How do you keep learning even in your workplace? Mentorship is a great way for organizations to promote teamwork and collaboration for the company’s good. Sales managers should implement mentorship programs if they hope to achieve their quotas.
Organization mentoring
One could argue that sales mentorship is a sales manager’s best tool for engaging employees. Mentor skills can best be interpreted as set behavior to help new employees develop new skills in the workplace. Sales are an extremely challenging department, and traditional sales training is not as effective as it was. The benefits of sales mentorship to employees and the organization are impossible to deny.
The Benefits of Sales mentoring
Learning and development targets are the main targets of sales mentoring. Here are some of the benefits mentoring new employees brings to the table.
1. Helps set realistic goals
New sales employees may feel pressured to make miracles happen by pulling Herculean moves to impress their superiors. Mentors help sales employees to pace themselves by setting achievable goals. They can also create a healthy competitive atmosphere in the workplace, improving company performance.
2. Improve sales skills
Mentoring is the only way to pass on mentor skills from one senior sales employee to a junior sales employee. It is also the most effective way to pass on crucial skills because mentees get undivided attention from their mentors.
3. Stronger employee engagement
Mentoring promotes interaction between mentees and mentors, creating an interactive workplace. Better relationships between employees help create strong communication channels ensuring increased collaboration and performance.
4. Skill improvement
Mentors sharpen and improve their skills when teaching junior sales employees. On the other hand, junior sales employees advance their skill set by discovering new sales techniques and concepts. Other skills sharpened during mentorship include listening skills, compassion, and open-mindedness.
5. Accelerated professional development
Your mentor will know how to best help you make quick progress in your career. They have the know-how to launch your career to the next level regardless of your age and experience. A mentor can accelerate your growth by increasing your network in the sales industry. They can do this by introducing you to different players in the industry or pointing towards the right courses to take up for improved sales intelligence.
How to Mentor Employees; Tips and Tricks
Organizations need to employ mentoring strategies within the organization to keep the tradition alive. Some peer mentoring strategies include;
1. Developing a detailed mentoring program
Order in an organization is vital for maximum productivity. A disorganized mentorship program could lead to a few mentees falling through the cracks leading to high turnover and reduced productivity. Developing a detailed plan mapping out how mentees will go through the mentorship program and the goals they should hope to achieve increases the chances of success.
2. Mentoring mentors
We can’t pour from an empty cup. Even mentors need a refresher course to add to their existing sales knowledge once in a while. Mentoring senior sales members help keep information flowing and brings new sales knowledge into the company.
3. Implement change
Mentoring can get boring for both parties if it is not constantly improved upon. Organizations can implement scheduled rotations to maximize interaction, ensuring mentees learn from as many mentors as possible. Another alternative is to incentivize the mentoring program using bonuses or promotions to motivate mentors to work hard on their mentees.
4. Incorporate mentorship into company activities
The earlier new sales employees get introduced to the mentorship program, the better. Some organizations start the program from the day the sales employees start training. The program is then successively interwoven with other company events and activities until it is firmly part of the company culture.
5. Get down and dirty
If you want your mentee to trust you and follow what you tell them to do, you’ll have to get down and dirty. Sometimes leading by example is the best thing a leader can do for his subordinates. Leading by action also proves to your juniors that the task is achievable. So go ahead, roll up your sleeves and show them how it’s done.
The Bottom Line
The value of a sales mentor should not be underestimated. Sales managers should appreciate the value addition they bring to the company. They can identify sales employees in need of mentorship and are well equipped with the right knowledge to impart crucial knowledge for improved performance. Mentors inadvertently shape the employees’ sales careers and, by default, the organization’s performance.