Sales reps get paid based on their individual results in developing and managing profitable client accounts that utilize the many services that you offer. The question in this post is are you managing the process used to earn this business as well as evaluating the results? This is not meant to be a trick question. I know many managers that have charts and graphs and all types of reports that show the results of the sales effort. You certainly need this if you are to do a good job in managing the sales team. But what about the process, the important details that happen before the first quote or job comes in the door…what do you know about those activities? To be effective, these activities need to be evaluated and managed.
Let’s begin with a hypothetical sales process. This could
begin with obtaining leads with new prospects or within existing customer
groups, research the company, qualify and compare them to your ideal clients.
Then the fun begins with earning an appointment, fact-finding meetings and
account strategy. Then there may be additional meetings and discussions to
identify how your company’s solution will best solve their needs. Now you’re in
a position to look at individual projects and provide your pricing. Eliminating
many of the earlier steps or poor performance here certainly will not help you
get past the pricing issues seen in many markets.
I encourage you either as a rep or as a manager to identify what your sales process looks like and monitor the progress of the activities that make up your sales pipeline so that you don’t get stuck or end up chasing accounts that don’t really fit you anyway. Continued success.
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