Leading your online sales team to greatness and reward is easier than you think.

Instead of focusing just on sales alone, there are a few things to tweak first. No sales team hits the ground running without having a few essential areas polished beforehand. The type of sales team you lead will influence your decisions along the way – with virtual sales teams requiring more effort initially.

If you have recently been promoted to online sales leader and are wondering how to take on your new role and excel at it, below are five of the best tips for helping you set and reach your goals:

1. Establish Your Dynamic

Spend time getting to know your team to gain a sense of how they want to get managed and the best leadership tactics that would work for them. Find ways to resonate with them and get a feel for what your ideal dynamic needs to be.

Connecting with your team will help you get to know them and vice versa. You don’t want to come across as cold or imposing, but you also don’t want to be their best friend. Your role is to lead and manage – not threaten or command.

2. Hire Thoughtfully

Recruiting top-tier salespeople doesn’t come cheap – but they are well worth the extra dollars and time to find. Your sales team is meant to ensure revenue growth and profit.

Finding these people is easier said than done. Optimize your sales recruitment strategy before you start by optimizing which sales roles you need and why. By evaluating your team’s needs, you can quickly determine what’s missing and how to fill that gap effectively.

3. Have Control Over Your Primary Sales Channels

The best e-commerce businesses all have one thing in common – total control over their primary sales channels. That is crucial for being profitable in a demanding environment.

Selling your products through third-party channels is not a bad idea, it just shouldn’t be your only one. Ensure that your website is friendly and easy to use, which will give you the ability to pivot and transition when you need to and offers the platform to expand your enterprise in due course; more information on this can be found on this website.

4. Be Involved, But Not Controlling

Leading your team is exactly that – leading, not demanding or taking over. You’ve spent a lot of time curating the perfect sales team, now it is time to let them shine. Instead of micro-managing your teams within an inch of their lives, give them the space and security to take control of their roles. 

If they need one-on-one time, let them air out certain things theyay be struggling with and help them to find the best solution – don’t automatically find it for them. Your job is to guide them, not deprive them of opportunities to grow themselves and learn from their mistakes.

5. Incentivize

Incentive strategies remain at the top of most salespeople’s lists for improved performance. Yes, it’s their job and, yes, they get paid for it, but when you offer more – they do more. It is as simple as that.

Commission structures are frequently capped, goals are often unrealistic, and salespeople can hit a slump faster than you can blink. If you keep things interesting, your sales team will excel in ways you never thought possible. These incentives don’t necessarily have to be monetary; you’d be surprised at how much harder a person will work for a few extra days of paid vacation time.

Follow these 5 tips for leading your online sales team will be flying high in no time.