Marketing tools to ensure sales and profit growth (business growth)

The marketing mix, which we all know from the very first book on marketing we read, or from the very first course or seminar. Why does a business need a marketing function? To more successfully achieve their goals of short-term and long-term maintenance and growth of sales and profits. Moreover, since this article is addressed to managers, the emphasis is on growth, since ensuring the functioning is the task of the performers. And the task of the leader is development, growth. Therefore, in this article I will try to consider a vision of what and how marketing (marketing function, marketing department, the function of “market getting” or abbreviated marketing) can (and should be) to ensure the growth of sales and business profits. We will try to structure marketing tasks, ensuring that all marketing efforts are focused on achieving sales and profit growth. And once again we will answer the classic question: which is more important and who is more important – marketing or sales? The position from which I start as a business owner and a consultant and coach who works primarily with business owners is that sales are more important, since it is sales that bring profit to the owner. But the marketer (marketing director) is more important than the sales person (sales director) IF he thinks not only about short-term results (sales and profits), but also long-term results (all the same sales and profits). Although, in America and other countries of the former Union, the chief marketer in business is usually the owner, founder, owner of the business. And we will answer once again the classic question: which is more important and who is more important – marketing or sales? The position from which I start as a business owner and a consultant and coach who works primarily with business owners is that sales are more important, since it is sales that bring profit to the owner. But a marketer (marketing director) is more important than a salesperson (sales director), IF he thinks not only about short-term results (sales and profits), but also long-term results (all the same sales and profits). Although, in America and other countries of the former Union, the chief marketer in business is usually the owner, founder, owner of the business. And once again we will answer the classic question: which is more important and who is more important – marketing or sales? The position from which I start as a business owner and a consultant and coach who works primarily with business owners is that sales are more important, since it is sales that bring profit to the owner. But a marketer (marketing director) is more important than a salesperson (sales director), IF he thinks not only about short-term results (sales and profits), but also long-term results (all the same sales and profits). Although, in America and other countries of the former Union, the chief marketer in business is usually the owner, founder, owner of the business. with business owners – sales are more important, since it is sales that bring profit to the owner. But a marketer (marketing director) is more important than a salesperson (sales director), IF he thinks not only about short-term results (sales and profits), but also long-term results (all the same sales and profits). Although, in America and other countries of the former the main marketer in a business is usually the owner, founder, and business owner. sales are more important, since it is sales that bring profit to the owner. But the marketer (marketing director) is more important than the sales person (sales director) IF he thinks not only about short-term results (sales and profits), but also long-term results (all the same sales and profits). Although, in America and other countries of the former the main marketer in a business is usually the owner, founder, and business owner.

Focused Marketing System

So, focus on sales. What factors determine sales and what factors ensure sales growth, which means that they should be controlled by the one who manages the function of achieving long-term AND short-term business goals (sales volume and profit).

Let us introduce you to the New Marketing Mix or Marketing System for Sales and Profit Growth:

1. Goals and Plans;
2. Asset No. 1: Who are we selling to?
3. Asset # 2: What are we selling?
4. Asset # 3: Who Sells?
5. Technological complex # 1: How do we sell?
6. Technological complex No. 2: How much do we sell?
7. Technological complex # 3: How do we sell (sales support)?

Let’s start from afar.

Axiom # 1: Any goal is achievable.

Axiom No. 2: There are more than one (many) ways to achieve the goal.

Axiom No. 3: To achieve any goal, resources and technologies are required (the way of using / applying / consuming resources to achieve the goal). Resources can be money (invested capital, working capital, budgets, including advertising), time, equipment, assortment (number of product groups and positions), stock in the warehouse, employees (salespeople) involved, number of outlets, retail space, number clients, the number of contacts with clients (traffic, letters, calls, meetings), the number of transactions (checks, invoices, contracts, orders …), the amount of effort, etc.

Axiom 4: To achieve a goal greater than previously achieved, you need more resources OR other technologies. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call these alternatives “resource approach” – using more resources and “technology approach” – changing technology.

