Measuring the progress of a salesperson is one of the toughest jobs of a sales manager. What are the proper criteria? Should salespeople be measured against other salespeople? Should arbitrary goals be set for everyone?
Measuring profitable sales is certainly one criterion, but according to Joel Crockett, an experienced print executive and consultant who began selling in 1963, measuring the progress of a salesperson depends upon the individual. Sales people are hired for specific skills and once they come on board, their development has already been determined in the interview process.
“You need to define steps that lead to profitable sales,” says Crockett. “Sales progress can be measured by the number of contacts or attempts at contact, getting a key person to visit your plant, or getting legitimate work to bid on. Progress depends a great deal on the individual salesperson, their experience, and what the company and sales manager are looking for from that individual.”
Sales are a process that can be taught, and asking the right questions plays a vital role in developing a customer. The object is to know as much about the customer’s business as possible in order to assist them in achieving their goals efficiently and economically, and with as little friction as possible. Building trust and getting to know the customer’s business comes from a genuine and sincere curiosity that often comes naturally. The sales manager can also cultivate it, but Crockett finds that those who aren’t genuinely and sincerely interested in others shouldn’t be salespeople. This quality should be evident in the initial sales interview.
Crockett favours “nurturing” salespeople to develop their skills, and he places little faith in competition among a sales staff as a motivating factor. Even sales contests can backfire by pitting salespeople against each other, thus making it harder to build a supportive sales team. One means of nurturing involves having salespeople visualise where they want to be, making sales volume an effective means of measuring progress. The reward becomes achieving the goal.
One way of doing this is by placing an Excel spreadsheet on the wall to account for monthly sales. Having the goals constantly in front of them and watching their progress can be a powerful motivator for many salespeople.
“The company also has a huge responsibility,” Crockett says. “It’s not realistic to expect a sales person to go out and attract new business if the company isn’t supporting them in a very tangible fashion.”
Recently he consulted with a printing company that had a niche market and lots of competition in California’s Central Valley. As a result of research, Crockett discovered that customers didn’t talk about the quality of the company’s printing – -something many companies use to distinguish themselves.
Customers talked instead about how great it was to work with the printer’s staff. The customers expected good quality and tight turnarounds, which they could also get from other printers. “It became clear that what they were selling was the experience of working with them,” Crockett says.
Comment below to have your say on this story.
If you have a news story or tip-off, get in touch at editorial@sprinter.com.au.
Sign up to the Sprinter newsletter