{"id":4289,"date":"2020-06-05T16:03:36","date_gmt":"2020-06-05T16:03:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solutionhow.com\/?p=4289"},"modified":"2021-11-01T19:10:20","modified_gmt":"2021-11-01T19:10:20","slug":"four-reasons-your-sales-team-is-missing-the-mark-and-what-you-can-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solutionhow.com\/en-us\/technology\/four-reasons-your-sales-team-is-missing-the-mark-and-what-you-can-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Reasons Your Sales Team Is Missing the Mark (and What You Can Do)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Meeting\nsales targets isn\u2019t easy. In fact, one report<\/a> indicates that only 60% of sales\nrepresentatives meet their targets. Your team might actually be trying really\nhard, leaving you to wonder where things go wrong. Are they using the wrong\nsales process or are they focusing on the wrong areas or clients? How can you\nidentify the loopholes to fix it? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We answer\nall these questions and more in this article to help you make an informed\ndecision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Setting Unrealistic Sales Targets<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According\nto a report<\/a>, sales quotas have risen by 33% over the last\nfour years, while the percentage of sales representatives making their quotas\nhas fallen by 25%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes\nsales targets are chosen arbitrarily based on wishful thinking and not on\nmarket realities. This might be because your profits are down and you feel that\nincreasing the sales target is the only way out. But, how sales targets are set\nplays a part in determining whether your team will be able to meet them, and\nsetting unrealistic sales targets would simply burn out your employees. They\nwill be under constant pressure and their productivity will suffer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nCan You Do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Calculate\nyour sales team’s past performance, both the whole team’s and each individual’s\nperformance. Also, research the current market trends. For example, is there a\nslump in demand and what are the reasons for such a slump. Also, consider any\nseasonal factors and differences in territories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover,\nyou should make the sales targets a little less than what you think your sales\nrepresentatives can achieve. You can then reward them financially for exceeding\nthe targets. This will motivate your team to perform beyond the expectations\nconsistently. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not Using a Sales Route Planner<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Route\nplanning plays an important role in defining the performance of both your sales\nrepresentatives and your business. If you give your salespeople the best\nroutes, they\u2019ll make more appointments on time and win customers\u2019 loyalty and\ntrust. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However,\nmanually planned routes using pen and paper cannot guarantee accurate routes.\nYet, many companies still make the mistake of following this old-school process\nand not adopting a sales route planner to automate their route planning and\nscheduling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can a Route Optimization Service Help?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The best\nroute optimization platforms are powered by advanced algorithms that help you\nplan well-optimized routes with turn-by-turn directions while factoring in\nweather, traffic, sunrise and sunset times, one-ways, and other constraints. It\neven does all this in just 30 seconds. So, if you use a route optimization service<\/a>, your field sales representatives will always\nshow up on time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Also, it\noffers many other advanced features, including territory management, color\ncoding, interactive maps, and GPS tracking. These features make region\nmanagement easier, improve collaboration among your team, improve sales\nforecasting, and increase conversions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spending Excessive Time on Administrative\nTasks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Salespeople\nare meant to make money for a company, but this is not really what happens.\nAccording to a report<\/a>, 71% of sales representatives complain that\nthey spend too much time on data entry, while HubSpot<\/a> states that only 39% of a sales representative\u2019s\ntime is spent selling or interacting with prospects and customers. Such mundane\nadmin tasks only lower your team\u2019s performance and morale which doesn\u2019t help\nyour company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Furthermore,\naccording to a report<\/a>, 92% of companies are using CRM, but there\nhas been a drop in the number of sales representatives who use CRM as part of\ntheir daily workflows. Also, those who do use it tend to waste time on manual\ndata entry in CRM. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Can You Do?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You can help your whole sales team get more out of Customer Relationship Management (CRM)<\/a>. Train your employees on complex CRM functionality and automation so that they can be more efficient with their time and sell more effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lacking a Well-Defined Sales Process<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Having a\nfoolproof sales process is critical to your team\u2019s performance and success.\nAccording to Salesforce<\/a>, almost 50% of all sales teams don\u2019t have a\nplaybook that outlines the sales process and other essential processes. This is\nalarming! Without a well-defined sales process, your sales representatives will\nhave nothing to fall back on to secure a deal and will consistently struggle to\nmeet their sales targets. Can you afford that to happen?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What\nCan You Do?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First,\ncreate a sales playbook. Analyze past sales and identify a successful process\nthat would help your sales team sell more efficiently. Your CRM should also be\naligned with your sales process so that each rep knows how to proceed with a\nlead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second,\nensure efficient communication. According to CSO Insights<\/a>, 92% of all customer interactions happen over\nthe phone and 85% of prospects are dissatisfied with their phone experience.\nMoreover, Forrester Research<\/a> states that 77% of executive buyers believe\nthat sales representatives don\u2019t understand their problems and where they can\nhelp. This means that you need to monitor and mentor your sales team frequently\nto ensure that they communicate properly and effectively. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, what\nsteps do you take to ensure your sales team does not miss the mark? Do you\u2019ve\nany questions? Please feel free to leave your comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Meeting sales targets isn\u2019t easy. In fact, one report indicates that only 60% of sales representatives meet their targets. Your team might actually be trying really hard, leaving you to wonder where things go wrong. Are they using the wrong sales process or are they focusing on the wrong areas or clients? How can you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[134],"tags":[657],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nFour Reasons Your Sales Team Is Missing the Mark (and What You Can Do) - SolutionHow<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solutionhow.com\/en-us\/technology\/four-reasons-your-sales-team-is-missing-the-mark-and-what-you-can-do\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Four Reasons Your Sales Team Is Missing the Mark (and What You Can Do) - SolutionHow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Meeting sales targets isn\u2019t easy. In fact, one report indicates that only 60% of sales representatives meet their targets. Your team might actually be trying really hard, leaving you to wonder where things go wrong. Are they using the wrong sales process or are they focusing on the wrong areas or clients? 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