Sales Management

Sales driven organizations have become increasingly dependent on effective sales management processes at every level.  Some companies turn to software programs to aid their organization in managing their sales efforts.  Other sales management efforts put more stock in indicators of success such as:

• Retention rates. Many companies are focusing on keeping the clients they have in declining markets. Retention reveals the appropriateness of the “fit” of the original sale. Service and relationships are key.
• Up-sale rates. How many existing clients are increasing their booth size or advertising schedules or have made additional buys such as sponsorships?
• New clients. Encourage your sales team to explore potential new market segments and reward selling to them.
•  Market share. If the industry pie is growing and your piece of it’s shrinking, you have a problem. If the reverse is true, you’ve got something to celebrate!
• Activity reports. Set contact goals and track the number of calls, proposals or new prospects. Share these with each team member to help identify areas that may need more attention.
• Accomplishing short-term goals. Recognizing short-term and long-term goals ensures management that things are on track and gives salespeople incremental motivation throughout the sales cycle.
• Customer service and satisfaction. Do you get complaints from a sales rep’s clients about slow responses or other issues? Are orders late or are there often extensions, exceptions or emergencies to deal with?
• Look at your show’s historical trends. Review your revenue growth, as well as your competitors and the industry’s as a whole. Is it reasonable, for example to expect sales to grow 10 percent if your industry has been through massive changes and one-fourth of the companies that once exhibited have merged with other exhibitors? Or, is 10 percent growth too low if there are enough healthy exhibitors in your universe to easily grow the exhibitor base by 20 percent?
• Goals are not always a one-size-fits-all proposition. You may want to consider different goals depending on the experience level of the sales rep, the territory or industry sector they’re assigned to and the level of competition they’re likely to face.
• Get buy-in from the sales team. Ask for their input. Have them help gather the market research you’ll use to set their goals.
• Respond to market changes. Set up periodic reviews of sales goals. Markets change, and if goals become too unrealistic as the year goes on, sales staff may feel they’re impossible to meet and become demoralized.