How to Build a Winning Sales Culture in 8 Steps for Business Success

Sales culture can be a bit unclear. Unlike metrics such as monthly revenue, email activity, average tenure, or quota attainment, you cannot easily measure its quality. However, this does not diminish its importance. 

A company's sales culture plays a crucial role in team productivity, employee retention, and overall profitability. 

To assess your own sales culture, you first need to understand what it is. This understanding will help you determine if any changes are necessary. 

In this article, we will explore what sales culture means and why it matters. We will also look at the key elements of a successful company culture, identify signs that indicate a need for change, and share nine effective tips for building or maintaining a strong sales culture. 

What is sales culture and why is it important? 

Sales culture refers to the attitudes, values, and habits of your sales team. A strong sales culture can often be described with a few key words like “ethical,” “motivated,” and “professional.” 

A positive sales culture encourages your team to be more engaged. It allows every representative to take on a leadership role. When the culture is good, team dynamics improve, and individual sales reps are more likely to seek professional growth. 

Your sales culture shapes how team members interact with each other and with potential customers. Without a clear and positive sales culture, your sales strategy may not succeed. Most businesses understand that problems with sales culture can limit success. So, you must need to keep a heed of the following to understand that these are the signs that demands a change in sales culture: 

• High turnover among sales representatives 
• Resentment or rivalries among team members 
• Poor attitudes toward sales management or leadership 
• A general lack of camaraderie 
• Recognizing these signs can help you create a better environment for your sales team. 

According to HBR, “winning cultures are comprised of two interrelated and reinforcing elements. First, every high-performing company has a unique identity—distinctive characteristics that set it apart from other organizations. These characteristics give employees a sense of meaning just from being part of the company. They also create passion for what the company does.” 

These words reverberated through some leaders. Take these two leaders as an example: 

• Alan Mulally built a spirit of teamwork at Ford Motor Company. This approach helped refocus and energize the company, reversing a long decline in market share. 
• Herb Kelleher promoted a culture that empowered employees and controlled costs at Southwest Airlines. This strategy allowed the airline to become one of the most respected and profitable in the world. 

A slight culture check could do wonders for a company, especially for the sales team that is a backbone of a SaaS B2B company. 

How to describe a good sales culture? 

The culture of your organization shapes what you do and how you do it. It influences who is involved, where it happens, when it takes place, and why it matters. To define your sales culture, you first need to understand it. Company culture, whether positive or negative, is something you build, nurture, and maintain over time. It consists of the attitudes, values, and habits that define your team. You can describe a sales culture with words like: 

• Competitive 
• Intense 
• Independent 
• Merit-based 
• Supportive 
• Transparent 
• Democratic 
• Social 
• "Work hustlers” 

While these terms are mostly positive, not every sales culture reflects them. Some cultures may be described as stressful, cutthroat, dull, or unprofessional. There is no single formula for a successful sales culture.

They can vary widely between companies. However, the signs of a healthy and productive culture tend to be similar. This includes: 

• Healthy competition 
• Low turnover rates among representatives 
• Quick identification of problems in the sales process with the ability to adapt 
• Collaboration and sharing of knowledge 
• Trust and open communication within the team and across the organization 
• A shared vision for success 
• Ongoing learning and development opportunities 
• Accountability for actions 
• Fair compensation for efforts 

By focusing on these elements, you can create a strong sales culture that supports your organization's goals. In fact, a survey by Gallup found that engaged and well-managed teams see 17% higher productivity, 20% higher sales, and 21% higher profitability. 

How to build a winning sales culture? 

The thought of building and maintaining this culture can be daunting. But it’s fully worthwhile in the long run! 

As Brian Kristofek, President and CEO of Upshot, puts it: “Being a great place to work is the difference between being a good company and a great company.” 

Below are some of the top strategies that you can use to for creating a winning sales culture. One that inspires, motivates and yields a successful outcome. 

1. Engage and incentivize 

To give your team that extra push they need, consider providing sales incentives. With a sales incentives program, you can reward your team for hard work and show them that your company values their efforts. This method has been successfully tried and tested. Research shows that incentives boost performance by 27% resulting in more wins and sales. 

This then feeds back with each successful team member returning to work with a positive mindset after achieving their target.  

How can Compass help? 

Using Compass, you can easily create and manage sales incentive programs so that both you and your sales team can enjoy the benefits. You can enhance the motivation of a sales team through its modern incentive compensation management software. It automates calculations with templates, which eliminates manual work and reduces errors.  

This is done to ensure that sales representatives receive accurate and timely payouts, keeping them motivated. You may set hierarchies for earnings approval and escalations, ensuring clear communication and minimizing misunderstandings among team members.  

