Top 10 Ideas For Improving Sales Performance

1. Selection - Recruiting and selecting the right talent6. Support Systems including activity scorecards,
needed for each sales position is the single mosttechnology, pipeline forecasting, territory plans, lead
important skill of sales management.generation and strategy worksheets provide the tools
2. Raising the Bar- Sales and service improvement isto implement change. Tool development is not a
an outcome of deliberate, planned actions over time, atone-time effort, but a continuous process of enhancing
all levels. "Raising the bar" must be the primarythe tools, modifying them, and applying them to the
objective of sales and service leadership.business.
3. Sales Process - Documenting your sales7. Focus Coaching sustains excellence and builds
methodology and Best Practices both for salespeopleemployee loyalty. Coaches are the catalysts of team
and sales managers provides a "Framework ofand individual effectiveness. Their ability to tap and
Excellence" for improving your selling system. Oncestretch the capacity of each individual generates
documented, the sales process drives hiring, coaching,power and momentum.
training, and marketing support efforts.8. Training is the #1 intervention to communicate
4. Change - People change behaviors because theyexpectations, to stimulate growth, to lift individual
want to, because the value of change is compelling,performance. It must be a core practice, consistently
and because it benefits them significantly as individuals.applied and customized to fit your organization.
If you want to change selling behaviors, actively9. Compensation and recognition practices must be
engage your people in the solution. It is their ownershipaligned to strategy. Alignment creates leverage and
that ensures long-lasting change.increases the potential to maximize revenues.
5. Measurement is the essential ingredient of process10. Customer Retention is the ultimate barometer of
improvement. Without clear expectations for activitysuccess. Its focus is indispensable, and everyone in the
and performance, sales improvement efforts seldomorganization must take ownership for their role in
hit the mark.adding value and enhancing the customer experience.