The sales environment has always been competitive but now you can get ahead of the game by switching to the cloud. If you haven’t thought about a cloud-based compensation management solution yet, maybe you should. Here are three simple reasons why :

1. Quick, easy and cost-effective

The only things you need to switch to cloud-based sales commission software is an internet connection and a computer, laptop or mobile hardware on which to access it.

Unlike traditional office IT, you don’t even need your own server, which helps you save on costly resources and storage space. Installations are on-boarded remotely, and data is stored on the cloud, providing a secure back-up of your organisation’s information in case of an in-house system crash.

That makes switching to the cloud very low risk on all fronts. The software does the work and saves you money, while you and your team focus on building sales and revenue.

2. Accessible from anywhere

As soon as sales commission data is hosted in the cloud, it becomes accessible day and night from anywhere in the world with a Wi-Fi connection.

That means your in-house team can view live sales data as travelling representatives access the sales commission dashboard and update their successes on the road. Team managers can check the performance of individual reps in real time in order to make project decisions. Great performance can be reliably rewarded, while under-achievement can be tackled quickly to ensure better results next time. 

3. Great for team-working

Cloud-based sales systems are especially useful for start-ups and small to medium-sized businesses. They can be scaled up and down to meet changing needs and are flexible enough to pull in team members from all over the county, country or even globe.

Cloud-based software integrates seamlessly into existing sales projects and brings your whole sales team together under one ‘umbrella’. Everyone can track sales commission opportunities and achievements online in order to optimise results. Reports and commission payments can be generated quickly and easily, ensuring that timely reward builds sales motivation.

So why not close the deal, get ahead in the cloud, reward your sales team and grow your profits today?

When it comes to defining sales performance goals, you might wonder what time period to set them at. Every company has different time-frames they like to set goals for, whether it is daily, weekly, monthly or yearly targets.

There are advantages for all of these time-frames, but what is the right way? Here are some thoughts on each of those time periods :

1. Daily targets

Daily targets are probably the most demanding on the morale of a sales team. People who make daily targets can feel motivated to come into work the next day to meet the next target. However, those that don’t make their target for two or three days can quickly become disengaged and this can really affect their performance.

Also, if your company has a high-ticket product/service or a long sales process, daily targets are hard to manage.

2. Weekly targets

These are great for places where prospects are calling into the company on a regular basis and there is a small sales process that can be completed in one phone call. Weekly targets are very motivating and at the end of the week, people can go home feeling satisfied that they’ve had a good week.

Weekly targets can also be great if you’ve got seasonal selling periods. You can define sales performance goals based on the expectations of the market and the call volumes that are coming in.

3. Monthly targets

Monthly targets are the norm for many businesses. It helps with commission calculations as all the sales earned in the month can be calculated in one goal. Monthly targets are less work to manage as you don’t need to recalculate targets every week.

Monthly targets are the perfect solution if you’re looking at a long or complicated sales process. It is also a great solution if you’re working with high-ticket products like cars.

4. Annual targets

Annual targets aren’t used a lot in sales, though some businesses with very-high value products might use it where they are expected to sell only a handful of products a year. 

Annual targets can struggle to motivate sales staff in the long term and so should be used only if monthly targets are going to be too hard to achieve. In addition, it might be best to split annual targets into quarterly targets.

What’s the first thought when it comes to establishing sales targets? Your first instinct is probably to say ‘I want to increase sales’. Well, who doesn’t?

But having such a vague goal is more likely to achieve the opposite. Without a clear, well-defined target, there is no way to make measured progress. And without assessing your progress, you can’t tell if your strategy is working.

This can cause your sales team to lose momentum and engagement, resulting in an eventual decline in sales. It’s essential to set clear sales performance goals that give your team tangible targets to shoot for.

Following the SMART system

The SMART system is a simple way to summarise every element of your performance goals. By spelling it out this way, your sales team will find it much easier to get the results you need. Here is what SMART means:

S – Specific

A goal can only be achieved if it is precisely nailed down. A goal to ‘increase sales’ doesn’t even say by how much. You need to set a clear number to give your team something specific to shoot for – for example, ‘we need to increase sales by 20%’.

M – Measurable

Making your targets measurable means having a quantifiable outcome. What level of revenue do you aim to bring in each month and year? Making this measurable allows you to track your progress and assess whether you are on target.

A – Attainable

A goal is attainable when you possess the capacity to achieve it. You’ll need to consider factors like skills, staff numbers and motivation. Plan how all these factors will impact your potential, and optimise them for best results.

R – Realistic

This step focuses on the practical ability of an organisation to achieve a goal. Setting unrealistic targets doesn’t motivate people; in fact, it can be demoralising. Make sure your targets are achievable, or your staff will wonder why they should even bother at all.

T – Timely

You can’t have open-ended goals, or you’ll never know when they have been achieved. Designate a specific timeframe for every goal, accommodating intervals to check progress and redefine targets along the way.

An example of a SMART goal could be: ‘In 12 months, we will have increased our sales volume by 30%, reaching a 15% increase over the next 6 months.’ You get tangible results by focusing on achievable things, so create sales goals that fit the bill.

As a sales leader, you always have to find new ways to keep your sales team motivated using incentives and encouragement to boost their morale. Here are five ways to do just that :

Sales commissions

Traditionally, sales commissions have always been effective motivators. Set up a generous sales commission scheme that does not create competition amongst your team members but instead rewards personal efforts as well as the group’s collective achievements.

