What Makes A Perfect Sales Team?
Some Research on the Perfect Team first.
Here is a fascinating overview of some research Google conducted in 2012. Their initiative was code-named Project Aristotle. Their goal was to find out what made a “perfect team”.
Everything you are about to read in my opinion directly correlates to the goal we all have. To Create The Perfect Sales Team.
Before Google launched their internal research, they created a team of the best available statisticians, psychologists and sociologists to study the academic research on how teams work.
They wanted to know
- What did the research tell them about the make-up of the best teams?
- What motivated the best teams?
- What did they have in common?
- How were they rewarded?
- How long were these teams together?
- What were the behavioural and communication styles of the best teams?
- What was the gender balance?
With all of the research data, they could not find any patterns or evidence that the structure and balance of the teams made any difference to overall performance.
‘‘We looked at 180 teams from all over the company’’. ‘‘We had lots of data, but nothing was showing that a mix of specific personality types or skills or backgrounds made any difference. The ‘who’ part of the equation didn’t seem to matter.’’
Google Chief Researcher.
Two Perfect Behaviours?
Their subsequent research found two behaviours that did seem to make differences in team results.
The first was that successful teams appeared to speak equally amongst each other. In other words, there was a group norm that facilitated an equal voice for all team members. When everyone had equality in talking, the teams did better. When there was an imbalance in the contributions, collective intelligence declined.
The second behaviour was that high-performing teams had high “social sensitivity”. In other words, they were better at the observable language skills we associate with DiSC behavioural assessments ( Insthinktive Sales Leadership Ltd. use DiSC assessments to determine an individuals communication style).
They were sensitive to others tone of voice, body language, speed and other non-verbals. They had developed excellent mirror and matching skills.
Poor performing skills were not adaptive or sensitive to others styles.
What does this mean for Sales Teams?
It says that you can have brilliant teams of people, but without an innate appreciation for others that leads to an “equal voice”, the teams are not as effective. The collective loses out to the individual.
Great teams share a mutual trust. You reinforce trust when members can share freely without fear of embarrassment, rejection or punishment for having a voice.
How can you deepen trust if team members are quick to dismiss new ideas, or just talk over each other in conversations?
Getting Into The ZONE
Most teams are made up of group norms that encourage what I call the Zone Of Neutral Expression. It results in team members remaining neutral in conversation, rather than being open, honest and having those challenging conversations that lead to higher levels of engagement. We default to being nice, rather than being direct.
At the other end of the spectrum of the ZONE, you have The Zone Of Naked Expression. Team members feel comfortable in challenging conversations because their intentions are not to outscore others but to offer a different perspective. The Zone Of Naked Expression promotes challenging conversations. Conversations with healthy questioning and collaboration.
Imagine a sales meeting where our team was comfortable challenging each other. Not because they want to outscore others but because they want to improve, offer alternative solutions, challenge the status quo. Where the ZONE is not a comfort zone, but a challenging environment. All of the team are aligned with the one objective, getting to the real truth. Where everyone had equal share of voice. It would be a powerful sales team environment indeed.
Key Takeaways
What the Google research has shown is that teams that share two group behaviours outperform all other groups.
It applies to all teams especially your sales team.
Firstly, they create an environment where everyone has an equal proportion of the conversations. Secondly, they encourage conversations that enter the ZONE (Zone Of Naked Expression). Challenging, opening, nurturing and constructive conversations create a sense of safety and belonging.
Actions
What changes will you make in your team based on the findings from Google’s research?
Regards Ronan
Ronan is the “Sales Infrastructure Guy”.
Helping high growth tech companies build world-class sales systems and processes that scale.
Call me on +353(86) 7732201
Ronan Kilroy | Insthinktive Sales Leadership Ltd. | Blanchardstown, | Dublin 15, | Office 01 8220523
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