The importance of reaching and exceeding sales objectives, meaning that it occurs with quality and in each of the months of the year, is essential for the subsistence and growth of any business or activity (nothing more and nothing less…). (one)
In many of my consulting activities and research surveys I have been able to verify that eighty percent of the results are achieved in the last week of each month. To this it should be added that in the first days of the new month, the sales returns thus obtained appear, the increase in claims and fundamentally the uncertainty of the sellers as they do not know who to sell to in the new period to achieve the assigned objectives.
In the analysis that we will develop next, it will be appreciated that this is not the product of chance, fortune or miracles (which may sometimes occur).
For this to happen, certain conditions must be fulfilled in each organization in the structure of the team and in its management in such a way that the materialization of this essential purpose is possible.
Because we focus here on "professional sales management", it is assumed that all aspects of product or service marketing, market target, price and condition, as well as communication actions (promotion and advertising) are they are at a reasonable level of accuracy.
Management self-diagnosis
Since the action arises as a consequence of one's own reflection and corresponding individual determination, the conditions that we will analyze below are expressed in such terms, in order to facilitate a self-diagnosis of the activity itself, whatever the size of the organization, its heading or activity and management strategy applied. (2)
Here there is no room for conformity, or justifications or excuses, that what is desired is the product of a series of actions carried out correctly, efficiently and at the right time.
• Has the "effective sales management methodology" to be carried out been written down? This is what describes the actions necessary to carry out to generate a sale, having been previously experienced and verified. (2) (4)
• Do we have salespeople on the team that "meet the profile" that the company or business needs? (2) (4)
• Are they adequately trained to perform in sales management according to their own effective method of management, products or services and transmit the image we want in each contact? (2) (3) (4)
• Do we have a manager or manager with training in sales management and the managerial profile required to efficiently lead them to their maximum individual potential? (2) (4)
• Is vendors' time management really efficient in each day of their management? (2) (4)
• Are the periodic goals idealistic or realistic? (2) (4)
• The administrative tasks that vendors must complete on a regular basis, allow them to manage it for their own benefit to organize themselves and plan their daily activities as well as to know at what level of progress is their individual management within the team? (2) (4)
• Does my vendors' compensation include compensation aligned with the achievement of the goals and their exceeding? (4)
After analyzing the management itself based on these conditions expressed in reflective terms, different types of answers can be obtained.
As in any analysis, when hesitating to answer each one of these reflections, we must assume that they are objectively expressing that: "doubt" or "doubts".
The sure answers that make it possible to determine deficiencies are expressing precisely this: "we do not do it" or "we do not have it".
The doubt or doubts, as well as the shortcomings, imply that decisions are made and action is taken in sales management through a scenario tinged with improvisations. It is obvious that in this way it will only allow results to be obtained as a result of chance and fortune, so it will not result in a continuous productive process in the generation of sales results as is truly desired.
Finally, this article may have two types of consequences for each reader according to the criteria and approach adopted to read it: "informative" or "executive".
Only for the readers framed in this last criterion and approach, and based on all this analytical development of the sales management itself, we should answer the last two key reflections: what is it that we want to improve from what we do not do and / or do we have? And how intense is my determination to make it materialize in concrete facts?
References:
(1) E-book "The Professional Sale"
(2) E-book "Keys to a successful sale" for effective management.
(3) Professional Distance Selling Course or "in company" Professional Selling Course
(4) Management Consulting
© Copyright 2007, by Martín E. Heller.
