Welcome to Step 2 of 3 on How To Build A #Badass Sales Dream Team. See Step 1 HERE. TL;DR: Take the time to create a territory plan, that all members of your sales team participate in writing. We dove into territory management and the different ways you can ensure that every client and prospect gets the attention and service that they deserve. Very important stuff! Today, we’re going to talk about establishing an internal call cadence and communication channel, ensuring collaboration and ultimately, that opportunities aren’t falling through the cracks. Different Strokes for Different Folks 
Depending on which study you read, anywhere between 34% and 47% of marriages end in divorce today. Any way you slice it, the odds aren’t great and these irreconcilable differences arise between people who chose each other and once loved each other more than anything else. Sales teams, on the other hand, are formed by circumstance and necessity and often have no foundational relationship to stand on. What’s more, sometimes sales partners have completely different generational habits and ideals. The old dog out in the field despises long emails, let alone texts. The young buck on the inside is tortured by the 10 different calls that their partner expects, taking him or her away from valuable time that could be spent with clients, bringing in more revenue. Neither is wrong, but having the conversation and establishing a compromise is mandatory. Call (Or Non-call) Cadence I’ve found that two bookend calls are absolutely necessary and if you don’t find them useful, that’s on you to prepare better next time. The first call should take place first thing in the morning. The goal: To wrap up loose ends from the previous day, realign business priorities for the day/week/month, and set the focus and intention for the day. What do you expect to accomplish? What do you need from your sales partner(s)? 
Next, establish the preferred communication channel, when you’re in the thick of things. Need a quick answer on next month’s schedule? Shoot over an email or text. Do you want to be able to recap what was discussed at your last meeting and assign a list of follow-up items? Ping your internal letting them know not to pick up and leave the details in a voicemail. Your internal then can digest and take action ASAP, without forfeiting a client call. At the last company I worked, we had a dedicated department called Phone Bank that would pick up the meeting wrap up voicemails, transcribe them, and send an excel spreadsheet of details and action items from the day’s meetings to the internal. Keeping efficiency and effective partner support in mind, lay out your communication plan and stick to it! The second mandatory call should take place at the end of the day. Reconvene and discuss the successes and challenges of the day. What stories worked; what sales ideas flopped? Were any efforts worth repeating? What should be done differently next time? Where do we stand with our monthly, quarterly, and annual goals? Where should we focus our energies to get closer to or crush those goals? These calls are perfect for strategizing and successfully constructing the big picture. Daily Wrap Up & Next Day Call Planning
Odds are, your company works hard to build reports that gather activity based metrics. To capture the daily results from those efforts, a Daily Wrap Up is key. Even if you had 30 team calls a day, the partner out in the field may feel more connected, but how many of those follow-up and action items are actually remembered and acted upon? Together, come up with a list of important metrics and lists that you want to track and highlight each and every day. My Daily Wrap Up always consisted of New Opportunities Uncovered, Meetings (Field)/Webinars (Inside) Set, Closed Business (inc. expected day $ will hit), Success Stories, and Challenges. You’ll never get the question, “what did you do all day?” And, if you truly are in an unhealthy relationship with your sales partner, you now have a CYA play-by-play in the email archives.
As I reviewed my Daily Wrap Up on the end of the day call with my sales partner, I created a Next Day Call List as well. I transferred any next day follow items from my Daily Wrap Up. We used Salesforce, so it was quite easy to run a few customized reports go build the rest of the list: Opportunity Follow Up Calls, Zone Rotation Calls to book meetings 4 weeks out, Campaign Follow Up Calls, Thank You Calls, Birthday Calls, etc. The next morning, I’d get into the office, pour myself a cup o’ joe, and crush through my calls with a purpose. Call stats were never an issue. Plus if you have a quality Next Day Call List, you’ll inevitably have an impressive Daily Wrap Up! Alright, now get to work on ironing out a smooth communication system. Your sales partner AND your commission checks will thank you! Please, if you’re implementing all or any of How To Build A #Badass Sales Dream Team in your territory, I’d love to hear about your journey – just post your comments below! Keep your eyes peeled for Step 3 of the process – due 9.29! //Kiki B