Question is, what can you do to keep business confidence alive?

Sales performance goals: the heart of your company’s future

Sales performance goals are crucial during the lockdown. By updating these goals regularly, your staff will know that there is still every reason to strive to make as many sales as possible and to keep nurturing a rapport with your customers. This will also have a reverse effect on your business success by helping your company not just stay afloat but thrive: the more your sales staff put in, the more the company will achieve, which means your sales staff can keep giving it their all. Keep sales performance goals at the forefront of your strategies and this cycle will only get stronger.

Business confidence starts with leadership

When you update your sales team’s sales performance goals, they’ll see that you’re on the ball, keen to help, and excited about the potential of the future. When you project yourself as a leader that actively backs your staff – and therefore your business – this energy will only spread throughout your teams, whether sales or otherwise, ensuring you know your staff have just as much faith in the business as you do.

The solution to ongoing business confidence

Using Commissionly to create sales performance goals is the easiest way to give strength to your staff and your business. You’ll be able to set new goals whenever you choose, keeping staff motivated and business confidence alive, whatever the upcoming weather.

If you’re currently using a spreadsheet to calculate commission, and you’d like a simpler, more efficient way to manage sales performance, why not consider Commissionly? You can benefit from a free trial with a demonstration on how to improve your sales performance management. With a host of powerful features, like sales territory management, sales quota management, and sales objective management, you’ll soon find yourself wondering how you ever managed with a simple spreadsheet.

1. Use real-life scenarios

Your salesforce will face different situations during sales. They may meet awkward people who are tough to handle and you can help them be familiar with these problematic situations. Practical activities, such as using real-life demonstrations or simulating conditions (https://blog.commlabindia.com/elearning-design/simulation-for-sales-training-advantages), help improve the problem-solving ability of your salesforce. By testing them in these real-world situations, you get the necessary feedback to help your team improve their sales skills and feel more confident.

2. Create a continuous improvement culture

You should never forget that training your staff is a continual process. To meet your sales performance goals, you must use a system where you continuously review the performance of your salesforce on the ground. This action will expose any knowledge gap. Trends always emerge in the market, and you don’t want to be left behind. To help your team learn to adapt, you must also regularly refine your sales training methods. 

3. Identify individual needs

You should evaluate your staff’s training needs to identify problem areas. To do this, you can conduct individual performance reviews, personal interviews, or surveys. The information you get will help you know their weak points. This practice will make your training specific. You will prioritise on the relevant areas that add value to the overall performance of an individual. A personalised approach ensures you help an employee overcome a particular weakness during sales.

4. Use incentives

Your salesforce needs to be motivated to apply the training. You could set up a system that recognises those who succeed in applying the knowledge. It could be a commission-based system that appreciates their efforts. This action will push them to learn the concepts faster and earn their reward (https://www.commissionly.io/our-top-3-tips-to-break-your-sales-team-out-of-a-slump/).

Training will give your salesforce the mental edge they need to push your sales performance goals to a whole new level. So keep at it!

Some success factors for sales performance management are:

Regular feedback

Both managers and employees require regular feedback, for instance, conversations about their performance and development. Feedback should highlight areas in which they excel and areas where more effort is required. This helps in supporting continuous learning in the workplace. Meetings should also be fairly balanced, rather than purely criticising employees. Focus on acknowledging their strengths to make them feel more valued and appreciated.

Altering the conversation

Most sales reviews are centred on forecasts and day to day performance. These short term interventions alone are not enough to improve performance. More emphasis should be placed on improving individuals’ skills and abilities through constant training and coaching. Listening to what employees have to say and providing constructive criticism also helps them perform their job more successfully.

Having appropriate goals to reflect the changing business environment

Sales environments are dynamic. As such, there is a constant need to adapt to the changing circumstances. For instance, acquiring a new product will attract new competitors. Consequently, a new strategic plan has to be in place. Every person should know how they fit into the new business landscape. Individual expectations should be constantly reviewed and communicated as and when necessary.

Goal transparency

Effective sales performance management should focus on the different dynamics of a team. A performing team is the sum total of its individual members. With well-aligned goals, it will be easy for each team member to understand how they can help one another better. Sharing ideals and feedback in a team (not just in a management team) makes for a more collaborative and inclusive environment for the whole team to succeed.

Productive reviews require preparation

Performance discussions are only productive when both parties prepare well. For employers, performance appraisals present the perfect opportunity to listen to employees. They should be allowed to voice their concerns and point out specific areas where they require more support say, for example, through special training.

Are you ready to take your organisation to the next level? Start by mapping your sales enablement journey. Always remember that organisations that implement effective sales performance management elevate themselves above their competitors.