Evaluating your sales team’s performance is the best way of understanding where improvements can be made. Read on to learn how to evaluate your team to help them perform better.
Are you worried about your sales team’s performance while working from home? Do you wish you had different ways to coach them on perfecting their sales pitch? This all starts with how you choose to evaluate. Taking the time to rate and observe your team’s sales rep performance will provide accountability and teachable moments.
Create more top-performing sales reps by monitoring their activity and giving advice on what you notice. There are several different tips and tricks on how to evaluate your sales team’s performance properly. Review all upcoming steps to improve your managerial skills.
Outsource Your Sales Management Needs
Perhaps sales aren’t your forte. Your business might’ve begun with very little, if any, sales experience. If that’s the case, it’s not something you’ll learn overnight. Sales is a long-term skill set, crafted through trial and error.
For that reason, it’s important to turn that weakness into strength. Consider outsourcing your sales management needs to a sales consulting service. That way, you have a dedicated team with the experience and know-how to perfect your sales performance. They can find shortcomings and offer reputable solutions in increasing your sales conversions. An outsourced consulting company can help with services such as prospecting, touchpoints, sales pitches, production, and much more.
Fixate on the Process (Not the Results)
Any sales expert will tell you that there’s a bit of luck involved with sales; success comes in waves. While a sales rep may not have the best approach, they’re hitting a streak of interested buyers who are converting quicker. That’s one of many reasons why it’s important for management to monitor each sales rep’s performance and processes, not just sales numbers. How quickly are your reps reaching out to interested customers? How many touchpoints are they using to do-so? Are they under or overdoing it?
Do they actively cold call prospects that you’ve assigned them? When they talk on the phone, do they sound personable or robotic? Do they organize their day accordingly?
It’s ideal to fixate on the sales funnel of each client, and whether your reps are hitting each step.
Measure Their Effort
Sales in business is a lot like batting in baseball. You could go up to plate ten times and strike out in seven or eight of those attempts. However, those two or three hits (or sales) make all your effort worthwhile. That’s why it’s important to measure your sales team’s effort. It’s all about throwing as many darts at the board as possible. The more darts thrown, the more “bullseyes” that’ll land.
In other words, the more active they are in sending emails, making cold calls, and setting appointments, the more successful they’ll be.
Be sure to send a clear message about expectations for their daily metrics. How many cold calls do you expect them to make each day? How many emails should they be sending? How many appointments should they aim to set each week? As previously mentioned, sales don’t come naturally to most people, but they can be taught. Show your team the metrics leading to success, and they’ll happily follow those to a “T”.
Schedule Frequent Performance Reviews
You’ll have a lot on your plate as is. If you intend to check up on your sales staff, but never set an appointment to do-so, it’ll slip through the cracks of your agenda.
While performance reviews typically carry a negative sentiment, it’s instead a chance to show your staff that performance reviews are a good thing.
They’re beneficial for both management and the sales rep(s). The sales rep gets advice on improving their craft, and the manager hears from those on the front lines.
What rebuttals are they hearing over the phone? How are they overcoming those rebuttals? What are some areas they can improve in for the next week? Are there any questions they’ll have for you?
Keep in mind that a sales rep’s performance will vary tremendously from week-to-week; once again, don’t pay close attention to sales numbers. Just focus on the performance numbers each week and the sales will come!
Keep a Sharp Eye on Prospecting
You could offer your sales team contacts and prospects until your fingers fall off, but some of the best sales they’ll ever make result from self-prospecting. Prospecting is mostly a lost art in the sales world today. However, those that actively dedicate themselves to it, reap the rewards big-time.
In fact, you’ll want to show extra love and appreciation for reps that focus on prospecting. Be sure to schedule team sessions now and then to brainstorm areas you can be prospecting. Mention different industries or niches your reps may consider. The more passionate they are about their clients, the more success they’ll have.
Improve Your Sales Performance With These Tips
Now that you’ve learnt several ways to improve your sales performance, it’s time for you to implement them in your day-to-day.
Start by reading this article for tips and strategies on how to improve your sales team’s sales calls.
For further inquiries, please feel free to reach out to us at: (404) 245-3775 and we’ll be happy to help!