Featured Post: How-to Build an Agile Sales/Marketing Team: The Necessary Tools

The sales and marketing team, in this day and age, is really only as effective as the tools you give them to complete the tasks. You could have someone that could sell you on anything or promote products like no tomorrow but if they’re held back due in part to their tools and resources you’re hitting a glass ceiling in their return on investment.

Well, thanks to the Net there are many different tools and resources to arm your team of sales and marketing. What you’ll find in the following selection are some of these necessities that’ll turn an average team into a killer force to be reckoned with.

Start with the Right People & Direction

The team needs to be comprised on the right people for the right job. They should be well skilled in the areas you need them but they also must possess the ability to work and collaborate with others members of the team.

Do this: Qualify the individuals. Assess their abilities and give them a test project to work on prior to major one. Find people with a mix of skills and knowledge that compliments each other.

Resource: Tips for Building Your Small Biz Team.

Once you’ve narrowed down this selection of individuals it’s vital that you give them a clear direction.

The aim is to prevent scope creep which is the result of tacking on too much to a project which prevents the team members from accomplishing the original goals. Keep the goals solid and concrete.

Manage Them with the Right Tools

The next important task you’ll need to undertake is the finding the right tools for managing the team.

Some teams (usually small) may only need email or the ability to use conferencing tools to keep the project moving forward. Other teams (medium to large) may require the use of services and team management tools to delegate tasks, keep things on track, and streamline the development time.

The important things to note when building and managing an agile team are:

·  Use tools which can be access from the desktop, mobile, or other Internet-ready devices so there are no communication barriers for the individuals to contribute and work on the goals.

·  Set short, mid, and long-term goals for each member of the team (and ones for the whole) along with milestones to reward individuals when important tasks are completed.

·  Create reports and provide feedback to each of the member of the team to show how well they’re doing and where they are able to improve.

All-in-all, find a tool that you feel provides just enough flexibility but not too many features that would limit the effectiveness of the team (due to over complexity).

Keep Tabs on Their Activity (for Optimization)

The final component of an agile team comes from your ability to track and optimize their actions. Many of these actions the individual will perform will become streamlined once they are adjusted to the project tasks but it’s still up to you to provide third-party support and suggestions to keep everything running at optimum performance.

For example – a few ways to get the most from the team may include:

• Creating a development blog where each member of the team can contribute and talk with the community about what developments are in process (which is also used to solicit feedback).
• Utilize 844 toll free numbers in marketing and customer support initiatives to track leads and develop performance reports for activities done over the phone. It's the newest toll free prefix and may help your digits stand out in a crowd of 800 numbers.
• Give the team members access to social media channels which they can use to interact with the market and community; allow them to build buzz by engaging the community and use those points of contact to encourage them to do better.

Conclusion

Teams that are agile and quick on their feet will yield great results when working on projects. Your ability to deliver them the right tools and support will unlock their full potential. Start with the basics (covered in this post) and form the team based on your needs and expectations. The right individuals are out there and ready to contribute to your business … now it’s your job to make it all happen