Most sales teams have high performers, yet they treat them the same as everybody else, because when it comes to selling too many managers don’t have an A-team. In this article we will provide some tips on boosting sales by identifying and developing your sales ‘A-Team’.

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Want To Boost Your Sales Results?
Isn’t It Time You Called The A-Team?
‘If you have a problem, if no one else can help, and if you can
find them, maybe you can hire… The A-Team. ’
That is the line from the popular 1980's TV action series and
recent Hollywood movie remake, but when it comes to “You cannot
selling too many managers don't have an A-team.
expect A results
from a C Team.”
In this article we will provide some tips on boosting sales by
identifying and developing your sales 'A-Team'.

2. Your Sales A-Team
'Do you have an A-Team in respect of sales?' This is a very important
question for any manager to ask. After all, you cannot expect A results
from a C Team. Most sales teams have high performers, yet they treat
them the same as everybody else. To guide managers in focusing on
the salespeople who can deliver the greatest results here is a short
exercise to map your people to A, B, C and D teams:
Step 1: Draw a grid like that below, with 3 columns and 3 rows, low,
medium and high across the top (L to R) and the bottom (B to T).
Step 2: Write effort on one axis and success on the other:
The Effort axis denotes those members of the team that are
trying, or at least willing to make an effort. It is a proxy for the
level of commitment, or productivity.
The Success axis denotes those who are succeeding, or at least
have the potential to succeed. It is a proxy for the level of
effectiveness, as well as of ability and skill.
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© The ASG Group 2011

3. Step 3: Position all the members of your team on the grid, based on
answering the following questions:
Question 1: Who Is Trying?
Are they making an effort (measured in terms of sales
activity i.e. number of meetings, calls, etc.)? If not, are they “80% of the
willing to try, or try harder? results come
Do they know what needs to be done? Is it clearly part of
their role and are they accountable for their contribution to from as few as
sales? 20% of the
Question 2: Who Is Achieving?
people...”
Do they have the ability to succeed?
Are they doing the right things, following the right strategy,
pursuing the correct priorities?
Are there skills gaps holding them back and are their talents
and skills correctly matched to the role?
Do they have the leadership, coaching and support needed?
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© The ASG Group 2011

4. Step 4: Highlight those that are in the B-Team and have the potential
to join the A-Team in the future.
Step 5: Focus the majority of your efforts on your A-Team.
The Pareto rule applies to the contribution of your team to sales, that
is to say 80% of the results come from as few as 20% of the people.
With that in mind, you have two choices; work on getting the 80% to
contribute more, or further leverage the success of the 20%.
Then of course there is a third option, to develop and
support both groups in their contribution (big and small as
the case may be) to sales.
It is true that tomorrow's top performing salespeople have
to start somewhere and that is generally in the 80% who
today are contributing in a lesser way to sales. So sales
managers cannot just focus on the top performers and
neglect everybody else. However, this can be tempting,
because the results are likely to flow more readily from
those who are already succeeding. Hence the saying ‘nothing
succeeds like success’.
With this in mind consider the following factors in respect of
your team:
Are there A-Team salespeople in all key areas of your business?
Is there a process for recruiting and developing A-Team
salespeople in your business?
Do some people think that they are As when they are in reality
Bs and Cs?
Are there incentives and recognition for As? Do A's and high
potential B's get the same support as everybody else?
Does your sales team see itself as an A-Team? Does it live up to
A-Team standards?
Is the sales management, structures, training, coaching and so
on, of an A-Team standard?
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© The ASG Group 2011

5. The Science Behind This Paper
These insights and tools are based on:
1. Buyer Research – our ground-breaking research into how modern
buying decisions are made and the implications for sellers.
2. Best Practice Research – Over 1 million pages of best practice sales
case studies, books and research.
3. Common Practice Research – Our peer comparison benchmark of
1,000s of your competitors and peers.
The Sales Engine® and SellerNav are trademarks of The ASG Group.
The entire contents of this document are copyright of The ASG Group and cannot be
reproduced in any format without written permission.
Want help in tackling your sales challenges? Contact
enquiries@theASGgroup.com
www.theASGgroup.com
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© The ASG Group 2011