Fair Management
Management should be fair specifically to salespeople and customer service staff, though the principle applies to all employees. Too often management conveniently forgets its own rules about territory and commission structures, treating some salespeople kindly and others with disdain without logic or reason, approving one deal for one salesperson and denying the exact same request to another, among a host of leadership and ethical failures. Those who treat their salespeople as such can generally be counted on to treat other staff equally foolishly. You can implement the other eight elements to perfection , but motivated sales professionals and fair management go hand in hand: you have both or you have neither.
System Maintenance
System maintenance simply means there’s sufficient leadership in the sales department to see to it that the policies and procedures are being followed every day by every person who has contact with prospects and customers. See to it that the data is entered regularly accurately; and see lo it that your company is getting a favorable return on its investments in its people, its technology, and its lead processing system.
System Revitalization
System revitalization is that function of management that reviews what’s working, what’s not and needs to be improved or modified or changed altogether. It shows who’s working and who’s not and what needs to be done to effect better performance; and it recognizes when changes in the dynamics of the marketplace, the audiences, technology, and the competition mandate the system needs re-thinking and revision wherever necessary to maintain positive results.
Each element is a fundamental component of the lead processing system, not an option to be chosen or rejected. How you tailor each one to your circumstances leaves ample room for modification and adaptation. Each element carries its weight on its own and synergistically helps every other element work more efficiently.
The biggest lessons here are that every lead is important whether it walked in, called in or e-mailed in and the people who handle it and how they handle it are critical. Consider making a sign for decorating your sales office that reads:
MAKE EVERY LEAD COUNT!
