How to build a winning sales culture: Part 3

You know excellence doesn’t just happen, and it doesn’t happen overnight either. Well, the same goes for building a winning sales culture in your company.

If you’ve already read part 1 and part 2 in this series, you understand the basics of ‘sales culture’ and why it’s so important to pay attention to yours.

That’s all well and good. Now, it gets personal.

If you’re reading this as the owner or leader of a business, I’m speaking to you: it all starts at the top. Culture is a direct reflection of a company’s leaders. Management can create an atmosphere of resentment or camaraderie—the choice is yours.

To that point…

1. Your influence has impact

• Don’t Be a Jerk: There, I said it and I’m glad. It’s against human nature to freely offer a personal best to someone who clearly doesn’t appreciate it. Make sure your team has reasons to give you and your business everything they’ve got (professionally speaking).
• Keep an Open Door. Always. Easily accessible management leads to employees who feel relaxed enough to share what’s really going on in the company.
• Think of Your Employees as Colleagues: Know their names. It’s a no-brainer, but deserves to be said. No one excels when they feel unimportant. A culture of respect and familiarity leads to high levels of accountability.
• Take Criticism as Willingly as You Give It: You know you’re not perfect, so why pretend? Incorporate a 360° review process to enhance everyone’s success, including your own.

2. Sales + Marketing = BFF

That’s ‘best friends forever,’ in case you’re not from around here. Grow a culture where sales and marketing see themselves working toward a common goal together. Here are three simple steps to bring the teams closer:

1. Teach marketing how to properly demo the product

2. Share goals and bonuses.

3. Get quotas in their hands fast!

3. Time’s a wastin’

There’s a sales culture growing in your business even as you read this. Here are five things you can start doing immediately to make sure it’s the one you want:

1. Establish your core values, and make them known.

2. Interview not just for job skills, but with a focus on the culture you’re creating.

3. Accept your culture-driving responsibilities as a leader.

4. Start the shout-outs! Give recognition when it’s due.

5. Understand that there’s no shame in restarting your culture.

When your strategy for success includes celebrating your team’s talents, you’ll find you’ve created a sales culture that maximizes profit.