The Sales Enhancements: Building Sales Teams the Right Way 

When building a sales team, whether it’s a B2B sales team or you’re a remodeler or painting contractor building your sales team, there are crucial strategy’s to employ. If you’re thinking about high-impact sales training, all the best training programs will emphasize the importance of tracking and measuring your sales activities.  Many times clients will ask ” How do I build my sales team?” The answer is always carefully.

 Accountability and Metrics  

This is important for you to know because what gets measured, gets improved. The problem is that most small businesses with B2B or B2C sales teams are terrible at this. They have no dashboard, nor do they have a clue what should be on the dashboard. A lot of contractors and small businesses manage the metrics by what I call checking my balance management. You know you have no idea if you have enough in the account to cover materials, so you check your checkbook balance.

Imagine driving your car or truck and not knowing how faster you were going, or not knowing if you have enough gas to get to the office or a job. This is exactly how too many businesses manage their business. I had one client that did over $2.5m in sales and didn’t even know that. This is very common, but not the way to manage and grow

When you start any sales training program or sales coaching, or if you’re simply looking to build a sales team, there have to be standards. Without metrics, there are no standards. Everything becomes reactive and arbitrary. Sure you can use the sales results as the ultimate metric, but just measuring results ignores all the key indicators that go into creating the results

When you start tracking and measuring your sales performance indicators, it motivates you and your estimators to work on improving your metrics. If we ever get the chance to meet in person, I will show the 10% Solution. This a little-known formula of small tweaks will make a monster difference in your leads, sales, gross margins, and net profits. But let’s save that for another conversation.

From $2.75m to $7M a year in sales in just 3 years

When we sat down to do his free “Double Your Sales” planning session, Robert had no idea where he stood on any of the most important metrics. He told me he wanted to double his sales. I asked a series of questions so that we could figure out what it would take. We didn’t have much information to go on. We built it from scratch. The results are legendary in the Albany, NY area. As a sales coach based in Albany, NY, this is good for my business. But the important thing is that Robert couldn’t do any of this without the metrics we needed to track and measure, in order to create some standards to hold salespeople accountable.

Now, how do you track, measure, and create the right metrics? Well, that depends on whether or not you have salespeople or estimators. Either way, it must be done.

Here’s what you need to do so that you can explode your sales growth. Track the Critical Sales Success Indicators.

1. What is your average sale? This is figured out by dividing total revenue.
2. How many leads (people who ask for an estimate) does it take to get a sale?
3. How many leads are you currently averaging a month?
4. What is your close ratio?
5. What is your monthly break-even? This is your fixed cost
6. What is your monthly revenue goal?
7. What is your average cost per lead?

Robert set about starting to measure these critical metrics. We were able to get some great information that allowed him to set minimum standards. These numbers were reviewed every week and given to the estimators. As result, Robert grew his contracting company to 6 estimators and a selling sales manager. Each rep was closing 60% of the leads and was selling over a million a month.

This usually is one of the 1^st things in my system that we look at, because what you track and measure, you improve.

How would you like to set up your own DASHBOARD- Jump on a free call and let’s get yours started. Book here https://my.timetrade.com/book/JJMXC

Mark said:

“Having been in sales now for about 18 years, I am fascinated by your lessons regarding Client-Centric selling. I wish the company I was working for at the beginning of my career had access to the systems taught by Carl’s Way Works. This system helps you know where you are in your business and the bid process; getting the extra information you need to reach your goals and close the projects.” 

M. Flood, Zebby Sulecki Painting

Key Performance Indicators

Another term you probably have heard is key performance indicators (KPI’s) as your business’s key metrics. Think of your dashboard again.  When you go to the doctor’s the 1^st thing they do is measure your vital signs. The doctor wants to know how much you weigh, have you gained or lost weight since you were last seen. Next, they take blood pressure and temperature. This all gets compared to your history and the doctor’s look at it in terms of “Normal Ranges”. This is fundamental in the care and treatment of patients.

Why? Because this tells them what you overall health is.

Your practice or business has vital signs as well. Or at least you should have. You’ve probably noticed how just about every major company today wants you to take a survey. Why? Because it allows them to measure how they are doing in the customer service area and is a predictor of customer retention.

Carl’s – KPI’s for Serious Growth

How do KPI’s work?  First, you must religiously track and measure how you’re doing and measure that against a set of critical goals.

What if you could take 5 KPI’s and make a small 10% improvement? That’s doable, right? What if those 5 KPI’s resulted in exponential growth? Say somewhere north of 65%? Well, keep reading my friend.

Change just 5 things and you’ll explode your growth.

In my “How to Become the 800lb. Gorilla that Outsells, Outperforms, and Puts More Money in Your Pocket” program, we teach our clients how to really grow their business by working on making very small improvements in 5 just areas.

1. Lead Generation
2. Turning leads into sales conversations or appointments
3. Closing those conversations
4. Average sale size
5. Number of NEW sales-projects or clients (depending on your model)

Does it work?

What I have learned firsthand is that if you do the work, follow the format, start tracking those critical KPIs, set goals to improve those KPI’s, follow-through, and act, you will make a difference.  This is the formula we’ve been using for the last 15 years that have helped our clients grow their top revenues.

Simple isn’t easy and easy isn’t always simple-

Want help? Complimentary Strategy Session- Schedule here  https://my.timetrade.com/book/JJMXC

Super simple- Notice, I didn’t say it was easy. In fact, it’s hard work. If you want easy, try mediocrity. If you want someone to show you the exact steps to grow a highly successful business and you’re driven to succeed, then consider attending my next demonstration. Or schedule a complimentary KPI strategy session.

Complimentary Strategy Session- Schedule here