Smoothly functioning sales teams are great... but ineffective problem solving is a common issue that can turn the strong fabric of your team into little more than useless bits of thread. If this sounds familiar, perhaps you should take a look at the goals of your sales team.

Let's be clear, though: this is not about the goals of your company, which usually involve maximizing your sales. Instead, consider the goals of your sales team, such as:

• How to communicate frustrations to others in a productive, problem-solving manner
• How to acquire what they need to be successful at their job
• How overall team successes can be improved

A contributor to Forbes once pointed out that there are two basic ways of managing sales teams: activity-based (where the company defines a plan that all salespeople must fully abide by and operate within) and results-based (which emphasizes success as the primary measure of performance).

The Whole Brain Thinking approach to team building and communication improvement leans strongly towards the results-based process as being the most effective method of sales team management. This process allows each team member to approach problems in a way that is uniquely natural to them, rather than having to conform to a style that is uncomfortable or unproductive for them, in order to obtain a successful result.

Essentially, the idea is to build (or rebuild!) a cohesive team by identifying the problems facing your ground and to then solve those problems as a team in such a way that effectively engages each individual in the areas of their specific strengths.

4 Threads to Help Tie Your Team Together

Each individual team member has a certain way of looking at the world. Their brains take in, process, and produce responses and approaches to problems in one (or more) of these ways:

1. Logical: WHAT are the facts?
2. Interpersonal: WHO is being impacted by this situation?
3. Organizational: HOW are we going to address the issues?
4. Conceptualizing: WHY do these problems exist?

1. Straight Shooting
   Brain Quadrant: Logical
   
   Straight shooters are honest and forthright in their speech – an invaluable trait in sales training efforts. By encouraging team members with this strong suit to logically identify problems and analyze the technical causes of them, you can help your team more quickly identify issues and develop solutions.
   
   However, be careful to not get so direct with announcing facts that feelings get hurt. You'll need to consider the impact that your words may have on the relationships with other members of the team as well.
   
   
2. Sharing Feedback
   Brain Quadrant: Interpersonal
   
   Be sure to give team members a chance to share how they feel about the overall process. While sales can often become all about the numbers, remember that the sales people are just that... people. When team members express their concerns, really listen to what they have to say, and see if you can address those issues.
   
   These team members may be the most effective at ensuring the customers' feelings are considered within the final solution to problems. Factor in their intuitive understanding of potential reactions and responses – of both internal and external stakeholders.
   
   Be careful, though, to not allow these team members' feelings to get in the way of changes that truly need to happen, even if the adjustments result in some temporary discomfort.
   
   
3. Step-by-Stepping
   Brain Quadrant: Organizational
   
   Many sales people tend to be good at creating and following plans. They can map out what they need to accomplish, and in what order, to result in the best commission bonus or to check the most tasks off their to-do list. This trait is incredibly useful on a sales team, as it helps to have a clear plan for how solutions to problems will be implemented.
   
   By incorporating into your sales training clear explanations of how plans will be implemented, you allow these team members to engage with the process. Be careful, however, to not get so in-depth into the details that you lose the attention span and focus of more big-picture thinkers.
   
   
4. The Power of the Big Picture
   Brain Quadrant: Conceptualizing
   
   Vision-casting should be a key part of your sales team trainings. By creating the image of the end game or what the big picture "win" looks like, you are able to help the more creative, outside-the-box thinkers to get their gears turning in considering solution possibilities.
   
   When faced with a chronically occurring issue, dealing with it in the same ways you've always done is an exercise in futility. But by creating an environment where your imaginative, integrative problem solvers can offer potential solutions for moving the team towards the ultimate goal, you may discover inventive solutions that bring about the change you've been needing.
   
   Be sure to create some baseline expectations, though. These visionary team members may sometimes get a little carried away; they may need help considering the practical implications of their ideas.

By identifying, understanding, and appreciating the various ways that your team members approach problem solving, you can tailor your team meetings and sales training in such a way that accommodates and leverages these differences to bring your team together rather than divide it.