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There's no doubt the people you work with are your biggest asset. A poor sales culture affects your entire business, from a lack of motivation to erratic results and poor revenue. Issues around culture, productivity and satisfaction among your sales team will inevitably lead to frustration and poor performance, so ignoring them will simply compound the problem.

Improving team culture and performance takes time and energy, and often more resources than you can spare. But actually, the answer is much simpler than you think. The good news is, there's a quick and easy tool any team can use. The exercise will help colleagues understand each other, ultimately avoiding miscommunication and boosting their potential from day one. 

In this blog we explain how a simple 30-minute exercise can amp up morale in your sales team and efficiency across your business. 

The 'user manual'

As a leader of your company, taking 30 minutes to create an individual 'user manual' to help employees learn to adapt to you and to one another, will have a huge payoff, according the news website Quartz.

The manual should offer a detailed description of your personal values and how to work best with others, with the intention of avoiding potential misunderstandings. For example, including information such as your preferred communication style, and personal workplace insecurities.

According to Quartz, this kind of tool has been extremely well received within companies who have trialed it, by helping staff share information and open up. The manual doesn't need to be restricted to only leaders. All staff members can share insights into their personalities and values through this tool.

How to create the manual

Typically these manuals follow a structure of six sections, with four or five bullet points within each. Use these as a starting point to write your own manual: 

• My style
• What I value
• What I don’t have patience for
• How to best communicate with me
• How to help me
• What people misunderstand about me

Using this approach allows each team member to succinctly and specifically capture key points about themselves. It also helps colleagues understand who they are and how to engage with them effectively. The brief overview in each section means it isn't an overwhelming document for others to digest.

How it improves team performance

Answering the questions in the manual require people to really look within themselves and acknowledge some quirks their colleagues may not have noticed on a daily basis. While the process can be uncomfortable, sharing them is a rewarding process, with positive outcomes for everyone.

The manual is an amazing tool that gives colleagues a platform to share thoughts and ideas - honestly, and without fear of judgment. What's more, it has repeatedly proven the key to innovative, happy teams, and has a clear business payoff, according to Quartz. The better a team knows each other, the more they can empathise with one another, build trust and reduce conflict.

Whether you're a company leader or team member, spending 30 minutes writing a user manual to help others learn how to best interact with you is a valuable exercise that will have a huge payoff. Sharing your insights with colleagues will grow connections, productivity and ultimately, build a killer sales team that achieves its full potential.