In other words, sales don’t happen independently. There are several other factors that have a strong, moderate, or weak influence.
The job of sales management is to identify these factors, understand them, mitigate their difficulties, and maximize their opportunities.
This is, in fact, the structure of today’s article. Let’s get started:
Every Company Sells, Even Without Sales Management
As we were discussing here in the introduction, we understand sales management as the effort to understand what your sales structure is and make it increasingly efficient.
For those who don’t think they have this structure, sales management is the framework that will formalize it, allowing you to understand all the points that lead to the sale.
It is important to understand that every company that makes sales has a specific sales structure.
It’s like thinking about the concept of a vehicle. A car is a vehicle. But so is a roller coaster.
The difference between the two, c level contact list of course, is that the car was created by engineers who designed everything from the onboard computer to the smallest screw.
So if you sell, you have a sales structure. Sales management is what will help you recognize this structure and formalize it.
Sales management is organized into three main areas:
- Strategy — more related to the Marketing and Sales Funnel , but also determines post-sales issues ;
- Operation — related to the company’s organizational structure, sales force, logistics, anti-fraud and payments , etc.;
- Analysis — this is the time to analyze the results, motor inn accommodation relating them to the sales KPIs and OKRs determined in the first point.
- The sales strategy is the foundation that directs all the sales team’s efforts.
Strategy is closely related to the business objectives the company has, and how sales advances thos objectives.
This is in theory, of course, and in the conceptualization. In practice and in the day-to-day of companies and e-commerces, this is the initial work, where you determine how to sell.
Of course, each operation has its own working model, but generally the strategic sales department cares about at least three points:
- Sales Funnel Definition : Clearly outline the stages a prospect will go through until they become a buyer. This includes awareness, interest, consideration, and decision.
- Market Segmentation : Identify different customer groups and customize your sales approach for each segment. For example, a different approach may be required for B2B (business-to-business) and B2C (business-to-consumer) sales.
- Determining Inbound and Outbound Strategies : Sales strategy also involves defining both inbound (attracting customers through relevant content, SEO, etc.) and outbound (active prospecting, such as phone calls and emails) approaches. Both strategies should be aligned with the company’s long-term goals.
Operation
The operation is where everything really happens. Even the best strategy will only be effective if supported by a well-structured operation.
When we talk about online sales , the operation takes on a different dimension with logistics, national or international .
But even in service companies, the logistics aspect is still crucial to understand and organize. Supply inventory, team availability, etc.: all of this is crucial to understanding whether you can sell or not.
Here, the focus is on executing the plan, utilizing resources efficiently. Key components of the operation include:
- Sales Force Management : Organizing and leading a highly motivated and well-trained sales team. This includes clearly defining responsibilities, lithuania phone number dividing sales territories, and providing ongoing team training.
- Infrastructure and Support Tools : Use CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and other technology tools to optimize the sales process. A good CRM can help monitor sales progress and ensure no leads are overlooked.
- Logistics and Payment Processes : Ensuring that the payment and delivery process is efficient and flawless. This includes everything from payment processing to shipping the products, minimizing errors and delays.
- Fraud Prevention : Implementation of security systems to prevent financial fraud or fraud related to customer data.
With a well-organized operation, the company can optimize its resources and achieve the expected results more efficiently and without interruptions.