Observation to Axiom No. 4: For some reason, the majority of both managers and employees for some reason setting higher goals choose the resource approach (they want, they demand, they ask for more resources). Need to raise sales? Give a larger advertising budget, more sales people, more traffic or outgoing and incoming calls, attract more customers, enter new regions, expand the range, etc. This is simply a LAZY option, it is always easier to ask than to think … The consequence of this is that if resources were not given, they did not increase, or their number decreased, the executors (and often managers) consider this to be an objective reason for non-fulfillment or impossibility of fulfillment. Another consequence – since growth is usually achieved through the resource approach (extensively), then the return on each additional invested / involved resource unit (also known as profitability) falls. But there is nothing “objective” and “natural” in this – all you need to do is FIRST use a technological (intensive) approach, that is, find a way to get more results from the same resources, but with the help of changes in technology, and THEN, if necessary , increase the amount of resources. In this case, the return on an additional unit of resource will not fall, but grow. That is, you first need to increase not the number of salespeople, but the average sales volume of each, not the number of customers, but the average turnover per customer, not the number of transactions, but the average transaction, not the number of contacts (traffic), but the conversion rate of contacts (sales funnel) … But there is nothing “objective” and “natural” in this – all you need to do is FIRST use a technological (intensive) approach, that is, find a way to get more results from the same resources, but with the help of changes in technology, and THEN, if necessary , increase the amount of resources. In this case, the return on an additional unit of resource will not fall, but grow. That is, you first need to increase not the number of salespeople, but the average sales volume of each, not the number of customers, but the average turnover per customer, not the number of transactions, but the average transaction, not the number of contacts (traffic), but the conversion rate of contacts (sales funnel) … But there is nothing “objective” and “natural” in this – all you need to do is FIRST use a technological (intensive) approach, that is, find a way to get more results from the same resources, but with the help of changes in technology, and THEN, if necessary increase the amount of resources. In this case, the return on an additional unit of resource will not fall, but grow. That is, you first need to increase not the number of salespeople, but the average sales volume of each, not the number of customers, but the average turnover per customer, not the number of transactions, but the average transaction, not the number of contacts (traffic), but the conversion rate of contacts (sales funnel) … if necessary, increase the amount of resources. In this case, the return on an additional unit of the resource will not fall, but grow. That is, you first need to increase not the number of salespeople, but the average sales volume of each, not the number of customers, but the average turnover per customer, not the number of transactions, but the average transaction, not the number of contacts (traffic), but the conversion rate of contacts (sales funnel) … if necessary, increase the amount of resources. In this case, the return on an additional unit of resource will not fall, but grow. That is, first you need to increase the number of salespeople, and increase the average sales of each, not the number of customers to increase, and the average customer turnover, not the number of transactions, but the average transaction, not the number of contacts (traffic), but the conversion rate of contacts (sales funnel) …

1. Goals and plans

For business development, higher goals are primary. Lofty goals (if they are believed in and are seriously engaged in) force us to improve work technologies (when using a technological approach) and / or grow extensively (when using a resource approach, to increase the amount of business resources).

Therefore, first of all, the main marketing function is setting and selling (communicating to all performers) high goals. It doesn’t matter whether the owner, the board of shareholders, the general director or the board of directors performs this function, but this is the most important marketing function, and the results that will be achieved by the business depend on it and on it. And the higher the goal is set (as long as they believe in it and are engaged in achieving it), the higher the business results will be. If this function is “usurped” by the General Director, the marketer / marketing department provides it anyway: it seeks external and internal opportunities for growth, finds reasons and reasons for setting a higher, ambitious (in a good sense) goal, arguments for its accepted and believed in her. Among such arguments may be external: market opportunities, market and demand growth, regions, segments, customers, weaknesses of competitors, new niches for development; benchmarks – competitors or just similar / similar businesses that are growing faster or have a larger scale of business, which means they show where and how to grow, and prove that such growth / turnover / profit is achievable; and internal: the potential of certain areas, regions, branches, employees, goods, units, the possibility of increasing the competitiveness of the business.

True, simply setting a high goal, even if everyone believes in it, does not in itself guarantee serious growth. We also need a plan to achieve this goal. The goal is what needs to be achieved, and the plan is how we will achieve it. Without a plan, it is not clear “how exactly our mice will become hedgehogs.” The plan describes who, what, where, when, how, by what means and with the help of what will be done to achieve this goal. Should the marketing department participate in the development of the sales plan? Perhaps after setting the goal, such a plan can be developed by the sales director with his subordinates and with the help of analysts. But if not, for the growth of sales, the development of a high-quality sales plan is necessary, which means that someone must implement such a technology and achieve high-quality planning. Anyone who is interested in the growth of sales and profits of this business. In some cases, this is the General Director,

Any business is done on 3 main assets or resources. They invest money and thanks to them they earn money. These assets: customers, a product (everything that is sold is a product, it does not matter if this product has a material shell or a service without a material shell), employees (first of all, sellers and marketers – everyone who is involved in sales and sales management). In the proposed New Marketing Mix for sales growth, we identified these factors / tools with the questions “Who are we selling to? What are we selling? Who is selling? ” The stronger these assets, the higher the business results. The weaker the lower the sales. The stronger the assets, the more sales and profit growth can be achieved, and the easier it is to fulfill the sales plan. Therefore, in order to achieve better results, sales and profit growth, these assets must be a) valued; b) constantly improve; c) filter out the worst ones either by improving them or getting rid of them and replacing them with the best ones; d) constantly seek and attract stronger ones.