As it is a no-code tool, users can design, publish, and manage incentive compensation plans for various roles without needing extensive training.  

2. Promote learning and development 

Your team’s goals don’t have to be one-dimensional. Beyond numerical targets, think about the career goals of different individuals. What are their strengths and weaknesses? What motivates each of them? 

By identifying this, you can enhance a team member’s skills through learning and development. IBM reported that an increase in skills level linked to business value can result in a 10% increase in productivity when teams are well trained. 

Consider monitoring specific Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to streamline the focus on improvement. If your team knows that you are investing in their professional development, they are more likely to invest back and be more productive. 

3. Create a strong team (and enjoy it!) 

A sales team is a team for a reason, they cooperate and support one another. Undeniably, healthy competition drives individuals to maximize their productivity. However, if this gets too out of hand, your employees can find themselves in a toxic sales culture. What was once lighthearted rivalries becomes a breakdown of communication. 

The very professional nature of sales can encourage this kind of competition. So, it’s all the more important to keep an eye out for it and educate your sales team. 

Show them how the success of one individual does not equal revenue targets. After all, 75% of business buyers say that connected processes are very important to winning their business. The performance of the team as a whole, rather than that of a certain individual, is what matters. 

Consider organizing meetings to share success stories that inspire your team. Similarly, share what you have learned from failures. 

4. Learn from failures 

Experiencing some form of failure in sales is to be expected. However, you can be tactical about this if you’re trying to build a winning sales culture. 

First and foremost, remind your team that failure is okay - provided they recover quickly and learn from it. Ensure your team is also well equipped to deal with failure. 

After all, Daniel Pink, New York Times Bestseller, once said “One of the best predictors of ultimate success … isn't natural talent or even industry expertise, but how you explain your failures and rejections.” 

Train them to keep an eye out for patterns that might clarify why certain prospects or sales strategies fail. In turn, they will recognize what works and implement these instead. Not only does this refine sales processes, but it will yield more successful outcomes that boost team morale and productivity. 

5. Foster friendly competition 

Most salespeople enjoy competition. The goal is to keep it healthy. If competition turns cutthroat, reps may start hiding useful tips or talking badly about each other. 

How can you maintain a positive competitive spirit? 

• First, give your team an external rival. Having a common competitor helps them work together. You can motivate them to outperform another team or beat your biggest market rivals. 
• Second, encourage them to improve their own records. Focus their energy on surpassing last months or last quarter’s results. This way, they will be less likely to feel resentment toward their peers. 
• Third, pair new reps with experienced ones. A mentor can speed up the learning process and help new hires feel secure. It also reduces feelings of isolation. 
• Finally, use different sales contests and incentives. Avoid repeating the same contest too often. If the same people keep winning, others may lose interest and stop trying. 

Try hosting a contest for the rep who books the most meetings in the first month. Then reward the person with the fastest sales cycle the next month. After that, give a bonus to the rep who signs the most deals with a certain type of prospect. 

By changing things up regularly, you give everyone a chance to win and keep it exciting. 

You can also run team-wide contests. For example, challenge the entire team to meet a quota for a new product launch or increase activity by a specific percentage. 

How can Compass help? 

Compass can significantly enhance the motivation and productivity of a sales team through its innovative features. By gamifying the sales process, it makes work more enjoyable for sales representatives. The platform allows for contests based on key performance indicators (KPIs), which can lead to higher commissions, thus encouraging reps to improve their performance.  

Not only that, Compass provides personalized dashboards and real-time leaderboards that enhance accountability by making quota attainment visible. This visibility helps reps track their performance trends and stay engaged. 

Compass offers meaningful rewards and flexible payout options, allowing reps to redeem incentives in various ways, which increases their motivation to achieve goals. Compass creates a structured and engaging environment that drives sales success. 

6. Combat high rep turnover 

Losing salespeople often raises concerns for potential candidates. Plus, hiring and training new staff is costly. A constantly changing team can hurt morale. 

To reduce turnover, choose your salespeople carefully. Being selective may take longer but will save money in the long run. 

• Ensure your reps receive ongoing coaching support from their managers. This support should continue throughout their time at your company. Implement regular coaching sessions and check in with your salespeople to see if they need help. 
• While pay isn't the only reason reps leave, offering below-market rates can hurt retention. Keep your on-target earnings (OTE) competitive with industry standards. 

Lastly, many reps leave because they feel stuck. Make sure there is a clear path for promotion. For example, outline a career trajectory from BDR to AE to Senior AE so that salespeople can advance as they gain experience and skills. 

