Your sales team often drives your business. It’s thanks to them that you get enough new clients or customers to keep the company turning a profit and they know how to convince people they need what you have to offer. If you’re an entrepreneur and started your own company, you likely understand the importance of a stellar sales team because you were once the sole salesperson for the company as you were trying to convince people it was worth their investment. No matter what point of development your company is in, it’s important to have a strong sales department in order to ensure continued success.

Recognize great work

Employees feel happier at work and do a better job if they feel they’re sufficiently recognized for the work they do. Keep track of how each person on the sales team influences the sales and how many deals they make. Stay informed on what ideas different team members are coming up with and how their ideas play out. When you see which of your employees is doing a fantastic job, recognize them. You might even want to consider offering a bonus to the employee who hits a certain number of sales made in a set amount of time.

Have a strong sales manager

Too often, companies appoint their best salesperson to the position of sales manager, but just because a person excels at making sales doesn’t mean they have the ability to properly manage other employees and encourage them to keep pushing forward. Avoid appointing a sales manager who merely cares about meeting quotas and instead knows how to encourage the sales team and provides them with insight and quality advice.

Carefully interview candidates

All too often, a sales team gets bogged down with members who aren’t cut out for sales and do not know how to sell the company’s product. Companies then spend valuable resources attempting to train these employees to be good salespeople when many others excel in the area and find it easy to talk to people and convince them of the merits of a product. Avoid this problem all together and carefully vet potential employees before hiring them. Ask them specific questions, consider holding a test sales call, and follow up with references. The more skilled employees you can initially hire, the better shape your sales team will be in from the beginning.

Engage in continuous training

In order to cultivate a strong team, you need to engage in continuous training. You could have the best salespeople working on your team, but it’s vital that you continue developing their skills and provide opportunity for continued development. Creating training sessions and giving employees opportunities to work on their skills will develop a strong and confident sales team that understands the latest methods in sales.