Increasing sales is a hot topic, but what goes into boosting sales? Effective sales performance, yes. And an effective sales performance is achieved by an equally effective sales management system.

In this article, we’ll go through what sales performance management is, why it is important, what are its components, and some of the sales performance management best practices there are.

Sales performance management definition  

The purpose of sales performance management is to measure, optimize, and improve sales performance. It consists of a set of analytical and operational functions designed to increase productivity, efficiency, and thus, sales.

Among the capabilities of the sales performance management system are quota management, compensation management, planning, and advanced analytics.

Why is sales performance management system important? 

Every field is highly competitive, so it is crucial that a company focuses on the way they bring their product to the market instead of just focusing on what they are selling. Even the best products are difficult to sell on their own. Conversely, a sales team can sell anything when they use the best sales strategy.

In light of this, a sales manager must use innovative methods of selling their products instead of just focusing on selling them. Innovative approaches to selling can enable the company to stay on top of the competition, and this is the reason why they require a sales performance management system.

Streamlining the sales process and knowing how it impacts the sales cycle will enable sales managers to implement sales strategies that cover each part of the sales process. The sales team can increase its efficiency by properly managing and executing all the aspects of the sales process using a sales performance management tool.

Components of Sales Performance Management System 

Performance management practices take three main factors into account: how what, and where to sell. An organization’s approach to these three priorities determines how well it will perform in the market.

1) Sales Planning 

Sales planning is all about how a company is going to dominate in the market and then how it will align its efforts accordingly. The goal of effective sales planning is to stay ahead of all changes in the marketplace by utilizing advanced technologies to maximize the potential of each customer. Planning sales is an important aspect of reaching sales goals.

2) Sales Incentives 

A company’s sales incentives are commissions it gives to its salespersons to encourage them to sell the company’s products. When the commission structure is modified with bonuses, businesses allow the sales teams to direct their efforts in the right direction.

Incentives benefit both salespeople and the company. Salespeople increase their earnings and contribute to the company’s growth.

3) Sales Insights 

The purpose of sales insights is to measure the sales performance of a salesperson and taking corrective actions to improve it. Sales insights include pricing, pipelines, forecasts, and other factors which are important to income and ROI.

Tips for boosting sales performance 

1) Maintain Transparency

To hit the market, sales strategy is key, but it is equally important to make sure the strategies are transparent to your team. Taking the time to explain to your team members why you are targeting a particular market and what your goals are will help you communicate better.

In this way, a sales leader can keep all members of the team updated whenever a new strategy is being implemented. Additionally, it shows team members that the company trusts them.

2) Take inputs

Earlier, sales leaders acted as dictators, but things have changed in modern times. Taking input from all members of the team is the ideal way to improve sales performance management.

3) Use advanced tools

In this day and age, many sales leaders can quickly analyze data on their customers, function remotely, and optimize their sales strategy, all thanks to the use of advanced software.

Advanced software facilitates real-time calculations and allows the connection of various sales components.

4) Review and Act

It is imperative for a sales manager to periodically assess their approach and examine what is and is not working, then modify it to fit the company’s growth.

Conclusion 

Managing sales performance can seem challenging, but it’s not impossible to do. Ensure they’re well trained, assist them with executing strategies, and evaluate how they’re doing. Take corrective action based on that and also consider their suggestions.

One of the most important aspects of sales is that it is no longer what it was; there has been radical change and credit is due to the use of the right sales management tools. Be sure your sales force has the same tools to help them be as effective as possible.

You can’t expect them to perform at their best by resorting to the old ways, can you? NeoDove tool that salespeople and owners alike can use.