Diagnosing sales performance issues is an important part of helping your team reach their sales quotas. You need to know what is standing in the way of your team members achieving their goals in order to help resolve the issues.
Most sales performance issues can be attributed to one of three areas. They include management and process, lack of performance management, and extenuating factors.
Fortunately, you can take steps to uncover the source of the sales performance issues and turn them around. The following questions can help.
Ask yourself these questions to uncover and improve sales performance issues as they come up.
Are the Right Sales Performance Metrics Tracked, Visible, and Managed?
Leading and leaning metrics provide insight well in advance of results. These metrics may include the number of proposals, average deal size, sales cycle length, number of demos, or number of white boarding sessions.
The metrics need to be tracked, visible, and managed, in this order, to be effective. Otherwise, you have lagging metrics, or just results. This is similar to looking at the scoreboard during a game while your team manages the game themselves. Your team is unlikely to reach their goals if you are not actively monitoring their performance.
Are Your Sales Leaders Spending a Significant Amount of Their Time on Coaching?
Most sales leaders do not spend enough time coaching their team members. In typical sports coaching, 70% of coaching take place before the game, 10% during the game, and 20% after the game.
Make sure your sales leaders understand how to coach. Otherwise, they may need help to develop the necessary skills.
Ensure your sales leaders are managing no more than six team members. The ideal sales rep to manager ratio is 5:1 or 6:1.
Has the Salesperson Been in Their Role for Over 2 Years?
The development of B2B sales competencies takes time. This is especially true for employees hired from outside the industry or just beginning their career. By the end of the second year, your salespeople should be on track to reach their quarterly or annual goals.
The common denominator to improving sales performance is the frontline sales leader. Implementation of the right metrics, process, and coaching can help resolve the issues. This can lead to greater quota attainment.
Are You Looking to Build Your Sales Team?
If your industrial safety or PPE manufacturing company is looking for top-tier sales talent, talk to The Charis Group. As the premier recruiters in the industry, we help sales leaders build effective, lasting teams. Contact us today to learn more.
