Most medical professionals suggest an annual checkup for their patients (speaking of patience, be patient to see where this line of reasoning takes us). Whether you’re monitoring an existing condition, looking to improve your overall health with professional suggestions or merely creating a baseline for future checkups—an annual checkup is prudent.
When discussing the results of an annual checkup, most professionals can improve quality of existence, take preemptive measures to prevent future problems and adroitly monitor pre-existing conditions. Sales management and sales teams should employ the same checkup process.
Whether you’re monitoring an existing sales department, looking to improve your overall sales effectiveness, interested in creating a sales platform or reviewing goals or quotas, a sales checkup is an effective means to ensure sales success. The sales checkup is similar to the physical checkup. As simplistic as the checkup might sound, you’d be surprised how many sales managers and/or salespeople never engage in a formal checkup process.
For those that do utilize a checkup, many are missing some simple steps that would contribute to better sales results. The checkup process transcends size and scope of the sales function and should be universally administered. Lastly, the sales checkup should not be an after-thought. A regularly scheduled, formal checkup will yield continued, productive results
First, there’s the management team, or individual, whose responsibility encompasses sales production. Merely analyzing metrics is not the most effective utilization of the checkup.
One item that needs to be discussed and reviewed is the product line. Are there an appropriate amount of products to encompass more prospects? Are these products being offered to as large a market group as is feasible? Should you broaden or narrow the scope of your market?
How’s your quality, pricing, operations, delivery and most importantly, how effective is your customer service? Does market share enter into your equation for analyzing your operation? If you think not every one of these concepts are pertinent to your organization, then you haven’t fully embraced the advantages and benefits of having the sales checkup.
A common question I’m asked about a sales organization’s checkup relates to methodology. Where does one access the necessary information to make intelligent checkup choices? Brace yourself for the Holy Grail of answers—you ask. It’s just that simple.
Ask your peers when attending conventions, trade shows or networking groups. Ask your customers for their input and experiences. Monitor and evaluate information from your operations staff and/or “back office.” Ask your salespeople to share their experiences or specific, empirical data they may have collected—not their opinions or preferences—just the facts. (Keep in mind that every salesperson would be top producers if they had lower prices, more products, exhaustive inventory and immediate turn time and added personnel for closing transactions.)
This is the perfect juncture to reiterate that philosophical thought, “success will be realized when preparation meets opportunity.” Prepare specific questions you believe will uncover facts relevant to the information you’re trying to obtain.
Have a written list of information for various venues and opportunities that will enable you to “cut to the chase” and not languish in the abyss of small talk and irrelevant conversation. Prepare a questionnaire for your salespeople so they know precisely what information you’re interested in analyzing.
The most productive analysis will be achieved when you don’t enter the checkup with any preconceived notions or biases. An open mind will yield the best results. A good example would be a lender trying to ascertain what product mix would attract a larger share of the mortgage financing market. When interviewing their loan officers, management might find a disconnect between sales and operations.
Additional loan products would only exacerbate an already dysfunctional process. In this example, the open-minded management team’s checkup uncovered a serious impediment to any improvement of sales production. Process, rather than products, has now become visible during the checkup.
A regular physical checkup, with a qualified medical specialist, should be on every person’s to-do list. If the physician knows the purpose of your visit is for a checkup, you will usually be sent for a battery of specific tests prior to actually visiting with the physician so the results of the tests can be discussed.
Similarly, managers should perform regularly scheduled sales checkups of their organization. The manager should disseminate a list of information for the participants to gather for the manager’s analysis prior to meeting with the sales team. The most effective sales checkup is carefully planned and includes any personnel influential in the entire selling process; from prospecting to funding, everyone has value information to contribute.
