Bad Sales Management | The Common Mistakes

During the late nineties we experienced economic growth at rates unmatched since the roaring twenties. However the tremendous demand of the late nineties was not business as usual and it is highly unlikely that we will re-experience these same conditions anytime soon. Therefore, the sales production most companies experienced during the late nineties may have been more a condition of this economic explosion, rather than stellar sales ability or overwhelming demand. 

There is no doubt that we are now in a contracting economy. However, how we handle this contraction may end up a question of corporate survival! Common but often ineffective approaches to remedy low sales production: You accept the excuse that the poor sales performance is a result of the poor economy, and decide to wait out the storm rather than implementing strategies to increase sales.

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Although a victim of expensive turnover, you continue to hire using the same criteria believing that your sales superstar is just around the corner! You increase the amount of money spent on marketing and advertising so your sales levels don't continue to decrease. You implement attractive bonus incentive plans to encourage your sales team to meet quotas. And the most Dangerous Approach is... You back off your sales team so as not to rock the boat.

What are the results of these common approaches taken? The additional advertising dollars spent do nothing for closing ratios but do decrease your operating margins and increase your phone bills. Bonus incentive plans created to motivate sales people merely to do their job further decrease margins Each sales person is doing his or her own thing and results from one to another vary greatly. The time, energy and money dedicated to locating the next sales star result in high expectation levels for you but low productivity levels and disappointment for your company.

How these results impact the business owner or sales director: On one extreme you are working harder and longer hours for less profit. If you are on the other extreme you are going to work merely to keep other people in a job. Most business owners learn from their own mistakes- costing time, a lot of money, and sometimes the long- term viability of the company! Maybe it's time to focus on the real root of the problem.