Five Reasons Your Sales Team May Not Be Hitting Quota

We’re half-way through the year and sales managers are either smiling or singing the blues when looking at sales numbers. If you’re team isn’t hitting quota, it’s time to apply the EQ skill of delayed gratification and look for the root cause for missed sales goals.

It is easy to get caught up in the sales gerbil wheel of a sales management and continue to repeat the same mistakes. Get off the treadmill and figure out where you need to focus your coaching efforts for the second half of the year.

Win-loss analysis

Look at where you are winning business and losing business. Your team might be working very hard writing recommendations for prospects---that are never going to buy. They simply don’t match your ideal client profile. If you sell on value, stop calling on cheap prospects.

Sales activity

Is your sales team doing enough activity and the right activities? Study the findings from your win-loss analysis. Where are your best leads coming from? Your worse leads? Stop, study and start doing more of what works. Yes, it can be that simple.

Sales skills

Okay, your sales team is doing the right activity and calling on the right prospects. The reality is they just aren’t very good at holding effective sales conversations. Invest more time in role plays and coaching. Perfect practice makes perfect.

Time management

The best salespeople recognize that time is a finite asset. And they are good at organizing their calendars and life. Often, a salesperson isn’t accomplishing as much as needed during the week because he or she wastes one or two hours per day. That adds up to 10 hours lost each week and 40 hours each month. Teach your sales team the basic principles of productivity.

You

How much time are you investing in training and developing your team? As a sales manager, it’s easy to get pulled into multiple directions, many that don’t support your main role of developing your salespeople. Apply the EQ skill of reality testing. Does your calendar reflect training and development as your main priority?

It’s half-way through the year and more than one team has pulled out the game in the second half. You don’t want to be in the position of relying on a Hail Mary pass in the fourth quarter to pull you out your numbers for the year. Stop, study and start doing more of what works!

Good Selling!