What Is Your Sales Team Doing?

Let me set the record straight. I am not a proponent of big brother watching over us. Nor as a sales professional do I like or want to be micro managed. But it is vital in today’s business climate to know what the sales team is doing. Are calls getting made to new leads and potential prospects? Do you as the owner, VP of sales, or sales manager know what your salespeople are working on, what is close to closing, or what deals are in danger of going to the competition? Are customers getting the attention they require?

There are three words that I hear a lot from those that manage a team of salespeople.

• ACCOUNTABILITY
• TRACABILITY
• EFFICIENCY

Accountability is important for many reasons; is the work getting done, are the calls getting made, are appointments being kept, are follow ups being accomplished. There are things a sales manager needs to know, not because they are checking up on the sales reps but so leads don’t get lost or forgotten.

Traceability is important when managing opportunities, marketing efforts and/or customer issues. Today a business owner needs to know what deals are in the pipeline and when they will close. The financial impact of not knowing where income will be coming from can be crippling to a business. It is also important to know if there is not enough deals in the pipeline. This helps you make decisions about marketing sales tactics or hiring decisions. And what about your customers? If they have a problem are you aware of it and is it being taken care of? I have heard too many times that a customer has stopped doing business with an organization and no one knows why.

Efficiency is important, too. Without it time is wasted and can hit the bottom-line hard. Today’s salespeople need to work efficiently. It is important to start everyday hitting the ground running with the information they need readily available; making calls, attending  meetings and closing deals. No longer can even the best salespeople wing it.

Software like Microsoft Dynamics CRM is designed to assist the sale professional with managing their day efficiently. Sales managers can use this solution to see how their team is performing and jump in to help when needed. With this solution those that need to make financial decisions will have access to the data they need about current sales that are closing and those deals that are moving through the pipeline. It will help improve customer satisfaction because a problem or issue can be managed quickly and efficiently before it gets out of comtrol.

Beringer Associates is here to assist with the proper implementation to meet these goals of accountability, traceability and efficiency. We are a Microsoft Certifed Partner committed to your success. We are serious about service.