2. Who do we sell to?

For the “Clients” asset (the answer to the question to whom we are selling), at least it is necessary to ensure:

1. Collection / storage / availability / processing of information for each client;
2. Availability of information on the volume of sales and profits for each client group / for each client; The presence of tasks for each client (the leader of each salesperson does, but marketing can also implement and control);
3. The concept of “target / key / quality / qualified customer”, counting such customers, increasing their number, attracting more and developing other customers to this level; the task and mechanisms of “customer consolidation”; availability of a mechanism for screening out “non-target” clients (long-term unprofitable, unprofitable, “business terrorists”);
4. The presence of tasks and mechanisms for the constant attraction of new (preferably qualified) customers; Perhaps providing the sales department with “leads” (information about potential customers);
5. The presence of tasks and mechanisms for retaining and ensuring the loyalty of active customers; tasks and mechanisms for returning departed / inactive clients;
6. Availability of tools to control / measure customer satisfaction, efforts to increase satisfaction;
7. Availability of information from the sales department about the needs, requirements, expectations, wishes of customers, decision criteria; implementation of a differentiated sales approach;

3. What do we sell?

For the “Goods” asset (the answer to the question of what we sell), at a minimum, it is necessary to ensure:

1. Clear structuring of product groups, understandable for both customers and salespeople; availability of information on the main product groups and positions (marketing briefs, sales briefs); availability of information materials on the main product groups and positions for customers;
2. Availability of information on sales and profits for each product group and product within the group; highlighting categories; availability of tasks for each main product group / item; including the tasks of increasing sales and profits for each main group / position;
3. The presence of “kits”, MML (minimum mandatory / expected line), combining (more often accompanying) goods so that the client buys not one position, but several, and it would be easier for the salesperson to sell not one position, but several;
4. Opportunities and reasons for both customers and salespeople to buy more items;
5. The presence of a task and a mechanism for the constant search for new potential products for sale (search for suppliers with new products that will become the main / priority / growing / profitable in the future, and / or the development of new products / services for our own production);
6. The presence of a task and a mechanism for increasing the competitiveness of goods / product groups / assortment; including the tasks of measuring and improving the quality of goods and services (better compliance with the requests / criteria / wishes / requirements / expectations of key customers); including the availability of benchmarks – benchmarks with which you can compare your assortment, products and services to which you can strive;
7. Availability of a mechanism for focusing on priority product groups and positions and screening out, getting rid of the least profitable and interesting product groups / positions (unprofitable or with below average profitability, at the last stages of the life cycle, with growth rates that do not correspond to business growth goals);

4. Who is selling?

For the “Employees / Sellers” asset (the answer to the question who sells), at least you need to ensure:

1. Availability of information on the volume of sales and profits from each distribution channel / trade division / salesperson; highlighting the best sellers, average and those above average; highlighting categories; the presence of tasks for each salesperson;
2. (Together with the HR department or the HR department forces) The presence of a task and a mechanism for the constant search, influx, selection of strong potential employees, updating the sales force; the presence of a task and a mechanism for constantly screening out the weakest salesmen; availability of a task and a mechanism for increasing the level of effectiveness and efficiency of each salesperson, achieving constant growth;
3. Benchmarking – the presence of benchmarks in the market (both competitors and businesses that are simply similar in certain criteria) with which company employees (not only sales functions) can compare themselves, see what to strive for and in which direction to develop;
4. Focusing salespeople on priority products and priority customers;
5. Formation of a corporate culture throughout the company that supports sales growth;
6. The interest of everyone who sells (both full-time sales people and other contact group employees, and even freelance sales people-intermediaries) in implementing plans and tasks and achieving the goals mentioned in the previous paragraphs;
7. Successful involvement in all of the above external salespeople from the distribution channel (intermediaries);

If we want to grow extensively / resources, it is enough to increase the number of assets listed above, trying to reduce the return on each asset at a slower rate of increase in these assets. It is better, of course, at the same time to improve each of the assets according to the above points (in this case, in working with assets we use not only a resource, but also a technological approach. Each of the assets also has its own TECHNOLOGIES of work. So, for an asset “Clients” we identified a set of technologies “How do we sell?” Or “Sales techniques”, for the asset “Product” – a set of technologies “How much do we sell?” Or “Price and conditions”, for the asset “Employees / Salesmen” – a set of technologies “C with what do we sell? “or” Ensuring sales “.

