This can be one of the most challenging things to do. To create a positive team culture with energy that builds momentum and leads to more success. It is very easy for salespeople (for people in general) to become negative and down on themselves. Especially when they are struggling with their sales numbers. A weak pipeline, missing quota, and not getting that big sale can drive negativity which will spread if not eliminated quickly. Misery loves company and salespeople love to talk!
As the sales leader you have to be mindful of this and be proactively looking for it so that you can take action quickly. A toxic negative culture can keep a sales team down and result in lack of momentum, lack of pipeline generation, lack of winning, and employee turnover. Here’s a few tips to get your hands around this quickly.
When you conduct your sales team meetings, always build the meetings on positivity. Your tone of voice, your enthusiasm, your spirit. You must lead by example. Remember that like attracts like and your positive energy and vibes will eventually be absorbed by your sales team. Talk about success and winning and recent wins. Talk about new and exciting news about the company and what is to come. Recap a recent meeting that went exceptionally well and why. Discuss how a salesperson recently uncovered a great new opportunity and how they did it. Focus on the positive. It takes time, but stay positive at all times, especially when you might be down or not close to your goal. This is when it matters the most. Be positive and inspire during your team meetings. It starts with you, the leader.
While talking with a salesperson, if you detect some negativity or frustration, address it. Don’t let it pass as it may only continue to build up and effect results. If you let one small negative comment go, the negativity will only grow. Whether you or the rep realizes it, they will only continue to get more negative to test just how much will be tolerated before it is called out. Don’t let it go that far.
When you hear a member of your team getting negative, let them finish their thoughts then address it in a very neutral, non-threatening tone. Something like this, “John, I am sensing a lot of frustration on your end. Talk to me some more. Where is this coming from? This doesn’t sound like you and it is pretty clear that this has you down. Let’s talk through it.” Then, let John speak some more. Let him talk enough to get down to the underlying bother that he has. It might not even be about pipeline, or losing that sale. It might be something outside of work, or maybe he is sick and tired of doing required trainings that the company has imposed. Just listen and get to the root issue. When John is done speaking, address his real issue/concern head on and help him.
Lastly, tell John that you can work with him on his concern but that he has to let it go and focus on the good stuff. On winning and selling and what he does best. You have to tell him this and get him to let it go so he can move forward in a brighter way. If he doesn’t let it go, the negativity will fester and spread. Neither of you want that. You want to show John that you are sincerely looking after his best interests (and his health!). If the negativity continues, that is when you can get more direct and tell John that the negativity needs to stop and that you can’t have it for all the reasons we discussed.
When speaking directly with members of your team, lift them up in spirit! Tell them that they are a superstar, a sales hero, that they can win that next deal and that you believe in them. Say these things sincerely and with confidence. It is a shame at how many managers don’t do this, or rarely do it at all. People love to get cheered on and know that their boss is 110% behind their efforts and believes in them.
One last tip: the Navy SEAL’s have a great team philosophy and will often say the phrase “fail forward fast.” It means that when we miss the mark or come short on a goal, we learn from it, we find the silver lining, we get better, and we move on and pivot to the next engagement (deal) quickly. We don’t get stuck on it and dwell and lick our wounds for days and weeks and months. We fail, we learn, we pivot and let it go, and move on (fast). You have to embrace this culture and so doesn’t your team in the fast-paced, roller-coaster world of Sales. Winston Churchill once said, “Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” He is right. Practice this philosophy and culture with your team.
Nip the negativity. Address it quickly so that it doesn’t spread and impact your team’s momentum.
-Happy Selling!