As sales managers, we are tasked with dozen’s of daily tasks, and somewhere lost in the sea of red-tape, bureaucracy and daily duties is sales. The frustration for the manager is juggling all the responsibilities that come with his or her job title other than what may have gotten them there in the first place. Most sales managers at some point were good salespeople, through their hard work and success they were promoted to a position that now focuses on far more than just selling.
My background consists mainly of managing in the heavy-duty aftermarket industry. Twenty plus years of managing; inventories, vendors, hr issues, internal paperwork, reports, meetings, safety concerns, delivery problems, and sometimes sales. The day to day grind of managing a large staff and the responsibilities that go along with the title lead one farther and farther away from what you thought the goal was, to begin with, sales.
Even though sales are up and profit is hitting the budget numbers, it doesn’t mean everything is heading in the right direction. Sales totals never tell the real story, especially when they look good. While you’re focused on annual inventory or the latest HR request, good sales numbers could have been great sales numbers. What looks good on the surface may only be functioning at an adequate level, and due to a great market or an exceptionally busy customer base, your underperforming department may be getting an artificial bump. Far too often in the business world today, adequate can be viewed as exceptional. Mainly because of an extreme lack of exceptional.
You’re busy, I get it, but the great manager knows that tomorrow is more important than today. They understand that the sales success of this quarter will not equate to a healthy bottom line in the next if they are not continually focusing on nimbleness and flexibility. Sales managers who rest on their laurels are headed for disappointment and a light bonus check.
The question for the busy manager is how do you test the strength of your department and sales team? How do you keep a pulse on the market and the people you have charged to serve it while balancing the rest of the plates you have been given? I personally found there were a few simple things that I could do on a regular basis that kept that target in front of me and allowed me to have a pretty good view of how close my department was to a bullseye.
Inventory Health- The things that tell you that you’re managing your inventories wisely can also be indicators of your sales strength. How are turns? Is your obsolescence growing consistently? Are fill rates getting better or worse? Unhealthy numbers in any of these areas can be a trigger that leads to unhappy customers and could be hindering your sales growth. High turns without higher profits mean you may be discounting heavily and not recognizing the true value of more sales. It could also indicate you’re running out of product too quickly meaning you are missing sales. Lower turns coupled with a rising obsolescence point to your inventory being out of date or you’ve lost market share on a certain product line. It also tells you that you are sitting on capital that could be better served in other places. Lagging fill rates may simply mean you’re cheaper than the competition, so customers are willing to wait. It also may mean you’re only slightly better than the place down the street.
Employee Pay- A sales team whose pay is stagnant or increasing at the same rate as the overall department may point to a lack of motivation. Salespeople who become comfortable at a rate of pay may be excellent managing their book of business; they may no longer be seeking to gain wallet share. Not challenging themselves is detrimental to their potential but also that of your department. If your competition has a hungrier more aggressive salesperson calling on the same customers, sales stagnation or even decline is likely to be right around the corner. If money is no longer the main factor for a salesperson, you need to find a new motivator and pursue it ardently. If individual sales numbers are increasing only at the rate of annual price increases, you have a problem.
Customer Contact- We all have customers who love to tell you what it is you do wrong. As much as you want to tune them out, it is in your best interest to avoid simply disregarding their complaints. Even the most critical customer at times can lead you to a truth that could be negatively impacting your business elsewhere. Pay attention to your CSI surveys as they will almost always accurately show you where you need to improve. If your great in most categories, focus intently on the ones you’re only good at. Even your most loyal customers are using other vendors who offer the same goods or services, find out what it is they like about them. Is it price, service, or availability. Whatever reason or reasons they are using they can highlight an area for you to improve.
The health of a sales department and the quality of a sales team are never just about the numbers, good or bad. The top sales managers understand how to find and understand the pulse of the organization and adjust accordingly. You cannot allow your time to be bogged down with just the ancillary components of a sales department. Prioritize the important every day and make sure everything you are focusing on leads back in some way to improved sales.
Dedicating yourself to a level of constant understanding of what you have and where you are is the first step to a thriving sales organization.