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CONTENTS
5 Sales Reports Every Sales Manager Should Be Reviewing ...................................................................... 2 The Daily Call Report ............................................................................................................................ 2 The Productivity Report ....................................................................................................................... 3 The Pipeline ......................................................................................................................................... 3 The Sales Forecast ............................................................................................................................... 4 The Long-Range Sales Forecast ............................................................................................................ 5
A good manager knows that the sales team can make or break their company. All other departments can be in sync, but without a strong sales staff and sales process, the revenue that pays employee wages can vanish. When it comes to the sales team, special attention must be given to ensure that the company paydays keep coming.
According to Suzanne Paling, sales management consultant and author of "The Accidental Sales Manager: A Survival Guide for CEOs (or owners or presidents) Who Find Themselves Managing Salespeople," sales reports can be key in keeping the sales process and the cash flow moving.
Sales reports enable a manager to track how much time salespeople are spending on different sales activities, if they are meeting their productivity goals, and whether their efforts are translating into real sales, explains Paling. In other words, the sales reports paint a picture of the sales representatives day even when the manager cant be there to observe them. The information in these reports plays a critical part in helping a manager oversee the success of the sales team and essentially the whole company.
For the sake of sales success, Paling encourages sales managers to incorporate these basic reports into their sales process:
Paling suggests looking for the following when reviewing this report:
Paling notes, Whether a sales staff exceeds or fails to meet the established productivity standards, the productivity report keeps the manager informed. When a salesperson or sales staff does struggle, looking at the raw numbers can offer insight into the problem.
At which point in the sales cycle is the rep below/above productivity quota? In which areas is the rep consistently behind/ahead?
Where the rep is below/above the productivity quota, how does it affect the next phase of the sales cycle?
The Pipeline
The pipeline report consists of all those prospects being actively pursued by a sales representative and separates them by their appropriate phase in the sales cycle. This information allows managers to keep track of the total number of prospects the salesperson is working with at any given point. Managers can tell how quickly a prospect progresses from one stage to the next or be aware when a prospect drops out altogether.
It helps if the sales manager and the sales reps agree on the pipeline phases, says Paling. Naming the phases adds consistency and contributes to the development of a sales culture.
Holding salespeople accountable for the deals they intend to close at the end of each month
The accuracy of this report strongly affects the entire organization. Unfortunately, many people confuse the pipeline report with the sales forecast.
The pipeline report and the sales forecast both show prospects at different phases of the sales process. The difference lies in the fact that the sales forecast shows only those prospects in the final stages of purchasing the product or service.
The potential sales shown on the sales forecast might be a cause for celebration or function as a shrill alarm, explains Paling. The accuracy of the information provided determines sales revenue for the month or quarter. Failure to bring in enough sales revenue over a period of time leads to staff reductions, cash flow issues, and most drasticallycompanies going out of business.
How many accounts drop out/get added from one month to the next?
Does the rep have an easier/more difficult time achieving quota in one product line vs. another?
Typically, the long-range forecast keeps track of prospects planning to buy anywhere from four months to two years from the time of the initial contact with the sales representative.
Many of these long-range sales involve RFPs, intense competition, or the possible replacement of the prospects current provider. Sales like these usually require executive involvement at some point. This report helps management prepare accordingly.
Suzanne Paling, author of "The Accidental Sales Manager" (Entrepreneur Press), is the principal consultant of Sales Management Services, founded in 1998. She has more than 20 years of experience in sales, sales management, and sales consulting. Working with both field and inside sales organizations, she has helped clients in a number of industries including software, construction, medical, telecommunications, manufacturing, delivery, and recruiting.