Now, take a close look at
the results. Pay particular attention to any comments that rank a 3 or less. Are the lower
scoring areas ones that require correction in order to improve your sales efficiency and
effectiveness? Do you need to provide additional sales training so that your team better
understands the buyer’s needs, benefit-oriented solution selling, and management of
objections? Do you need to revisit the current sales plan with the sales team to ensure
that everyone is on the right page and focused on the right results? Whatever your
findings, the next step will be the development of a plan to make the changes necessary
for improvement.
Once you come up with one or two areas that you know
require immediate action, meet with the team to start the ball rolling. Brainstorm ideas
with the group to determine strategies that can be used to improve area(s) of concern.
Following this initial meeting, draft a 90-day action plan that states the strategies and
detailed objectives proposed to meet your goals. Include the implementation and completion
dates for each tactic as well as the team member responsible for the task. It is very
important to:
- identify roles and responsibilities for tasks
- clearly state all assignments
- create a realistic timeline
- build rewards for recognition to increase the fun and team
spirit
Schedule a follow-up meeting with the team to discuss the
action plan draft. A few days before the follow-up meeting distribute the draft for
review. During the meeting, involve all members of the team. Discuss any issues or
concerns about the plan and determine options. Make sure each sales team member
understands their responsibility and has the time needed to perform the tasks without
jeopardizing their sales activity. Before adjournment, agree on a start date and begin
implementing the action plan.
Discuss the progress of the action plan during your weekly
sales team meeting. Any questions specific to an individual tactic should be discussed
with the responsible party on an individual basis. Make sure everyone understands that as
a team member, you are available for assistance. Explain the importance of deadline
compliance.
Once the initial area of concern has been addressed,
develop a process to track the improvement on a quarterly basis. Share your findings with
the sales team. Also, talk with the team about how well they feel the improvement plan has
worked. Learn from your successes and mistakes.
You may choose to tackle other areas of concern identified
by the evaluation tool and begin the process again. Ask these questions annually to
evaluate your progress and detect new areas of concern before they become a problem. Not
only will this approach improve your sales effort, you will experience a higher level of
ownership and energy in the sales team. They will now feel their sales experience and
opinions are valuable in making your organization successful. More importantly, you will
have what every sales manager wants —a re-energized team of sales professionals.
