What does a family and sales teams have in common?

Challenges of being a team leader

What was the last “team challenge” you introduced to your team?  Did it involve finding new clients, making sales calls, booking parties or recruiting?  Did you have the same participation as most do, only a handful of team members even participate little lone fulfill the challenge?

I’ve spoken to countless leaders who tell me that the desperately want to know how to get more team members to participate.  Like any challenge in life, we hope there is a “magic spell” that will inspire an entire team to sell consistently.

Treat each team member uniquely as you do children

I don’t have a magic spell, but I do have a secret formula that I’ve seen work for many.  Before I share it with you let me ask you, would you ever give all your children the same chores and responsibilities?  Unless you happen to have given birth of twins or triplets and your children are all the same age, I’m guessing you are answering, “NO!”

Your team may look similar to a family consisting of these personalities ; a child who is always responsible and seldom needs reminding, the child who loves friends and playtime, and the child who is the baby and doesn’t know much, is adored and everyone can see their potential.  Each family member would have a unique assignment requiring varied amounts of experience and adjusted expectations.

The 3 step “Secret Formula”

You can treat your team in the same manner.  Here is a three step process for giving each team member a sales challenge that fits their ability and skill level.

1. Suggest a challenge based on their experience then ask “On a scale of 1-10, how comfortable are you with the challenge?”  If the answer is six or less, don’t expect that the consultant will rise to the occasion.  When the answer is below seven, ask them what challenge they’d be more comfortable with.  Get them in the seven to ten zone and they are highly likely to fulfill the challenge.
2. Calendar the assignment.  Ask them to look at their calendar and share with you when a good time will be for them to accomplish the challenge.  Restate how excited you are for them and that you’ll be texting or calling to celebrate with them.
3. Call or text within 12 hours of the challenge ending.  Celebrate with them if they followed thru with the challenge.  If they haven’t, ask them if they’d like to attempt the same challenge or do something different.  Repeat steps one thru three.

Watch your team grow

You will be so pleasantly surprised to see how many more of your team members who will participate in your sales challenges. By assisting them in creating a plan that moves them out of their comfort zone, but also gives them small successes to build on, you will empower them like never before.