5. How do we sell?

What is included in “How do we sell?” or “Sales Techniques”. At a minimum, you need to ensure:

1. The presence in the company and passive (customers come and call on advertising or due to location, on recommendations and habitually make repeated orders) and active sales, separate (growing) plans for them;
2. The presence in the company of active and passive sales to both existing old (regular) customers and new ones, the presence of separate (growing) plans for working with old and new customers; availability of plans / standards for the number of contacts with old and new customers (both primary contacts and, in the case of relevance, contacts at each stage of the sales cycle);
3. Implementation and maintenance of a culture of active sales, consulting sales, a culture of focus on results in sales, a culture of successful sales;
4. Availability of technologies / tools for salespeople to work at each stage of the sales cycle, including algorithms, forms, scripts, text / audio / video standards for each of the tasks in the sales process (cold outgoing and cold incoming contact; repeated contact; formation of attention, interest emotional contact, trust; identification of the client’s situation and problems, actualized and unmanifested needs, requirements, expectations, wishes, criteria, characteristics of motivation and behavior; offers, arguments, presentations of the company and goods, including additional product groups and positions, more units and more expensive / profitable alternatives, argumentation of prices, conditions, urgency of the purchase; anticipation and overcoming of objections; handling complaints, claims, conflicts),as well as the formation of skills and mastery of the use of this toolkit, control over its use, improvement of tools;
5. Availability of marketing support tools to increase the average transaction amount (including increasing the number of positions in a transaction, increasing the number of units of goods in a transaction, increasing the share of a more expensive / profitable product in a transaction) and improving the sales funnel (conversion rate);
6. (Together with the HR function) Availability of tasks and mechanisms for professional and personal improvement of employees; including the availability of benchmarking mechanisms (comparison of their sales techniques with competitors and similar companies); increasing the competitiveness of the company by strengthening sales technologies;
7. Successful involvement in all of the above external salespeople from the distribution channel (intermediaries);

6. How much are we selling?

As part of the technology complex “How much do we sell?” or “Price and Conditions”, at a minimum, you need to provide:

1. Monitoring mechanism and availability of information on the profitability of each of the assets; availability of tasks and mechanisms for increasing profitability due to external opportunities (other suppliers or improvement of conditions for current suppliers), as well as internal opportunities (increase in prices and decrease in the amount of discounts provided; change in goods / services, change in manufacturing technology and delivery of goods to the market);
2. Availability of information on the sensitivity of client groups / categories to price, price elasticity, by main categories / groups / positions of goods and services;
3. Formation of prices and other conditions for the entire assortment and all client groups (including pricing policies, discount and price differentiation mechanisms, payment terms, policies for working with receivables, deferred terms, conditions for the provision of additional services);
4. Constant increase in the price competitiveness of the business, its lines and individual products, as well as the creation, development and dissemination of non-price sources of competitiveness to salespeople and customers; benchmarking of price function;
5. Increasing competitiveness, taking into account the implicit components of the price (transaction costs, cost of ownership, costs of all types of effort and time, associated risks);
6. Providing salespeople (across all sales channels) with tools for price reasoning (argumentation of conditions) and tools for anticipating and overcoming price objections of customers (objections to conditions)
7. Successful involvement in all of the above external salespeople from the distribution channel (intermediaries);

7.What do we sell with?

Within the technological complex “What are we selling with?” or “Securing sales”, at a minimum, you need to ensure:

1. Maximum release of salespeople’s time from all other functions, concentration of the maximum possible percentage of time on sales;
2. Providing salesmen with the availability of the other two assets (GOODS and CLIENTS) of the required quantity and quality (see the previous elements of the mix); including the availability of samples, advertising and POS materials;
3. Ensuring the priority of the sales function in the company, ensuring the orientation of the entire company to the client, sales, sales growth and profits; an assessment of the satisfaction of the sales unit with the rest of the internal suppliers; providing high-quality support to the sales department from all support and support departments;
4. Providing an information system (primarily CRM), convenient for all users;
5. Availability of a client-friendly interface for working with the company: ease of finding complete, reliable, visual, convincing information about the company and goods / services, ease of selection, ordering, payment, receiving goods / services, ease of replacement / renewal / return, solution of questions and problems in the process of use / consumption and repeat purchases;
6. Correct rational and emotional positioning of the company, product / service, salesperson in the market (in the heads of potential and active customers of all target groups);
7. Flexible and prompt response to any external and internal changes, making the necessary adjustments to all listed elements of the marketing mix in response to these changes, or anticipating these changes;

