Orders Reporting
Context:
A multi-national software company had a 12-person Sales team, including 10 experienced sales reps and two managers. The company President wanted to improve the productivity of the Sales team. The company used Salesforce, but each individual, and each manager, used it differently so the reporting was hard to interpret. Although the sales reps had industry experience, most were new to the company, and the managers had different styles and expectations for their teams. The company was ready to improve sales productivity by getting more leverage across the sales team, which required more consistency.
Solution:
Our solution focused on three key elements.
- We instituted a standardized monthly reporting process looking at the forecast pipeline and how deals progressed from one month to the next. This consistent and detailed reporting exposed differences in definitions and process that allowed for alignment on a consistent way of documenting the pipeline.
- We implemented a CRM Usage Policy. This documented the agreed-on master data definitions and deal stage requirements. We introduced the policy at the sales meeting, explaining the reasons for the policy and giving the sales reps a chance to clarify questions. We followed that with ongoing reinforcement when behaviors were inconsistent with the policy.
- We streamlined standard tools and resources. Each team and each individual had his/her own set of go-to resources. By consolidating and streamlining in a single location, we improved access and improved version control.
Results:
- Improved productivity (measured by sales per sales rep)
- Better visibility into pipeline
- More sharing of best practices across team
- Reduced costs with more efficient processes