Where Businesses Usually Fall Short in Sales

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Businesses seem to either have a good grip on sales or they hardly have a clue. The reason for either description often lies with management’s respect for sales as the core engine of their business. Sales performance guru Mark Stiffler advises that businesses should make a concerted effort to ensure their sales departments are strong. This sage advice means that the sales needs to be singled out, in order for it to produce at its highest level. Here is what businesses need to focus on regarding the sales department.

Constant Appraisal of Sales Strategies and Resources

We live in a fast changing business environment with customers demanding that businesses have an up to the minute understanding and appreciation for their needs. This requires constant diligence about how sales is operating and what techniques they are using to create sales. Not long ago approaches focused on being obtrusive and in the face of the customer. The sales team was given lots of caffeine and told to never back down and to always keep the sales pressure on the customer.

In today’s social media heavy business environment, these types of tactics fall flat and with consumers tendency to quickly share bad experiences they have with companies with their social media groups, it can mean severe damage to not just the product discussed but to the entire company. The relationship between customers and businesses is changing. So reviewing of sales tactics and strategies on an ongoing basis has never been more critical.

As the proper sales strategies are adopted, there needs to be right along with them the resources the sales teams needs to employ these techniques. Any lag can be costly and endanger the business. Simply put, being prepared by knowing the landscape and having the resources at the ready makes for more sales.

Mechanisms to Track and Monitor Sales Activity and Success

People operate at the highest efficiency when they have clear goals and a method to meet those goals. To build a winning sales department, you need to set the bar for winning.

Success in sales is based on behavior, actions and results. A business must strike the right balance of each to have employees feel supported and motivated to close at the same time. A company needs to have measurement tools and strategies for both sales activity and performance.

Sales activity measurement includes:

1. The traditional strategy of making sure the individual always has a full sales funnel.
2. The sales funnel is facing toward the future and on results.
3. There is a clear recording of the quality and status of all prospects.
4. There is a clear measurement for new prospects contacted.
5. The contacts are broken down into definable segments.

Sales performance measurement includes:

1. Measurement of the ratio of cost of sales to revenue.
2. Forecasted against actual sales.
3. True Conversion Rates.

Constant Training

If you do not have a top notch training program for your sales team, you are not arming them to win. This means everyone in the department: – new hires, and even current employees, must receive constant and thorough sales training. Training teaches your sales team how to succeed. When your team knows the path to victory, walking that path it is easy.

The need for getting your sales department working effectively cannot be overstated. Simply put as it goes, so will your business. So spend the time and resources to make it top notch.