| One way to look at the performance of sales | | | | is not expended on the low profitability customers |
| personnel particularly those on the road is to | | | | or those whose long term potential to the |
| establish a series of metrics that give the | | | | company is small. Segmenting by size of company |
| manager a good idea of what and how they are | | | | and potential and then providing targets for sales |
| doing BEFORE the results come in. Typically a | | | | staff will help achieve these goals. Other metrics |
| sales manager on seeing below target results will | | | | to consider are the number of new customers |
| exhort his teams to 'get out there and redouble | | | | required each period to achieve goals |
| your efforts' as if doing more of the same thing | | | | (consideration of average size and average order |
| will improve results. | | | | come in here.) We have already indicated that the |
| Typically the metrics for sales people involve | | | | profitability of each customer and the potential for |
| three main areas: | | | | each prospect is also a metric that can be used. |
| - The quality of what they are doing. | | | | Are the team selling the right mix of products or |
| This comes down to their skill levels and | | | | services in order to meet the goals of the |
| understanding of what is expected of them. Have | | | | company? Some may be more profitable than |
| the team been adequately trained and are they | | | | others or more difficult to obtain stretching lead |
| putting into practice regularly what they have | | | | times which in turn may result in a poorer |
| been taught? | | | | performance. |
| - The efforts they put in. | | | | By setting a series of goals and devising a range |
| This is the more traditional measurement of the | | | | of metrics or KPIs the future performance of a |
| number of sales visits they make but should also | | | | sales person can be accurately predicted. This |
| include areas such as numbers of telephone calls, | | | | feed forward approach will allow the manager to |
| emails, and mailshots and many more | | | | make corrections before the rot sets in and |
| - Who their customers and prospects are. | | | | declining sales results appear 6 months or more |
| Measurement of the types of prospects and | | | | down the line. |
| customers is essential so that considerable effort | | | | |