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Key elements of an effective sales performance management

Written by Mauricio Duran | 06.08.2018

Achieve sales-efficacy and make a difference in your team

It is essential for a good sales performance management to perfectly understand the factors that drive sales growth. And, to know how these factors change in different contexts. That’s the reason sales performance management not only depends on one simple element or a pair of elements. Here are key elements to consider while accomplishing an effective sales performance management:

Know your products or services

Knowledge is power for sales performance management. Salespeople who know their product will sell more. It is easier to convince a customer if salespeople know exactly how a service or a product will address his needs. Product and service knowledge brings enthusiasm, gives salespeople courage and allows them to speak with confidence. Give your prospects the confidence in your service or product.

Know your buyers

A crucial aspect of sales performance management is keeping your customers happy. Take time to find what exactly motivates your buyers, what’s important for them and what they need. Knowing your buyers will allow you to offer a product or service that will cover their needs at the best value, persuading them will be much easier. Your buyers will trust you and be loyal to your business and will ultimately recommend you to their colleagues. Read this post if you want to know some tricks on how to keep most valuable clients close to you.

Outline areas to work on

A good sales performance management can identify what needs to be improved. And, which areas need more work to increase sales. Outlining areas to work on will allow you to target your sales performance management to have the greatest impact. Compare the traits of your sales performers to that of lower performers, analyze the findings, and pinpoint areas for improvement. Then, you will know what would most benefit the effectiveness not only of your sales team but also of the entire company.

Manage your sales talent

Sales talent should be a top priority for the sales performance management and for high-performing businesses. The team, tools, systems, and procedures that you use to attract, hire, grow, recompense and retain talent play an important role in sales performance management. The ideal scenario is to have the right balance in your team. A balance between skilled and experienced sales professionals and fresh and promising sales talent.

Improve sales techniques

Sales performance management is also about doing simple changes that can reduce or even solve problems in the sales department. Strictly follow your sales processes from the time you generate a lead to the moment you close your sale. Learn from success and mistakes. Sales performance management drives salespeople to always look for ways to improve. You salespeople will treat each customer as an opportunity to learn what’s working and what is not working.

Keep a good commission plan

We have said it before, motivation is one of the most important aspects of sales performance management. Compensation is not an option, is a must. A good commission plan lowers turnover, improves sales team bench strength and keeps everyone focused. It is important for salespeople to be rewarded for performing activities that support the company’s business objectives. To keep track of your commission plan and see instant results, use Blitz, the best sales compensation software. Motivation and automation go hand in hand in a fast-changing business world.

Going into sales performance management details is a hard task because the specifics are unique to each company. Sales performance management is based on what will work best for a business to reach all their goals within precisely defined parameters. These key elements are the base of your sales performance management. You can adapt each of them to your reality to see results and drive success.

Source

Willem Verbeke, et al. “Drivers of Sales Performance: a Contemporary Meta-Analysis. Have Salespeople Become Knowledge Brokers?” ORIGINAL EMPIRICAL RESEARCH, 12 Aug. 2010, pp. 407–428., sales performance.

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