7. Commit to agile philosophy 

In sales, speed is essential. If executives want to enter a new market, everyone in sales must quickly learn about it and adapt their messaging. 

An agile team can handle this process effectively. If they cannot experiment and adapt, they are likely to fail. 

How can you promote agility? Use agile principles like daily 10-minute stand-up meetings where everyone stands to keep it brief. 

Have each member answer three questions: 

1. What did you achieve yesterday? 
2. What will you achieve today? 
3. What do you need to adjust for better results? 

Ensure your reps have access to necessary information. Both individual and team performance data should be available to everyone. Good decisions rely on good data. 

Finally, foster a "fail fast" culture. Encourage salespeople to take risks with new techniques or strategies. As long as they document their results and share them, it’s okay if they don’t succeed. This helps everyone learn and improve. 

8. Effectively collaborate and share knowledge 

Creating a culture where salespeople collaborate and share tips is vital but challenging due to communication barriers. 

You need an environment that supports open communication. Ask yourself if there are easy ways for reps to connect beyond casual chats. 

• Consider using platforms like Compass for quick updates, such as sharing effective CRM filters that yield great prospects. 
• Next, create contests that encourage teamwork rather than individual competition. Avoid letting reps hoard their insights; instead, have them work together. 
• Focus on the quality of ideas rather than their sources. If an SDR has a great suggestion, try it out! Don’t dismiss ideas because someone is new or inexperienced. 
• Encourage honesty among your team members. If someone critiques a new approach respectfully, view it as constructive feedback rather than negativity. 

Finally, reward knowledge sharing by giving points for contributions. For instance, if an AE develops a strategy that reduces demo cancellations significantly, consider offering a monthly "Innovation Bonus." 

How can Compass help? 

Compass can effectively incentivize the sales team by fostering collaboration and competition. It provides a platform for creating communities where team members can support each other in achieving common goals.  

By launching one-on-one or team competitions, Compass rewards top performers, driving motivation and sales performance. The system allows sales reps to see projected payouts and receive AI-powered nudges, keeping them engaged.  

It replaces lengthy email threads with an in-app dispute management system, reducing escalations. Gathering feedback through surveys helps refine commission programs, ensuring they meet the needs of the sales team.  

How to scale sales culture as your brand grows? 

Creating a sales culture is one thing but keeping it strong as your business grows is another challenge. Here are some straightforward tips to help you maintain those values. 

1. Have leadership set the tone 

Building a sales culture starts with the leaders of your company. Executives and upper management must embrace and demonstrate the values that shape your sales culture. Remember, a brand's culture begins at the top, and it is crucial to keep this in mind as your business expands. 

2. Communicate effectively 

To successfully scale your sales culture as your brand grows, clear communication is essential. Ensure that employees can easily connect with each other. This will help create a strong, communicative culture that reflects the values you want to promote. 

Consider investing in tools like Slack for company-wide communication. Encourage team bonding outside of work, and have managers meet regularly with their team members to support this effort. 

3. Maintain a base of accessible, company-specific content 

Your ability to grow your sales culture relies heavily on how well you share your values and brand identity with your team. 

One effective way to achieve this is by keeping a central repository of company-specific content. A company wiki can serve as a valuable resource for sharing customer testimonials, mission statements, stories of outstanding employees, and accounts of your company’s history. These elements can help strengthen your sales culture. 

4. Bring the right people with you 

As your business grows, it’s important to recognize that not everyone will fit into the evolving sales culture. Some team members may no longer align with the new direction. If someone consistently shows they do not support the sales culture, it may be best to reconsider their role in the team as you scale. 

For example, a Columbia University study shows that the likelihood of job turnover at an organization with a rich and upheld company culture is just 13.9%, whilst this is 48.4% in organizations with a poor company culture. 

In a nutshell 

Building a winning sales culture kills two birds with one stone. A happy, motivated team will go that extra mile to boost revenue. In turn, your business will go from strength to strength. Seek out candidates that align with your company culture and focus on creating a positive work environment. So, through this blog, we learnt: 
 

• A strong sales culture improves team productivity, employee retention, and overall profitability. Key elements include collaboration, trust, motivation, and clear communication. 
• Strategies like sales incentives, learning and development, fostering healthy competition, and leadership support help create and sustain a winning sales culture. 
• As a company grows, leadership must set the tone, communicate values clearly, maintain a knowledge base, and ensure employees align with the evolving culture. Tools like Compass can streamline incentives and collaboration. 

Employee career satisfaction is the fundamental building block in curating your company culture. Mentor them, train them, support them, and reward them! Implementing sales team incentives with Compass software is the perfect way to drive productivity and success. Schedule a call now!  

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