First, it was a phone call.
Then an email.
Finally, a text message.
Was my wife trying to get a hold of me? No, it was my doctor's office.
It was that time of the year — time for my annual check-up. Ugh! Does anyone get excited to have a physical done by your doctor? It's uncomfortable, a bit invasive, and he's going to tell me all of the things that I've done wrong in the last year that I already know, but I don't want to admit to myself. ✔️You need to lose weight!
✔️You need to eat better!
✔️You need to exercise more!
I know all of that stuff, but I do like to ignore it because it makes life "easier." The problem is that I also know that if I don't start to address these issues, there will be more serious problems down the road.
Your Annual Sales Check-Up
The funny thing is that your sales organization probably needs its annual check-up, too!
You know that you haven't been doing everything you're supposed to be doing, and neither are your salespeople. But it's easier to ignore and hope it goes away than confront the issues head-on, right?
The problem is, just like your health, if you do ignore it for too long, it will cause more serious problems in the future.
A sales check-up is the perfect way to assess your sales organization. You need to perform a comprehensive, analytical sales diagnostic. It's a time to step back and assess your organization objectively. A sales diagnostic allows you to dive into your numbers, processes, people, and accurately determine what's working and what isn't.
It's an incredibly valuable process that any organization can benefit from. It allows you and your team the opportunity to hit the pause button and self-diagnose the good, the bad, and the ugly things that your organization and personnel are doing.
A strong sales diagnostic will give you analytical data that will allow you to make improvements in your sales organization based on facts, not just feelings. It also allows you to tackle some long-outstanding "sacred cows" and finally make the changes that you've known that you needed to implement.
Three Phases of a Sales Tune-Up
1. Discover Roadblocks
Your initial discovery is to dive into all of the aspects of your sales organization and gather the data that you'll use to observe the strengths and weaknesses of your sales structure. You will usually review around 50+ separate categories from account lists to compensation and budgets to sales software and everything in between.
2. Detailed Observations
During this phase, you will begin to separate fact from fiction as you analyze the data that you've gathered so that you can summarize your observations. Be sure to stick to the facts of the numbers that you've collected. Don't allow your feelings or traditions to cloud your judgment.
Rely on facts; they're your best friend in a sales diagnostic.
3. Develop Recommendations
The final phase of a sales diagnosis is to deliver specific, actionable, and proven strategies and tactics for your team. A successful diagnostic is measured by what has been implemented and the results of those actions. Don't be too general, rather be specific and make sure that everything is measurable.
All three steps typically take 4-to-8 weeks to complete, and you'll need some assistance from your sales team, business office, and product teams to gather all of the necessary data, but it is worth it.
A good sales tune-up can be the catalyst that you need to revive sales, your staff, and your organization!
Of course, if this sounds like a lot of work and you're not ready to do it yourself, The Center Sales for Strategy would be glad to assist you. We have successfully executed over 3 dozen Sales Diagnostics for our clients over the last couple of years. For more information, visit, www.TheSalesDiagnostic.com
