A highly productive sales force is a boon for any business. But priming them for success is an on-going exercise. Let's look at five keys for building a crack sales team that can add muscle to your business.

First, hire right. Not everyone can be a good in Sales. Let's get that clear. Too often sales has been the last refuge of people who could not get any other job, and they have wandered into the sales role. Firms that have not selected the right persons will encounter the attrition challenge constantly as the heat of the marketplace will compel many to quit the battle. The biases in the interviewer's mind creates a halo effect and the quest for 'good personality' still clouds selection strategy in many organizations. It is time to recognise that good looks alone does not cement a career even in the movies today but what is genuinely valued is stamina and resilience, as consistency in performance is more valuable than one-off hits. It is useful to labour over the selection process and even use psychometric tools to shortlist candidates for deeper probing using behaviour events interviewing techniques. This extra effort is akin to the service selection board process that the military uses - as having the right team member is a greater predictor of future success than the random hit-and-miss approach that many firms employ to bring on board salesmen when they act in a hurried manner. It is a cliché that you must get the right people on the bus - yet this is not a common virtue still in industry.

Second, invest in training your sales force. Here again, a powerful lesson can be learned from the armed forces. A professional army spends hours on training sessions (be it on the parade ground, the class room or in war games) as good simulation creates better results on the battle field. The sales force needs skills that are valid to today's needs. And, in a fast paced world where customer's appetite is fickle and attention span diminished, the ability to create productive and crucial conversations is a super power that gets results. Remember, while price conversations are bound to happen, more often than not it is not the decisive factor in procurement. Skilled sales people are able to turn the conversation to the value dimension to enhance their success ratio in business transactions. This is a craft that is honed through rigorous practice, and firms that provide avenues for simulated exercises will create a talented and well-chiselled sales force that can fight on all terrains.

Third, astute firms recognise that good process begets impactful results. Insightful leaders prepare their battle strategies after carefully studying current reality. So often we find that leaders are fighting today's battles with yesterday's tactics, copied from the used playbook of previous years or lazily borrowed from consultants who have offered it ad nauseam to many others. Just like an army's success depends on not being cut off from their supply lines, a sales force too depends on robust supply chain and smart despatches by a dynamic distribution team. Arguably, this calls for enhanced forecasting skills and capacity planning. Moreover, investment in modern technologies, including predictive data analytics, can become extremely beneficial for a firm. Unfortunately, orthodoxy in a firm leads to frozen or static processes. Consequently, the firm is caught like a dead duck in the face of a new and agile competitor. A firm that is open to experimentation will welcome innovative steps when the sales force comes up with unusual suggestions. This kind of responsiveness enthuses the salesperson as it provides him with a backend that is aligned to the aggressiveness that he carries into the marketplace.

Fourth, shaping the morale of your sales team is a leadership challenge. Smart sales forces have good leaders guiding them. At the end of the day what matters is not the size of the weapon but the intensity of the fury. This is a drive that is displayed on a daily basis by the field force because they know that they are led by commanders who would be expecting results from them only because they believe that they have prepared them well for the reality of the markets. Thorough and professional preparation presages market entry, and sustained marketing campaigns are added boosters to the troops on the ground. Also, empathetic leaders are in close touch with the field force and do not hesitate to make joint field calls when needed to tackle extremely recalcitrant accounts or prospects. Morale is also sustained throughout the year with powerful messages that are both broadcasted to the larger team and converted to bespoke strokes that act as balm to those in acute pain following business disappointments. In the career of every salesperson there are troughs when success eludes them and targets seem impossible to achieve. Receiving wise counsel at such dark times from battle-hardened leaders is the perfect elixir at such crunch moments. Knowing that the leaders have your back provides second-wind to those who appear to be laggards for they are not truly so but often are victims of temporary situations. Positive words - backed by prompt actions - have created resurgence in many a dormant career of field personnel.

Which brings to me my final point: culture. Competitiveness is natural in a Field Force. Without it they lack the sting to withstand challenges thrown at them by market forces. Besides, friendly and sporting rivalry is also nurtured inside firms to add spice which boosts better performance all round. A culture of high performance also means that serious misdemeanours or violation of values are not traded for target achievement. There is also acceptance that no benchmark is forever, and high standards means that records and boundaries are to be pushed aside with constant gusto. Let's keep in mind that a Field Force is just one part - nevertheless a vital part - of a firm. Obviously, all elements of the firm have to operate in unison for consistent business excellence - but the bleeding edge of the firm is undoubtedly the Field Force, and they deserve our respect.

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Ravi Sankar K. is the CEO of Maven Marketing. He graduated in Chemistry and has a Master's degree in Marketing Management from Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies.

Before kicking off his entrepreneurial journey, Ravi Sankar held key leadership positions in few of the pharmaceutical companies. His vast knowledge across the therapeutic categories is being today leveraged by pharmaceutical companies and healthcare start-ups. He is not only a seasoned professional but shares his knowledge as a guest lecturer at management institutes, contributing to the growth of future leaders.

With a remarkable 25-year career that started as a Medical Representative and eventually led to entrepreneurship, Ravi Sankar has successfully built iconic brands in the pharma industry. At leisure time, he enjoys unwinding through reading and indulging in the art of cooking.

Carole Mahoney's book, "Buyer First: Grow Your Business with Collaborative Selling," offers a fresh perspective on sales, challenging the traditional focus on closing deals. The author advocates for a buyer-first approach, which involves understanding the customer's needs, nurturing relationships, and delivering solutions that genuinely benefit the buyer. This approach prioritizes assisting customers in achieving their objectives rather than simply selling products.

One fundamental element of the buyer-first strategy involves collaborative selling which is all about getting sales teams to operate in sync, efficiently closing deals. In this approach, team members freely exchange valuable information, pool resources, and tap into each other's expertise. The goal you ask? To present customers with tailored solutions that genuinely meet their needs. Going beyond this, it is also about creating an atmosphere of trust and cooperation within the organisation. Mahoney underscores the importance of providing salespeople with the essential tools and resources to thrive in this kind of collaborative setting.

When a business transitions to a buyer-focused approach, the rewards are substantial. This encompasses a tangible uptick in sales, elevated customer contentment, and heightened employee involvement. The author lays out a simple blueprint for organisations keen on embracing this tactic. It encompasses a series of stages: comprehending buyer personas, charting the path buyers take, constructing a sales process oriented towards the buyer, ensuring the sales team is fully equipped, and perpetually assessing and refining the approach.

One of the standout features of Mahoney's book is her reliance on data to support her claims. She provides robust evidence to substantiate the effectiveness of the buyer-first approach and effectively communicates the benefits of collaborative selling. Her practical approach makes the book not only relevant but also compelling for sales professionals and leaders.

In the current sales environment, excelling requires organizations to embrace a buyer-centric approach. By empowering sales teams with the essential tools and strategies to improve deal closures, elevate customer satisfaction, and foster employee engagement.

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