Set firm, clear goals for sales executives
Dear Karen: I am interviewing candidates for sales vice president at my firm but realized I don’t have a way to measure my new executive’s success other than quarterly reports. I’ve heard about 30-60-90-day sales plans. Can you explain how they work?
Answer: A 30-60-90 day sales plan, with a weekly “client pipeline review,” is a method for setting specific sales goals and monitoring progress toward those goals, said Rob Hubsher, principal of New York-based consultancy Sales Optimization Group.
The plan calls for you and your new executive to establish concrete sales goals in the first 30 days she or he is on board.
“Many sales teams operate as if it is Groundhog Day all over again -- come in, do the same thing day after day and hope for better results with no clear goals or plan to improve,” Hubsher said. “It is important that you set firm, clear goals that the team understands, buys into and is compensated to achieve.”
Start by evaluating where sales are now: What is the current status of your clients? Which accounts are in jeopardy? Which accounts can you expand? What is the status of your new prospect pipeline? Given your team’s current trajectory, what activities will it need to perform to hit your goals?
Define resources that will enable your sales team to meet those goals. If you need a new compensation plan to give your team proper incentives, implement one, Hubsher said.
In the first 60 days of your new plan, your executive and sales team should agree on ways to measure progress. It could be the number of new sales visits made per week; the percentage of deals that close each week or month; new prospect growth; or growth of existing accounts.
“The executive should establish a key report with vital up-to-date gauges -- I call it a sales dashboard -- that is visible to the entire organization,” Hubsher said. “This can be done using a sheet of paper, some simple spreadsheets or sophisticated customer relationship management software,” such as Salesforce.com.
Also within those 60 days, establish weekly sales meetings, Hubsher said. Hold them early in the week and make sure you attend whenever possible so that you’re aware of sales activities and can contribute to winning new business and securing existing accounts. An added benefit of your attendance is giving the sales team a feeling that their needs, ideas and concerns are being heard.
“For each existing client, you’ll want to know what’s new; what’s changed; what you need to do to keep the client happy; what can be done to expand that client’s business; and what threats exist to the account,” Hubsher said.
“For new sales prospects, you’ll go over what’s been done to move them closer to being clients, what’s changed and what resources the team needs to more effectively compete for their business.”
By day 90, you should see some concrete results toward your goal, depending upon the length of your sales cycle, Hubsher said.
If your sales cycle is less than 60 days, you should see strong sales results. If your sales cycle is longer than 60 days, the results may be less apparent. In both cases, you should see good progress on additional measurements you’ve agreed upon.
Hubsher alludes to the U.S. space program when he talks about sales plans: “Each space shuttle launch has a clearly defined mission. Once a mission is defined, a plan is devised to accomplish the mission. In spite of this, the space shuttle is off course 99% of the time. Yet it still manages to meet its objectives. Why? Because it is constantly being monitored and micro-adjustments are made to reach the target. A sales plan is very similar.”
Got a question about running or starting a small enterprise? E-mail it to karen.e.klein@ latimes.com or mail it to In Box, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.
