A GIGANTIC Opportunity

Is your Sales Manager (or sales management function) effectively growing, leading, and directing a consistent, productive, high-performance sales team?  If so, congratulations!

If not, I have good news, and bad news.

The bad news is that you are likely missing out on hundreds of thousands, or perhaps millions of dollars of profit year after year, and that things will likely worsen with a remote sales force.

The good news is that most of your competitors also lack effective sales management. In other words, you are competing with mediocrity. Many studies confirm that the vast majority of private companies conduct “sales management” reactively (versus proactively) as an afterthought. Group and individual sales meetings are random and inconsistent, if at all.  For most companies, Sales Management activities are conducted as a fly-by. They are ad hoc, only occurring “when there is time…”.

Businesses that employ effective sales management consistently outperform their competitors, but during times of rapid change and economic turmoil, sales management process improvements have an expanded effect. Today, they can help you quickly capture market share, grow your bottom line, and strengthen your company — a unique and tremendous opportunity.

Here are the facts:

• Many SMBs do not have a dedicated manager of sales (or anyone who owns the sales management responsibility).
• A large percentage of private businesses do not manage sales at all.
• In many instances the “sales management function” is conducted part-time (and quite poorly) by one of the company principals.
• Effective sales managers spend more than 75% of their time coaching, developing, motivating, recruiting, and holding reps accountable.  These are the Critical Activities. 
• Most “sales managers” perform none of the Critical Activities.  Instead, they spend time reviewing accounts, generating reports, going on ride-alongs, and rescuing.
• Less than 10% of salespeople have the skills and strengths to perform effectively working from home.
• Remote sales teams require a much greater level of sales engagement and direction in order to succeed.  They also require an increased level of real coaching.

This may all sound daunting or overwhelming, but there is a massive silver lining and more good news.

1. There are simple, time tested processes available to quickly upgrade your sales management effectiveness and team performance.
2. Upgrading does not require a lot of time or money.  It simply requires using time differently, making some different commitments, and adopting some new processes and habits.
3. The current economic and employment environment has created an unprecedented opportunity to upgrade the effectiveness and performance of your sales organization, for both the near and long term.

Few, if any, companies will maintain status quo in 2020.  There will only be winners and losers. Effective sales management will be a vital component of companies that end up in the Winner’s Circle.

Copyright © Joe Zente 2020. All Rights Reserved.