What Holds the Sales Force Accountable?
I met with a company the other day that seems to be on the right track when the numbers are brought in. That is, until you dig a little deeper.
Last year they had a record sales year but their profit was down close to break even and lower than expectations. As the meeting progressed it became evident that the sales force, while putting up good numbers as it related to their quotas, wasn’t really bringing in new accounts and no one could identify the profit average of each sell.
Lagging indicators are tools that tell us what happened in the past not what is likely to happen in the future. Last months sales numbers are history and they can’t be changed without creative bookkeeping practices. But by and large, sales managers look at numbers from last week, last month and last quarter to tell them where they are headed. The question to ask with these numbers is why they are where they are. The answer to that single question will provide the basis for improvement in the revenue dollars you’d like to see. Without a process, you are likely to have unsatisfactory answers from your management team.
A process provides answers that are factual and provides a basis for improvement. A process will allow you to define actual actions that led to the numbers you’ve seen and give you a much better idea of where you are going. Surveys indicate that 85% of the business to business sales forces have no documented sales process to fall back on when times are tough. In today’s business climate, every other part of your company has a process. Why doesn’t your sales force? They are being held less accountable than the cleaning staff. You know when your office hasn’t been cleaned because you see the results. And yet, the sales force, the group tasked with getting your product to the customer, is not held accountable to a documented set of standards. Without this, improvement is illusory, fleeting and all too often a frustrating waste of time.
Last year they had a record sales year but their profit was down close to break even and lower than expectations. As the meeting progressed it became evident that the sales force, while putting up good numbers as it related to their quotas, wasn’t really bringing in new accounts and no one could identify the profit average of each sell.
Lagging indicators are tools that tell us what happened in the past not what is likely to happen in the future. Last months sales numbers are history and they can’t be changed without creative bookkeeping practices. But by and large, sales managers look at numbers from last week, last month and last quarter to tell them where they are headed. The question to ask with these numbers is why they are where they are. The answer to that single question will provide the basis for improvement in the revenue dollars you’d like to see. Without a process, you are likely to have unsatisfactory answers from your management team.
A process provides answers that are factual and provides a basis for improvement. A process will allow you to define actual actions that led to the numbers you’ve seen and give you a much better idea of where you are going. Surveys indicate that 85% of the business to business sales forces have no documented sales process to fall back on when times are tough. In today’s business climate, every other part of your company has a process. Why doesn’t your sales force? They are being held less accountable than the cleaning staff. You know when your office hasn’t been cleaned because you see the results. And yet, the sales force, the group tasked with getting your product to the customer, is not held accountable to a documented set of standards. Without this, improvement is illusory, fleeting and all too often a frustrating waste of time.
posted by Larry D Hayden at 1:38 PM
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