Managing the Sales Force
Expert Guidance
Profitable growth is directly correlated to an efficient and effective sales and marketing function. An effective sales organisation provides a competitive advantage in the race to gain the customer.
In order to obtain this competitive advantage, it is crucial to develop a sales function that is rigorous, flexible and systematic.
Neglect the development and management of your sales force at your own risk.
Sales is a structured process with measurable results at every stage
Increase sales by understanding each stage in the sales process
Sales organisation structure
Sales is a process. It is impossible for a sales force to deliver its best without working systematically. No athlete ever won the Olympics by training every now and then, with a different approach every time. What we are looking for is consistency and the tools and benchmarks to measure performance and achieve targets coupled with the appropriate structure and infrastructure
Sales tools and competencies
A sales force’s effectiveness is measured across two dimensions:
Performance – are the sales people achieving their targets?
Behaviour – How are they achieving their targets?
Are they the best they can be?
To measure how your sales team is performing you need the right tools and competencies, such as opportunity management, sales lead generation and conversion and the means to measure and manage the result. Do your sales people have
support and shared services? CRM? Sales materials?
Do they have the capability to maximise their customer facing time?
Sales force performance
Do you have a standardized way of measuring the performance of your salesforce?
Do you have a diverse way of measuring customer satisfaction?
Do you have a sales dashboard to track your KPIs and have an overall view of the performance of your sales force
Sales force leadership and management
As with all other aspects of your business, great sales don’t just happen. If your sales force is without leadership and you believe you are doing well, think again. You are probably missing incredible opportunities for growth. Sales people need to be motivated, recognised and rewarded. From basic sale techniques to actually getting the right people on the sales force, it is a process that needs to be led and managed.
How a sales force performs depends on how it is led and what effort goes into its development.