How a Sales Manager can Grow a Successful Marketing Team

As your dealership’s sales manager, it’s your job to set the tone for your team and to lead by example. You’ve got great people, right? So if they’re not performing as effectively or as smoothly as you want, look in the mirror first. How’s your performance? Here are some reminders to help you grow a more successful marketing team.

Include them in planning process.

Sales and marketing are inseparable, when it comes to successful outcomes. Make sure you’re soliciting input based on your sales reps’ personal interactions with prospects and customers. What’s the right timing for personal follow-up? And what information do your people need about prospects in order to have an on-point conversation? That insight will help you refine your marketing messages, your conversion offers and your sales process.

Ensure they have the right tools.

All your marketing materials, both traditional and digital content, have to be well-crafted, using the right messages and the right presentation. Everything reinforces your dealership brand, along with promoting your products. But a successful marketing team also needs top-notch customer relationship management (CRM) software to collect prospect data, track sales processes and assist with forecasting.

Coupling that with digital marketing management software takes your team to a higher level – allowing automated follow-up marketing and real-time tracking of results. Automating repetitive processes and “paperwork” makes your team more efficient. They can concentrate on the person-to-person part of their job – the part that ultimately closes sales and cements long-term customer relationships.

Don’t over-manage.

Too much structure stifles individuality and de-motivates people. A successful marketing team is able to express their individuality while remaining within the parameters of your established process and goals. Help them manage their time, by ensuring they aren’t bogged down with tasks not directly related to selling, and by not wasting their time with unnecessary meetings, etc.

Coaching trumps criticism.

Proactive coaching is far more constructive than harsh negatives. And coaching as you go nips bad or ineffective behaviors in the bud, before they can habitual and harder to change.

Real-time tracking of processes and performance enables you to make immediate, incremental adjustments right away, rather than weeks or months later, when the impact is greatly reduced.  It’s not like your sales reps can go backward and apply corrective measures, whereas timely feedback gives them a chance to keep the sales process moving forward. Real-time tracking also promotes team-wide consistency.

Make sure your key performance indicators are well-targeted and clearly communicated – a successful marketing team understands what’s expected of them and when.

Celebrate.

Of course you celebrate your sales. But a smart sales manager knows that celebrating as you go is a corollary to coaching – it helps reinforce what’s working. And let’s face it – your people appreciate and look forward to recognition, as individuals and as a successful marketing team. So hold people up as examples, for small accomplishments as well as the big sales. Celebrations tell people you’re proud of them personally, but group celebration also builds important team pride in your dealership.

As “the boss,” sometimes you need to step in. But it’s a matter of finesse — knowing when to do that and when to just stay out of the way — that makes you a good sales manager. Work with your team to set high expectations, then be the person they can count on to be there when they need help.