Drillid.com

While many companies strive to improve production, distribution, and various back-office work processes, it is less common to find organizations that focus on applying the fundamentals of continuous improvement to the sales process.

However, our research and experience indicate that the sales process is more complex than many people realize. Furthermore, we have consistently found that the biggest waste in most commercial and industrial organizations is the loss of gross margin that results from unrealized sales, suboptimal pricing, and excessive costs in sales-related processes.

So, putting aside the “selling skills” or “charisma” associated with those perceived to be the most successful salespeople, when you consider the daily activities required of field or outside sales professionals, there are some proven best practices. that can help boost field day efficiency, including the following five:

1. Pre-call planning– By planning each sales call in advance, in writing, salespeople can position themselves to accomplish more in less time, thereby increasing personal productivity and accelerating overall cycle time. Making more complete sales calls will not only increase efficiency, but the habit will also have a stronger and more positive impact on customers. Many who have adopted this best practice report that their customers recognize the difference and, over time, are more willing to schedule sales calls or meetings, allowing them to more easily make more calls each day, an important part of the job. , as noted. in the next vignette.
2. Set a daily call volume goal. This may seem like an unnecessary step, but a surprising number of salespeople can’t quantify the actual average number of sales calls they make each day. As author Jack Falvey has said, “Want more sales? Make more calls.” By setting a personal goal, which will vary depending on the nature of each territory, salespeople can often more effectively motivate themselves and make more calls per day.
3. Geoplan: By creating a strategic geographic or travel plan for each day, outside sales staff can minimize driving time and optimize face-to-face time. The best plans will start by creating territory quadrants and then mapping the locations of key customers and prospects. The general rule of thumb is to avoid traveling beyond two quadrants on any given day, so when setting up an appointment in one area, try to schedule meetings or plan to visit others in the same general region to allow for a maximum number of interactions in one. minimum amount of time.
4. bookends every day scheduling an appointment early in the morning and another late in the afternoon. This will promote “staying the course” rather than deciding to return to the office early to do administrative work. This best practice could also help achieve #2 above.
5. Try to schedule next steps (ie follow-up meetings, conference calls, etc.) “in the moment” before the conclusion of each sales call. This simple best practice can significantly increase efficiency for two reasons. First, it helps sales staff more easily fill in their calendars for future sales days in the field; and second, it can help shorten sales cycles by securing time with buyers sooner than might otherwise be done.

But the sales process extends far beyond a day in the field, as It covers everything from identifying a potential customer to delivering a solution.

Considering this broad spectrum, it is not surprising that the greatest waste within most companies is found in the area of ​​sales.

The first step towards improvement, i.e. getting from “where we are now to where we would like to be if all was well”, is to identify specific areas of waste in the sales process, and answering the following 20 questions might be a good way to start. questions:

1. What is our current market share?

2. What are the requirements of our customers?

3. How well are we meeting these requirements?

4. What would it take to truly delight our customers?

5. How long does the sales process take from lead to sale?

6. What is our lead conversion ratio?

7. What were the top 3 reasons for the loss of sales during the last quarter?

8. How many calls does our sales staff make, on average, each day?

9. How much time do we spend talking to uninterested or unqualified leads?

10. How do we continually improve the skills and habits of our sales team?

11. What percentage of prospects contact us first?

12. How does this percentage (#11) compare to industry data?

13. Does it take less time to complete the sales process for incoming leads? If so, how much less?

14. What is our response time to customer or prospect inquiries?

15. How many customer complaints do we receive?

16. How much time do our vendors spend interceding or responding to complaints?

17. What is done with the information associated with customer complaints?

18. How do customer complaints or customer dissatisfaction affect our ability to make sales?

19. How often are discounts extended and what is the average discount?

20. Are discounts offered due to competition or in response to dissatisfaction?

Clearly, there are many ways to analyze and improve the productivity of an organization’s sales process, but these five best practices and twenty questions are good starting points.