performance improvement

Last month we addressed Sales, one of the Five Business Dangers. Now that we’ve looked at the ingredients for a successful sales program, let’s get specific about sales fundamentals and sales management, crucial for high performing Sales.

Have you struggled in the past to develop the tools your business needs to thrive?

Are you ready to build a high performing sales team with a solid sales management strategy?

Business leaders and owners understand that more focus is needed on sales efforts in their organization but aren’t sure exactly how to get started, or how to drive positive change when it comes to their sales efforts.

Sales Fundamentals:

Consider the following with your sales team to ensure you’re implementing these sales fundamentals:

  • A complete Sales Story (Power Statement) has been developed and is used by all salespeople
  • Salespeople speak in terms of client need and challenges, not products and service offering
  • Messaging and selling are aligned properly with all marketing efforts
  • A clear sales process has been defined for acquiring NEW sales from NEW customers
  • The CRM system meets the needs of salespeople and is actively used by all

If you need to refresh the sales message and process to re-energize your sales team, it may be time to seek professional help from a business coach.

Sales Management:

We’ve found that few organizations invest enough time and energy in sales management. The overall effectiveness of your sales manager is key to building and sustaining a Performance Sales Team. Organizations that DO invest sufficient resources prioritize the sales management function by ensuring the sales manager doesn’t get pulled into “other work,” has the proper resources, and continues to personally sharpen their own coaching and mentoring skills.

One area to think about is mindset. Interestingly, if the mindset around Sales Management is to ‘Grow Sales’ it often drives incorrect behaviors by the sales manager. Too often, we see sales managers jumping in and  closing business for a salesperson who is struggling. This is akin to a top sporting organization having a mindset that the head coach must put points up on the board. When we consider this question from a performance development perspective, the sales leader/manager should squarely be focused on the development of strong performing sales team members and working closely with them to refine skills and abilities that result in enhanced performance and therefore better results.

What is your current mindset around sales management?

Thinking of your current sales management situation, read the statements below and ask yourself: are these in place and are they optimized? If your answer is NO to two or more statements, then you would likely benefit from a shift in your sales management solution, mindset, or approach.

  • You have a sales manager/leader in place – their primary role is to lead and grow the sales team, coach, and train them, and develop a high performance sales team
  • The sales manager meets regularly with the business owner to ensure alignment of sales and organizational strategy
  • The sales manager holds salespeople accountable to goals, territory management, and activity levels
  • The sales manager meets at least 1x per month 1-2-1 with salespeople for feedback, coaching and support
  • The sales manager holds team meetings at least 1x per month

Every sales-focused organization has room for improvement! If you aren’t implementing all the statements above, or only a few, you may need to adjust your mindset or priorities around sales management… it may be time to get some help.

To a great degree, enhancing your revenue performance depends on how well you develop your sales foundations, critical to your sales success. For the specifics of your business, its sales efforts, and their success we’ll need to rely on your candid assessment. So, don’t wait, take stock today and figure out where success or the lack of it is coming from.

In future months we will examine, separately and in depth, each of the Sales Foundations, and each of the other Five Business Dangers. We will also provide a free assessment tool that will highlight specific gaps within the Five Business Dangers.

Your Gateway to Performance Improvement and Business Success

If you’re feeling some pressure to address the success of your business, don’t wait – it doesn’t take more than a brief phone call…

David is an accomplished and experienced business professional who brings over 40 years of insight to the table. As a business coach, he specializes in helping business owners prioritize their needs. He can help you examine the health of your business and find critical areas which once addressed will result in performance improvement for your business.

It all starts with a single, free conversation. Call 734-726-5208 today for a free coaching session or contact David. Your success is waiting!