Sales Managers // 4 Ways to Hit Targets in 2022

By Stephen Abeka

In this article, Stephen Abeka shares tips to Sales Managers and how they can be on top of their game in this new year

In the last two years sales have been interrupted immensely especially in the service sector. This is because they rely on relationship building.

During the pandemic, It became so difficult to build new relationships via zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft teams and as a result, sales graphs went down drastically.

 It took longer to bring in new customers. A long the way, a number of salespeople resigned because things got tough and the quotas were not coming through.

Both sales people and SMEs were really affected particularly because they did not have a  good base of customers or the pipeline was weak. 

We are currently living in the new norm which has been necessitated by the pandemic. Sales managers have to guide their teams to recover from the events of the previous years and also help them adapt to the new ways of working. 

Most of us have tried to keep tabs on our teams by taking such measures like having daily physical meetings and being more creative to drive sales. 

However, with new variants of the virus being reported recently, many people are opting to work from home. Thus, physical meetings have not been easy to conduct. We have learnt to trust our teams and rest assured that they are able to build up relationships and close deals honestly, this is not enough.

It’s quite noticeable that the aftermath of the worldwide health crisis has led to a jarring drive for innovation in the new year. This is because businesses must continue their operations and remain self- sufficient.

To achieve this sales managers and salespeople, therefore, must work smart to ensure this happens.

Here are the five ways that the sales managers can position themselves and hit their targets this new year:

Be Thorough When Onboarding Talent

Firstly, sales managers have to be thorough when onboarding talent in order to get people who can actually strive to drive sales. 

They should also mold a work environment that encourages everyone to be determined to go the extra mile for the organization and coach sales representatives often. 

In addition, utilizing technology and taking the bold step to do things differently (as long as they resonate with the company’s goals) is another sure way of catapulting a company to greater heights.

Have an Online Presence

In 2022, it is prudent for businesses to have an online presence. It is a no brainer that many clients have taken to social media to find products and services that work for them. 

So, it makes sense to have a business profile on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, et cetera, where we can showcase what our companies does. 

By doing this, we may reap ten-folds and keep our operations running with limited problems and minimum expenditure. We don’t have to work our finger to the bone every single time so as to reap great benefits. 

The secret to successful online selling is to regularly engage followers, by posting about our products or services, reposting and leaving helpful comments so that prospects can notice us easily. 

Collaborate with other Team/Departments too

Collaboration is another great technique to try out this year. A sales leader should be ready to guide his team to work in harness with the marketing team. Why? This is because the marketing team are often up to date with the latest trends, and they know and understand the needs of the customers better. 

Excellent Communication Skills

We need to show customers that we have an unflagging zeal to help them reach their full potential and get the most out of our products. Clients are becoming more demanding and want to get value for their money. People lost a lot of money and businesses went under. 

Nobody is ready to take uncalculated risks. Of course, different clients have different preferences but being in constant communication with them will give us an insight on what they want. As a manager, lead by example. Don’t wait for a problem to arise then try to solve it.

Instead, personalize a product in a way that appeals to a customer’s specific workflow and processes, then pitch it to them. Also reach out to customers and provide a holistic customer experience and they’ll not hesitate to invest with you.

To all the Sales managers, may the new year bring back all the lost glory and much success.

PS: The author is the Channel Partner & Manager at CM.com, who are our members at Nairobi Garage// Kilimani. CM.com provides cloud software for conversational commerce. The company's services include SMS tools, app development, push notifications, and a hybrid messaging product. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Breda, Netherlands.