For many business owners, the sales team is this mysterious “black box.” They do not really know how or why the team works, they just know that the team is selling and the business is making money and paying its bills. But without knowing any details about the sales team, how do you know if you could be doing better?
Why Unveil the Sales Team?
The fear of the unknown keeps many a business owner from stepping foot into the sales department. If you know nothing of sales, you may figure that messing with the sales team could make it 10-20% worse. And that could cause the business to go under.
So why take the time to unveil the mysterious sales team? Because the do-nothing approach can also lead to slowly declining or stagnant sales and missed opportunities in new markets. Without any real forecasting or pipeline to look forward, it’s nearly impossible to predict revenue. And because you could make the sales team far better. If done right, the sales team can become more focused on the right opportunities. Using the Sales Xceleration best practices, the sales team could set goals and achieve record sales.
Take the Team Out of the Box
Step One to demystifying the sales team “black box” … step into the black box.
- Learn what it is that the team does on a weekly basis.
- Are they setting goals?
- How is sales performance evaluated?
- Are the right salespeople and leaders in place?
- Also look at Client Relationship Management (CRM) – how is communication tracked and what does the sales cycle look like?
At Sales Xceleration, we call all of this On-Site Sales Discovery and it’s really the first step in understanding your sales organization’s productivity.
Step Two … implement sales best practices.
- Create goals for each team member – goals that are aligned with the company’s goals.
- Implement repeatable, scalable sales processes that fill and track sales forecasting.
- Use a CRM system to execute and track all of these processes.
By implementing proper sales processes and best practices, the sales team is transparent and can be easily managed. Goals are not only met, but exceeded.
Of course, this is much easier said than done. Because if the sales team was a black box, implementing sales best practices is a giant leap into the unknown. An Outsourced VP of Sales can step in and do it all for you, leaving you with a functional and productive sales organization that is ready to move forward.
If you’re a business owner or executive with this gut feeling like you are missing opportunities, you probably are. Don’t let a lack of experience or knowledge in sales stop your business in its upward tracks. Unveil that sales team black box and take advantage of your sales team’s true potential!