Effective Ways to Increase Sales Productivity

Many businesses will have to reassess how they operate in 2020, whether they want to or not. To stay viable, businesses have to keep up with continually shifting developments and disturb the usual day-to-day activities. As the world gradually returns to normal, businesses should take advantage of the chance to examine their operations more closely. Instead of simply recuperating and returning to business as normal, take advantage of this opportunity to enhance sales efficiency and identify areas for improvement. When your sales cycle includes a lot of repetitive and time-consuming duties, the overall productivity of your sales time is harmed, putting your income in danger. As a result, increasing productivity can enhance your business's bottom line.

What is sales productivity?

The efficiency of a sales team or salesperson in terms of sales resources is referred to as sales productivity. You can assess your team's productivity by looking at the link between inputs (such as time and money) and outputs (like total sales or leads created). The sales productivity measures of any firm will differ depending on its business strategies and ambitions. Specific sales targets, such as a revenue target or a number of units sold, may be set for some. Other businesses, on the other hand, maybe more concerned with generating leads or keeping customers.

Examine how you increased sales productivity and how much effort went into achieving that objective. For instance, if a deal takes your sales team 10 hours to make and close, perhaps you'll concentrate on decreasing that figure so that your team can earn more sales.

To optimize your efforts, you should aim for greater output and a lower input. Simply put, the sales productivity formula is a ratio of how many sales you close to how much labour you put in to make those sales.

The Importance of Productivity in Sales

Being busy does not always require being productive. Also, a large sales volume or a high yearly sales figure does not automatically imply productivity. Your business may be successful, but you're squandering more time than you know. Even if you aren't wasting time, there may be a number of strategies to improve your sales performance.

Even if efficiency and saving time and money are important, productivity is more than that. It might also mean improving your sales team's performance through further training or giving more value to customers through a better sales experience.

Perhaps your sales team's productivity is low because your personnel doesn't devote enough time to high-value tasks.

Alternatively, they might be dissatisfied with unproductive jobs that have no significance for them, or they could be burned out from chores that take away from their sales time.

Learning how to increase sales productivity can lead to the following benefits −

• Increased sales
• Employees who are happier
• Customers that are loyal to you
• There will be less time squandered

What Can You Do to Boost Your Sales Productivity?

Only 5-10% of leads turn into possibilities, according to sales productivity figures. The issue isn't that salesmen don't put in enough hours. Rather, it is the result of lack of a repeatable and consistent sales process that may boost productivity. While increasing productivity is at the top of every salesperson's goal list, the majority of them are unsure how to do so.

Make Use of the Correct Technology − Your sales processes can be more orderly if you use the correct tools and technology. This can boost your team's sales productivity. CRM software eliminates needless procedures, automates processes, and helps salespeople make the most of their time.

Create a Workflow that is Consistent − To increase staff efficiency, you must precisely outline each stage of your sales process. One of the quickest methods to enhance sales is to have a repeatable procedure. A comprehensive sales strategy may also assist you in identifying and eliminating any sales cycle roadblocks. You should also give adequate documentation and guidance to assist salespeople in overcoming any difficulties that may arise throughout the selling process.

Take a look at your current sales results − To establish your baseline and begin your sales productivity study, you must conduct an audit of your present procedures. So, before you start preparing for the future, take a thorough look at how your current process works.

You may keep track of your workflows by having your salespeople write down the stages in a sales process, such as −

• acquiring new customers
• Deals are being closed.
• Keeping track of sales
• Customer on boarding
• Keeping track of potential leads

Get Your Employees' Opinions − Simply ask your staff if you want to learn more about your company's sales productivity. Employee input can save you time instead of guessing at sales methods that could work.

Maybe you think that early am meetings are a fantastic way to keep the team motivated. However, they may obstruct your employees' ability to sell, so a brief afternoon catch-up may be preferable. Asking is the greatest way to find out.

Keeping in touch with your salespeople allows you to support them better. For example, your sales crew may be overworked due to a lack of resources. Other sales productivity issues they're dealing with include squandering time on cold calls.

Set realistic objectives − Setting realistic goals is the most significant strategy to boost salesman productivity. You must be certain of what you want to achieve and how you intend to achieve it. Setting particular performance measures to track the progress of your sales operations is also critical.

Effectively Generate Prospect Leads − No amount of effort can improve your revenue if you don't have enough good opportunities available. This is why you must properly prospect your leads. If you want to boost your sales team's productivity, make sure you're focusing your efforts on quality leads who are more likely to be customers.

Make the switch to virtual selling − We're living in an era where the sales game is developing at a breakneck pace. Traditional sales strategies, unfortunately — or luckily for some — may be holding you down in the digital era. Virtual selling is the future, and knowing how to do it today will keep you productive and ahead of the competition.

Each company's sales procedure will be different when they go online. Rather than having salesmen teach how to use your items, your marketing department may create a video series that does so. Alternatively, instead of bouncing multiple "What time works for you?" emails, your team can benefit from using a scheduling application to optimize how they find time for meetings.

Provide sales training − Every stage of the sales cycle must be understood by your sales staff. This can assist them in identifying areas where they can improve and better use their time to increase sales success. As a consequence, sales training is critical in order for your team to achieve more consistent outcomes. You must teach salespeople to employ the most effective selling tactics and to contact prospects at the most appropriate moment with the most effective pitch. This training should not be restricted to on boarding and should be carried out on a regular basis. As a result, you should spend on retraining on a regular basis to keep your personnel current.

Email Interactions Should Be Optimized − You must keep a tight watch on how you engage with prospects, whether you are organizing a meeting or following up on cold leads. In your emails, being clear, resourceful, and transparent may save time for both your company and your prospect. Define exactly what you want to achieve with the tailored emails. This can help you engage with prospects more effectively and gain their trust.