Here’s a secret to building a productive sales team, from a man who’s
been doing it for almost 25 years:
“I look for teammates who work
together to hit singles and doubles consistently and bat .300 rather than recruit
a superstar who may hit a lot of home
runs but who wreaks havoc in the clubhouse,” said Jack Coury, senior vice
president of Grubb & Ellis Detroit’s
Industrial Group. “In business, like in
sports, team chemistry is paramount.”
Smart Business talked to Coury about
how he’s built a high-performing sales
team, Grubb & Ellis’ team of industrial
brokers who work Macomb County.
Is there a secret to selecting salespeople?
The first step is to formulate a vision
of what the team should be. Realize this
is a long-term process, not a short-term
fix. In a relationship-based business like
ours, the vision affects everything, and
the team will take time to build.
A potential recruit needs to share the
vision and must be a team player.
Admittedly, it is time-consuming to get
the right people and fill all available
spots. Here is where patience is a virtue.
Undoubtedly, because of what you are
trying to create, like-minded individuals
searching for a change will inevitably
gravitate to you as the team develops.
Although salespeople conform to the
environment they are in, human nature
also plays its part. Everyone has basic
values about what is right and wrong,
what to do and what not to do. While the
Golden Rule in treating others how you
want to be treated is a good benchmark,
behavior can change dramatically when
money is on the line. Pursue people with
good core ethics who are client-focused.
They must be willing to combine efforts
and share information to create a synergy where the team is better than the sum
of the individuals on their own.
Here is a good example of how team-work can function. Last year, more than
85 percent of the 69 commissionable
transactions I was involved in included
one or more other team members. While
this is rather unique in many sales organizations, in our business, it’s something that works well.
The one personality type you don’t
want is the loner. These individuals
place their own interests first, which
causes continual problems with the
team and leads to communication
breakdown. For this concept to be successful, team members must understand
that what is good for the team will ultimately be good for the individual. If the
pie gets larger because of the group’s
success, the team sees the virtue in that,
and everyone gets their piece of the
action.
What is the team leader’s responsibility?
Again, it is imperative that everyone
share the vision. The priority of the team
leader is to keep the group focused on
the fundamentals and stay committed to
that vision on a regular basis. Of equal
importance is the knowledge that the
team leader should give nothing less of
himself than he asks of the team. The
management style of ‘do what I say, not
as I do’ just doesn’t work in today’s environment. Subsequently, the leader will be someone that others respect and
whose opinion is valued.
How important is the financial package?
A prospective salesperson won’t move
just for money, but money is definitely a
motivating factor. Even if a candidate is
in the same business, moving from one
company to another is a challenging
transition. Any organization must offer a
competitive compensation package in
line with current industry standards. The
company’s reputation is also a factor —
having a brand name that is recognizable
helps open doors, giving its salespeople
an edge.
The camaraderie and team aspect are
also crucial components. As you get
more established in your career, you
want to surround yourself with good
people. Work needs to be fun and fulfilling as well as productive.
How do you handle the team-building
process?
It’s important to have open, constant
communication among the team members. Scheduled meetings can sometimes get tedious, but they help to keep
everybody focused. A productive part of
those meetings is the opportunity to collectively discuss any issues in the market, present specific situations and
brainstorm to come up with resolutions
and different approaches that might
solve a problem.
It is also important not only to focus on
business but to promote an atmosphere
where the team gets along with one
another on a personal level. Attending
functions outside of the professional
arena [i.e. casual dinner, sporting events,
etc.] helps the team become a quasi-family whereby team members pick one
another up when necessary — because
they know it will be reciprocated.
JACK COURY, SIOR, is a senior vice president in Grubb & Ellis Detroit’s Industrial Group. Reach him at (248) 372-2276 or
[email protected].