Maximizing a workforce around one common goal that creates value for the customer, the organization, and the employee is the only way to focus the activities of a sales team.
It is critical that each employee is able to measure the value of each activity undertaken during the day and can make the connection to the overall goals and strategy of the organization. If there is no clear line of sight between what they are doing and the value to the customer, clearly they are doing the wrong thing.
For example, the more existing accounts that salespeople have, the less time they can devote to prospecting for new client business. Therefore, they need objective criteria to determine which of their prospects to contact first.
This can produce huge timesaving that have enabled several organizations to increase sales purely by introducing "prospect criteria."
The concept behind prospect criteria is that the salesperson creates a profile of the type of customers who offer the greatest potential for doing business.
Factors that enter into a customer's priority score might include such things as level of business need, budget, referenceable accounts in the same industry, demographics and of course psychographics A simple rating system allows the salesperson to determine which prospects to contact first and ensure that they visit all of the right people.
When planning sales activities, the following five questions answered fully, help maximize sales activity:
When looking at potential customers, how do your salespeople decide if they are right for your organisation?
Which of your salespeople's prospects do they contact first?
How do your salespeople objectively define the probability of new business?
What actions do your salespeople take to reduce the risk of losing their customers?
What actions do your salespeople take to develop new business from existing customers?
Only when Sales Directors have clear, comprehensive answers for these questions can real, effective, activity management begin.