Walk Like a Giant, Sell Like a Madman

15.3. Identifying the Benefits of Sales Teams

Salespeople who successfully make the transition to a team-based system rarely regret their decision. What they regret is not having done it sooner. They often tell me about how frustrated and overworked they were prior to building a team. Working over 80 hours a week, having insufficient time and resources for their clients, they found themselves making costly mistakes and having little time for themselves and their families.

After establishing a team, their lives quickly improved. These salespeople were now able to focus on what they did best—meeting with clients and selling goods and services—and could outsource the rest to other team members who had the time, resources, and energy to take on those tasks. Sure, the salesperson had to share profits with the rest of the team, but the increase in commissions was more than enough to cover the added expense. Perhaps best of all, these salespeople had more time and energy for themselves and their family, friends, and communities.

Team-based agents are overwhelmingly more satisfied with their careers and with their lives than are agents who work alone, primarily because of the following benefits that teams deliver:

• Increased personal productivity: Imagine how much more you could get done by having someone around to answer the phones, schedule meetings, sort your e-mail messages, organize your office, and prepare sales reports.

• Improved office efficiency: By focusing on generating sales, ...