Get Visibility on Your Sales Process
If we have established or purchased a flooring business, we have demonstrated an entrepreneurial spirit. This entrepreneurial spirit likely makes us very effective salespeople. In fact, the owner will likely be the most effective salesperson in a flooring business, often by a significant margin. The value of our business is fundamentally weakened when this is the case; our business is more robust and valuable when we have a sales team that doesn’t rely on an owner.
“Our business is more robust and valuable when we have a sales team that doesn’t rely on an owner.”
Even when the flooring business owner has managed to extricate themselves from the responsibility of selling on a day-to-day basis, sales often result from good luck rather than good management. In most flooring businesses, the sales process is not transparent; we see the final sales numbers but not how we achieved them.
We should have the same visibility and accountability in Sales as in managing our stock, installations, and invoicing.
“We should have the same visibility and accountability in Sales as in managing our stock, installations, and invoicing.”
Most of us are not good at establishing and managing a sales process, so flooring salespeople very often have conversion rates of less than 50%. Often much less. Interestingly, most salespeople believe their conversion rate is 80% or higher. As a result, some business owners will consider this to be the case. Almost invariably, it is not.
Some years ago, I talked with a client lamenting a drop in sales. When I asked about conversion rates, he told me they were converting 80-90% of their leads. When we ran the numbers, the conversion rate of his best salesperson was 35%. We can hit our sales numbers with low conversion rates when enquiry is high. When enquiry falls, our business is in peril.
Is there an easy fix to getting visibility into our sales activity? No. But the effort is worth it.
“Salespeople believe their conversion rate is 80% or higher. As a result, some business owners will consider this to be the case. Almost invariably, it is not.”
Possibly, the hardest part is establishing the sales process we want our salespeople to follow. Salespeople are not easy to manage. They have a high opinion of themselves and their value, tend to be ill-disciplined, and resist anything that would give insight into what they do daily. I should know; I’m a salesperson.
Requiring salespeople to follow a process and be accountable is a subject in itself.
Regardless of your process, you can get the visibility you need on your sales activity. Insight into what is happening will help give you the impetus to make changes in your sales process; understanding how much business you are missing out on is a galvanising experience.
“Insight into what is happening will help give you the impetus to make changes in your sales process; understanding how much business you are missing out on is a galvanising experience.”
A business management system such as RFMS and the RFMS CRM app will give you visibility on every sales opportunity that comes into your business: the salesperson responsible for the lead, lead value, what stage it’s at, sample management, tasks and appointments, follow-up and outcome, and a sales dashboard.
Sales is the engine room of our business; when it stalls, our business stalls. In my experience, the most significant change for good that can be made in a flooring business is controlling, understanding and fine-tuning the sales engine.
Chris Ogden is a consultant and Managing Director of RFMS Australasia (RFMSanz.com), a supplier of IT solutions for the flooring industry. Chris has an extensive background in all aspects of the flooring industry, and he can be contacted at cogden@rfmsanz.com.