dollar coaching program.

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