One of the myths about only paying salespeople commissions is that if they do a poor job, they do not cost you anything. In the old days, some car dealers would throw bodies on the sales floor and fire the bottom guys at the end of the month. Unfortunately, this is not a good way to get the most bang for your advertising buck. Lost opportunity costs can be huge. Personally, I am not a fan of commission-only salespeople, but that is another subject and a topic to explore at a different time. Sales is like anything else — the more efficiently it is managed, the better it will become. Here are three simple steps you can take to measure your sales effort.
1. Measure what you expect. A few years ago, it became fashionable not to keep score in youth baseball and other children’s sports. Where does success come in life where you don’t keep score? Most people want to do well. If you don’t monitor performance and understand what is going on, how can you be a leader and help guide your people? This also goes for companies in which the owner may be the only salesperson. Institute a system to go over your closing ratios each and every month.