Nowadays, commissions and sales tracking are made easy by efficient sales commission software, so you don’t have to do any of the tedious math yourself. 

Personalised recognition and rewards

Commissions are usually cash rewards, and often the sales reps feel like they are only being paid rather than being rewarded. Sales commissions alone are not enough to make the team feel appreciated.

Including personalised non-cash rewards as additional compensation go a long way in recognising your team’s efforts. It does not have to be much – coupons, gift cards, tech gadgets, and recreational outings are some examples to give you an idea of cash-less rewards that might interest your staff. The more personalised the reward, the more deserving and special it feels. 

If you are feeling really generous you can offer the trip of a lifetime.  Send them somewhere like Cape Town, South Africa.  Find out more about Cape Town Tourism here.

Staff training

Some sales reps may be unsure of themselves, so educate your staff on their value and teach them new ideas on how to increase productivity.

You can prepare training sessions locally for your team or organise the attendance of remote or online seminar events. This adds value to your employees and encourages them to improve on their weaknesses. 

Set sales goals

Break down your annual sales goals and hold every rep accountable to smaller daily, weekly or monthly goals. Some reps may not realise their potential unless they have their sights on a target, and may be selling themselves short by lacking clear objectives.

However, don’t discourage your sales reps with very high sales goals or underestimate their performance with very low ones either; create sales goals that are fair and achievable. 

Exciting team building activities

A sales team is made up of individuals with unique talents, skills and capabilities; you need to bring them together as a unit to work as a team.

Conduct team-building exercises to encourage collaboration and communication among your sales reps. Don’t go for the cliché ‘tell us about yourself’ sit around, these need to be fun and exciting. Go out on a wilderness retreat, try out physical games, trivia, board game tournaments and the like.

The exercise should not elicit embarrassment or personal invasion; instead, focus on bridging gaps between team members by bringing out their collective strengths. 

Get in touch with us and find out more about incentivising your sales team using our sales commission software designed for small and medium-sized businesses.

 

A sales decline can be worrying for any business. The key is to get to the bottom of why you’ve had a drop in sales.

Once you’ve done this, you can put a plan in place to get your business back on track. So, with that being said, let’s take a look at some of the common reasons for a decline in sales :

Lack of motivation

Are your salespeople in a bit of a slump? A lack of motivation is something we all experience from time-to-time. However, it results in reduced productivity, and this causes sales to decline. There are a number of ways to get your employees back on track, from team bonding days to running sales competitions.

Ignoring your competition

Perhaps your competitors have just come out with a new and innovative marketing campaign combined with a top-of-the-line product that is unmatched in the industry?

If that’s the case, it’s of no surprise that your sales have declined. Your customers have moved to the competition. Competing businesses need to be on your radar all of the time, enabling you to react quickly and effectively. 

Old-school selling techniques

If your team is going to continue to reach sales targets, they need to move forward and stay up-to-date with the latest techniques. If your employees are still using old-school selling techniques (yes, we’re talking about door-to-door sales and cold calling!), it’s time fora change.

Poor sales and marketing alignment

Finally, another common reason for a decline in sales is when the people on your marketing team aren’t collaborating effectively with those in your sales team. If there have been recent changes in your marketing strategy or personnel, it is worth looking into this further. After all, your sales team depends on your marketing team to give them qualified leads. 

As you can see, there are a number of different reasons why you may have experienced a sales decline. One effective method for enhancing sales performance management to ensure you keep on track is by using Commissionly. This is the first cloud-based sales commission and sales compensation management web app that has been fully designed for SMEs.

Contact us today for more information.

This concept can sometimes be neglected when the management focus is on the overall picture. But, with modern sales performance management apps providing tracking insights and commission reports, a clear focus on individual performance is also valuable.

Calling out individual performance within the team

Professional sports team players are prone to say: ‘We win as a team, we lose as a team’. A cynic might say that the quote surfaces more often after the latter! The best coaches know that each player’s performance adds to, or detracts from, the overall team capabilities. 

Our Sales Commission Software app is a valuable tracking tool when assessing individual sales territory performance. Gaining such insights is particularly valuable in two situations:

# The team as a whole is successful, but one or more individuals within it are not

# Individuals put in a good performance, but the team as a whole does not attain its sales target

In the first scenario, under-performing individuals can escape censure. The leader is simply happy with the overall success and doesn’t want to ‘rock the boat’. In the second situation, a leader might give the whole team a hard time, and fail to positively recognise those who bucked the team trend and performed well. 

Sending the wrong signals to the team

Either of the above actions can cause on-going problems. The successful performers feel they don’t receive enough credit or attention when the overall picture is less positive. They could become unsettled and start to wonder if there are other employers who might appear to value them more.

While poorer performers begin to realise that it’s okay to carry on as they are; the more effective team members might wonder if they should accept that a less strenuous performance seems to be accepted.

Delivering specific and consistent performance assessment

A team works well together when each individual knows that their performance will be fairly assessed. A key to this is to use specific data to clearly demonstrate their main strengths or to highlight and help, through a manager’s own insights or training, with any weaknesses or difficulties. 

A truly valuable management tool

Our cloud-based Commission only sales commission software app is a highly valuable tool in providing leaders and managers with the information they need in setting and managing sales targets, ensuring performance-driven results, and delivering the necessary level of feedback to individuals.

Contact us now to learn how it can help your business.