Generate momentum to increase sales, promote growth

by Dan Kuschell

The majority of business organizations have a great foundation, talented people, get good results and see promise for business growth. Yet a select few businesses are pulling ahead of the competition by increasing sales figures, expanding the business in record time and helping their employees maximize their productivity. What sets the select few apart from the majority? The organization’s momentum.

Momentum is the ability to get your new hires working smoothly with your veteran employees so that everyone onboard is working toward the same goals and vision at the same speed. To put it in a different perspective, think of your company as a boat and your employees as the rowers. If just one person doesn’t row in sync with the others, your boat will soon get off course. In a corporate setting that could mean slower than anticipated sales growth, fewer satisfied customers, or even lower than expected profit margins.

While the immediate results of not having momentum may not always be detrimental to your company’s success, they add up as the sales quarters pass. Talented employees will eventually leave to pursue opportunities with companies that possess momentum, which will then prompt customers to take their business to organizations with a better marketplace position. The end result is an eventual long-term loss of profits that could devastate the business.

So whether your organization is large or small, your ultimate goal is to create business momentum so all your employees work together to continually meet and exceed the company’s goals. Here’s how it’s done.

Phase one: Creating momentum

Clearly define your business objectives
What specifically do you want your business to accomplish this month, this quarter and this year? As you determine this, be as specific as possible. Simply saying that you want to increase sales by year’s end gives your employees nothing concrete to strive for.

Instead, use specifics, such as “increase sales by 200 percent,” “bring in five new customers a month,” or “generate $40,000 in weekly revenue.” Make sure your new hires and current employees are aware of these goals.

Get your team’s attention
Be bold with your announcements so you can paint a colorful picture of what will happen in the future as a result of a new commitment, strategy or expansion. As you explain your goals for the company, let your actions speak louder than your words. 

Demonstrate that you’re committed to working with your employees (contrary to the idea that they are working for you). Sitting behind an executive desk being important is no way to build loyalty and trust with your team. Get in the trenches with your team and guide them with suggestions right on the spot. How would your sales force feel about you if they knew you were “one of them” and willing to support them in their success?

Phase two: Advancing momentum

Create an all-star team environment
In business, we are judged by one thing and one thing alone – results. Your new hires have to see the results veteran employees attain, while veterans need to see the unique approaches and enthusiasm new hires bring to the mix.

One way to accomplish this is to build a “Wall of Fame” for your team. Every few hours let your employees post their own numbers and/or accomplishments.

As you implement this, track the accomplishments of new hires and your veterans separately. You don’t want your new people beating themselves up by comparing themselves to the veterans while they are still learning.

Offer praise and recognition
Every employee wants to feel special and wants to know that he or she truly matters in the big picture. Give your employees a pat on the back or even a simple thank you for any sale they make. 

Anytime a new person makes a sale, give him or her public recognition in front of the entire team. If you run a nationwide organization, you can do a voice mail broadcast, fax broadcast, e-mail broadcast or even a nationwide conference call announcing the success of your team.

When you do this consistently day in and day out, the majority of your organization will strive to get the recognition more than the sale.

Phase Three: Maintaining Momentum

Provide long-term training and support
Set up an ongoing training regimen for your team. You can do the training in small blocks of time throughout the week. An effective training regimen is to devote one hour per week to covering different aspects of the business in a group forum, and then one or two 15-to-20 minute small group training sessions per week that cover specific selling strategies.

As time and budget permits, you can add seminars with special guests, professionals and experts who can offer an outside perspective.

Another long-term option that works well is to put together a newsletter for your team. Nothing inspires people more than seeing their name in print. Invest the time to continually train your sales force. They are one of the best assets you’ll ever have.

Develop leaders
Throughout the momentum process, give your veteran employees a bigger picture of the company’s goals. Then, encourage them to take the lead and mentor newer employees so everyone can achieve the goals together.

Another great way to build new leaders is to have them help you formulate and present some of the training material. As they get better, you can give them more responsibility for the training until you trust them to carry the message on their own. You can even feature them in your newsletter with their “sales tip of the week or month.”

Propel your business onward
Whether you want to increase your business by 10 percent or 1,000 percent, creating, advancing and maintaining momentum is the best way to accomplish your goals. Keep your team united and constantly focused on the big vision so they can work together for optimum results.

The more seamlessly your new and veteran employees work together to achieve goals, the quicker your business will grow and the greater your profits will be.

Dan Kuschell is a direct sales/direct marketing expert and author of the book A Champion in the Making. He offers training, workshops and teleconference coaching for entrepreneurs, sales executives and business professionals. Contact Dan at danchampion03@msn.com or call (800) 211-4580. Visit www.achampionvision.com.

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