When the tide of good economic times ebbs, the cracks in business models become much more visible. This downward cycle, many companies are learning that their weakness lies in their ability to generate revenue that justifies the salaries they are paying to the salespeople who are supposed to generate it. Of course every company is always trying to figure out how to increase sales – this is the fundamental goal of every business at the end of the day (as long as the sales are profitable!) What more and more are realizing is that their salespeople aren’t really cutting the mustard or earning their keep. And commission-only talent is harder and harder for struggling companies to maintain, as slow environments cause veteran talent to jump ship for businesses that are less hard-hit.
One of the best ways for companies to increase sales now and always is to have extraordinary management of the sales team – management that recruits the best, encourages the best sales practices, and rewards good performance fairly. This expertise, unfortunately, is uncommon at best. That’s why outsourced sales companies like ours provide a great answer to the multi-billion dollar question – how to increase sales – for both good times and bad.
Competent management of an experienced sales force translates into increased sales in a number of ways. First, in the recruiting process, industry veterans with broad contacts – sales is the business of networking – oversee attracting the best-suited people for the position, with cost and retention at top of mind. Next, they instill valuable sales wisdom and skills that serve to actually close deals. And since they are experienced in the management of human capital, they know best how to reward talent to retain it, and how to replace it if necessary. This aspect – skillful management of compensation and turnover – is alone enough to increase productivity and overall sales by healthy double-digits.
While skillful management of a sales force is good practice in good times and bad, bad times have made it obvious to more and more businesses that they need to do something about their sagging sales. While much of sales weakness can be attributed to the economy, it is still possible to outperform competitors and to even grow during difficult times. Enlisting the help of professionals whose job it is to grow their clients’ business – and who will have to prove their worth to justify their expense – is a smart business decision at any point in the economic cycle.
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