These issues should be considered when evaluating the performance of a sales pla

Question

These issues should be considered when evaluating the performance of a sales plan and the performance of the sales team:

Were there clear, achievable goals and objectives?

Was there agreement on goals and objectives?

Was there consultation with regard to strategies?

Were measurement criteria agreed upon?

Is role clarity an issue with team members?

Is there a strong sales team leadership function?

Do organisational policies and procedures support the activities of the sales team?

Are market research procedures sufficient for the development and implementation of effective sales plans?

Are the marketing strategies followed by the team effective and efficient?

Do the sales team have the necessary competencies to carry out the plan?

Are the communication and interpersonal skills of team members suited to sales activities?

Is there sufficient training and support for employees?

Is resource availability and quality appropriate for the expected return?

Are communication and information sharing processes throughout the organisation supportive of sales efforts?

Select two of these considerations and explain in detail how you think they can impact on the sales plan.

Explanation / Answer

Let’s pick the first two considerations. These two considerations revolve around the

Were there clear, achievable goals and objectives?

This is a very important criteria even before we start evaluating the performance. In most cases, forget the evaluation, this is one of the key criteria while setting the goals and targets. The keywords in the statement are “clear” and “achievable”.

Often, managers in an organization are overzealous and overestimate the capability of the team and the product. As a result, they often feel that all their team members understand the overall sales plan and target as well as they do. This is not necessarily true. While the targets and the plans are set up management higher up, the sales activities are often performed by the employees at the ground level. Naturally, there is a massive risk of communication error. So while evaluating the performance of the team, the management first needs to introspect if the plan was communicated properly

Secondly, the zealous managers often tend to set targets and plans that are beyond achievable. While that looks good on their boss’s scorecard, this actually demotivates the team. When the team knows that the targets are unachievable, they are unlikely to put a lot of effort in order to meet them.

Obviously the sales plan firstly needs to be clear and achievable and only then can be evaluated fairly.

Was there an agreement on goals and objectives?

A simple definition of an organization is a group of people working towards a common goal. This means the people in the department and in the team needs to be on page with the plan. The same goes for the sales plan. If the team is not on board with the plan and targets then the performance is bound to be short of expectation. As a result, before proceeding with the execution of the plan, it is important to have all (or at least most) of the team members on board with the plan.

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