Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Whether you identify as an ISV or VAR, you’ll come to find that the growth of your business can be a double ended sword. Though your business may be collecting a following and sales are picking up swiftly, there’s also a fear in that impaling you as you get started. No matter what your size, growth can resemble a nightmare, but it doesn’t have to be like that all the time. Follow these 4 steps for guiding your sales staff down the right direction, if chaos were to ever strike.
1. Start with Training
Stay true to your mission. The best way to do this is to make sure all of your team members are up to date on their training. Everyone needs to be more than familiar with the business’s purpose, so they can fluently perform. Training methods must maintain consistency over time, measurable results and strong leadership from the management team. Goals should be reinstated and touched upon on a monthly basis, after the training session has run its course.
2. Hire the Right People
Hiring too many people all at once: There’s your first mistake. It’s best to establish an average number of cases that your current team can handle and then move forward from there. Prioritize the essentials. Craft a scoring sheet of non-negotiable features that you desire in your next hire and then operate interviews based off of that criterion. 
3. Sales Structure Matters
Finding and maintaining the right balance in your organization can be difficult. To combat this snag, spread the responsibility amongst your staff members instead of stressing the same employee with multiple tasks. Know your team. Learn their strengths and weaknesses and challenge them to take leaps within their workflow. At first however, assign responsibilities where you see fit and comfort, to avoid stress and chaos.
4. Embrace Mobile Tech & Remote Capabilities
Cloud-based SaaS and mobile technology have come a long way and are on the rise. Customer service agents and sales representatives can work from both home and the office if needed. Outside Sales Managers are encouraged to work the 9-5 grind on the go, to cover more ground. Putting an excessive amount of emphasis on the physical office space has become an unnecessary thing. Employing remote workers allows your be business to be more scalable in the long run. Just think of all of the expansion you’re doing to improve efficiency, without making any severe dents in your budget. With this world being so immersed in the cloud, you’re able to collect real-time visibility of what your agents are doing and how they are performing. The use of remote management tools will allow you to communicate with national, perhaps even global agents, without leaving the comfort of your room.
There is always room for improvement. Whether you’ve been in the business for 7 years or 17 years, or perhaps even 7 months, the world around us is always evolving. It’s about time we keep up with it. Don’t lose yourself in the chaos of needing what you don’t have. Settle down. Take a few deep breaths and formulate a well-thought out plan for both you and your employees to tackle. Be smart with who you hire and don’t be too quick to settle. Know your worth and your employees’ value and you’ll find a loyal team. Stay calm and trust in the process, for together you’re capable.
