Purpose
Often, companies seek ways to improve team productivity and encourage confidence across their Sales teams. As a Sales Manager, it's important to keep your team supported to hit sales goals and figures.
In this article, we provide tips on how to use Aspire to help achieve those goals as well as reminders on how to lead by example. Ultimately, this fosters an environment for feedback and continuous improvement each quarter! 💪
Document Sales Goals Using the Sales Scorecard
The purpose for using the Sales Scorecard is to define the pacing you want for your sales representatives.
📑 To learn more about setting up Sales Scorecards, read Using Sales Scorecards in Aspire here.
Create a Scorecard in the sales representative's Contact record.
Define the month in which the sales cycle begins.
Enter the Proposed Goal (and if possible, the Closed Goal) per month.
Enter the Proposed Goal ahead of the monthly Closed Goal to reflect the reality of the season, and keep in mind the wait time when your lead makes a decision.
🧠 Aspire's Recommendation
Aspire recommends that the Proposed Goal is set to reflect the Sales Goal divided by the Close Rate.
Example: $1,000,000 / 20% = $5,000,000
Monitor New Leads
You and your sales representatives can monitor new leads for the Sales pipeline in Aspire by creating two lists; one in the Contacts module and the other in the Properties module. Both lists would use the status, type of lead, and owner name, which would be the name of your sales representative.
Once your sales representatives create their saved lists in each module, they would the make a Metric to record these lists as New Monthly Leads.
The purpose of the lists and the dial is to help encourage your sales representatives to expand their search for new leads instead of relying on repeat customers, only.
📑 Knowledge Base Reference: To review the list of filters in Aspire for Sales Representatives, read the Sales List and Metrics to Create article here.
Track the Open Proposal Pipeline
Create a list in Opportunities to manage open bids to a Won or Lost decision. Take it a step further and even turn this into a Metric on the home screen for each sales representative!
🧠 Aspire Recommends
Use Due Dates and Anticipated Close Dates to encourage action and accountability with your sales representatives.
The purpose of this is to create focus for your team to advance every sales opportunity to get more closed deals. Or, to help your team recognize lost opportunities to move on quicker to better prospects.
🧠 Did you know that with an average of a 20% close rate, each sales representative will lose four for every one that they close?
📑 Knowledge Base Reference: To review the list of filters in Aspire for Sales Representatives, read Sales Lists and Metrics to Create.
Be a Great Mentor for your Team
It takes time to manage, mentor, direct, and motivate your sales team. Being able to coach your team about how to get leads and negotiate, as well as how to close as many deals as possible is essential to making your sales reporting come to life.
Consider the following practices to be a great mentor for your team.
Keep the Sales Pitch Simple
Teach them to sell your services by talking benefits, not just features to your customers.
Saying you have dedicated Account Managers is a great selling point, but it is a feature of clients working with your company. Share with your customers that they would be able to get answers when they need them, or that you'd provide communication even before they pick up the phone to call. This will help to improve your deal.
Be Dedicated and Create Routine
Schedule time for your team to book appointments, return phone calls, reply to emails, complete cold calls, and create proposals.
Most importantly, giving time for your team to network brings a ton of value to the table.
Use Reports Weekly
Use the Aspire Reports module to your advantage. The goal for your team is to advance each opportunity as much as possible. What a better way to do it then taking advantage of the metrics and data found in your system. This also helps your team be accurate when costing Opportunity proposals.
Listen and Be Supportive
If your team or an individual sales representative has a problem when working too close to a deal, or with another aspect of the selling process, you should give them a platform to be heard.
Ask them qualifying questions to come to a resolution or offer to team up and solve the problem together. Showing that you are an ally in their improvement with your actions speaks volumes.
Be Prepared for Each Call
When your team is settling into their routine and completing calls, teach them to have an objective for each call. Your team should have a general idea of what potential hesitations of your prospects could be, as well as what their negotiating points are before every sales call.
This will foster an environment to grow confidence and productivity as your sales representative communicates the benefits of your company services to close each deal.
Common questions to prepare for each call could include:
What’s the goal for this meeting?
Why should this prospective customer hire our company?
What hesitation might they have to hiring our company for the job?
How will you reassure them they are making the right decision?
If you get to the point of closing this today, what’s your negotiation strategy?