Last month I exhorted the virtues of managing your sales team, and the associated RoI, like an asset.  Almost sounds a bit de-humanising, doesn’t it?  Especially given the on-going time, effort and cost you would have invested to recruit the right individuals into the team, and then the on-going investment in  training, development, management et al.

Fair call.  But don’t sweat this sort of stuff.  “Our people are our biggest asset?”  Baloney.  Your (sales) system is (should be!)  Back to RoI theme…the sales system is your asset that is worth sweating. No, I am not suggesting instead of your people.  I am suggesting that the optimisation of your sales system deserves most sweat…then your people can have your left over sweat.

Too many companies , in a repeat business re-order type seller-buyer scenario give, and expect too much, individual decision making band-width from individual sales people.  Don’t ask your sales people to make on-going decisions re visiting the right people at the right frequency with the right value-add delivered in the right way within the framework of the right business partnership.  Create a dynamic system that does it for them!  And create it in a way that gives your Sales Execs  competitive advantage in the eyes of the customer…

“Gee , I really look forward to when the Sales Exec from ABC Industries visits me…he/she always helps me get my job done better.  Other supplier reps just visit me to flog their widgets and wares”.

Last month I spoke about measuring the RoI on your sales team investment – pre annual optimisation –  and then again post.  And that the resultant increase should be realised by identifying the right productivity drivers (Click here), setting targets against them and managing the team and the system in which the team operates according to the RoI target.  Here is the sales team optimisation equation again.  (Click here)

Given my exhortation to manage a sales system, in which the optimised sales team should operate, rather than simply managing the sales team, the other way to think about this equation, honours the notion that you are managing RoI from a valuable asset.  Think about this equation like an accounting equation, where the left hand side = the right hand side.

Also think about your role as leader and managing your system as a process, vis-à-vis this equation…

• INPUTS = OUTPUTS  …  to get OUTCOMES

And…

• EFFICIENCY = EFFECTIVENESS  …  to get the most from your RESOURCE

And…

• CAPACITY = UTILISATION  …  to get  REALISATION

And…

• SUPPLY = DEMAND  …  to get LEVERAGE

And…

• INVESTMENT = PRODUCTIVITY  …  to get RoI

Next month we will be concluding with Part 3 of this topic.

Visiting The Next Level’s website can help put this discussion in perspective. Or simply send us a message via the Contact Us section and we will gladly answer any questions you may have or organise to come out and have a discussion as to what The Next Level Sales System can do for you and your business.