“You can’t win together if you don’t work together.” – Nick Saban
With a career record of 232-62-1, Saban obviously knows a little about building WINNING and WOWing teams. Recently, Bob Burkham, BioZyme® National Manager of Supplement Sales, offered his perspective on why it is vital to invest in your teams to grow your business.
“Investing in training is an investment in their success and ultimately the business’s success. You are making your employees more valuable by giving them the tools they need to be more successful in their jobs,”he said.
Those trainings can come in various models and forms, including external trainings like the BioZyme Master Dealer Training Program, a leadership growth program provided by the local chamber of commerce or other organization or a webinar about sales or other products you offer. Regardless of the trainings you offer, the most important resource to share with your team is communication.
Communications is key to building the team, according to Burkham. It is important to remember that communication doesn’t just take shape in reminders posted to a bulletin board or barking orders to workers before your morning cup of coffee.
“Bring everyone together for a roundtable discussion and listen to their ideas. You probably can’t incorporate all the ideas all of the time, but it will help figure out where there are chinks in the armor, and it helps make everyone feel part of the team,” he said.
Another important thing to consider when investing in your team, is time – both theirs and your customers. When investing in trainings, make sure they are the correct trainings for the correct people on the team, so those valuable team players don’t feel like you are wasting their time in another meeting. Ensure the trainings they receive will inspire, motivate and teach them to be better at whatever their role is to help grow your business.
“Everyone has a limited amount of time in this fast-paced world. It is paramount to show up and bring value,” Burkham said.
Finally, Burkham suggests that when sales staff have the proper training, their natural competitive spirit shows up to do better or sell more than their peers. A competitive rivalry is likely to occur if there is more than one salesperson. And even with a one-person sales staff, that person will likely want to outperform the month or quarter previous, due to the competitive nature of sales.
“Your sales team will be racing to the checkered flag, and at the end of the day, the entire company wins when you have taken time to invest in your team,” Burkham said.
Put forth the resources. Open the lines of two-ways communication. Know the value of time. Grow a successful team and watch your business grow!