All of the above was not invented by the author of this article, but came with practical experience in increasing the sales of companies of various industries and sizes in 12 countries over the past 18 years. Are there any companies today in which ALL ITEMS are implemented and work perfectly? Not yet, you can be the first … Nevertheless, there are already many companies in which the author made projects, which on the way to this and successfully move to the described points, have already successfully implemented some of these points …

The listed 7 factors should become the matrix of thinking, the structure of the Geek web  solution SMM plan. When planning your activities and the activities of the company, you need to look for growth opportunities and plan your actions in these 7 areas. Also, these are 7 areas of analysis and control: if a month has passed and we have done nothing in any of the 7 areas, we have missed time and opportunities for growth. If the volume of sales has changed over the past period (it does not matter whether it increases or decreases), then something has changed in one or more of the 7 listed factors. If it has changed by your will – congratulations, you are in control of the process. If it has changed regardless of your desire, you still have many opportunities to use or compensate for these changes. Go ahead!

Analyze whether your idea of ​​marketing tasks and your marketing activity in the company corresponds to what is described in this article. Each list can be for you both a “checklist” for auditing a marketing function, and a guide to action. Ensuring what is described here can significantly increase sales and profits, and make the marketing function a key factor in achieving this.

Application:

If you decide to introduce the authorial Complex of Marketing Tools for Sales Growth in your company, also use the questions for elaboration from the Memo to ensure sales growth from Boris Jalilo:

Memo: Sales Growth System

1. Goals, plans … and a breakthrough in the head

Do you have a goal to increase the sales and profit of the company over the next year (five years, a month, a week, a day)? If so, how many percent and how many dollars, hundreds, thousands, millions?) Where are these numbers recorded and who knows about them?

How ambitious is this goal? Is this percentage of growth higher than the percentage of inflation, the percentage of growth in input prices, the percentage of market growth, the percentage of growth that the main competitor made? Is it higher than the growth rate of the most successful and dynamically developing competitor? Is this goal higher than the percentage of growth that you achieved in the past year (period)? Is it higher than the percentage of growth you have ever achieved during your business (other than the first year)?

You can also compare the target percent of the company’s growth with the planned percent of growth for individual lines of business, brands, product groups, regions, retail outlets, managers … Why do you need other areas, brands, product groups, points, managers …? Why not replace them with faster ones? And in general, how long has your business been drinking Activia to get rid of toxins?

Is the sales growth rate higher than the planned cost growth rate? Is the percentage of profit growth higher than sales growth?

Whose numbers are these? Who is responsible for them? Are these goals privatized? That is, are they distributed among the specific responsible up to the performer on the front line (manager, sales representative, salesperson …)? Does each piece of the planned volume / profit have its own “owner” (responsible)? Does each employee of the company (or at least everyone except the service personnel) have their own “piece of the goal” for which they are responsible? Do they understand how their “pieces” are interconnected?

Are the goals distributed by assortment groups (items)? Are they distributed by customer groups or individual customers (if the goals are for the day, week or month, then for customers, if longer-term, then for groups)?

If you want to raise the target by, say, another 20%, how do you split the extra piece between the performers / responsible / assortment / customer groups?

Are the goals outlined for all the indicators on which the sales volume depends? Do we know how many clients will be required to fulfill the plan and what should be the average turnover for clients? Do we know how many transactions will be required for this and what the average transaction amount should be (average account, average bill, average order …)? Are specific activities planned that will help achieve such values ​​of indicators?

If these questions have already played the role of a nail in the right place, caused itching and a desire to urgently do something – I’m glad. Try to answer these questions anyway, and based on the answers received, change the goals and plans of the company. This will already provide you with an additional increase in sales and profits. Below are the tools for more significant growth.

2. Who do we sell to? Who are we going to grow on?

Who is your target customer group? And who is not yours? How many potential customers do you have? How many of them (quantity, percentage) are recorded in your client base (do you know their contacts)? What proportion of your customer base is active (how many and what percentage of customers have bought today, this week, this month, this year, ever)? What is your market share in the number of customers, in the number of units of purchased goods, in turnover? How often do your customers buy? Do they always buy only from you? Who else? Why buy from you? Why buy from them? How to make you buy more often, but less often from them?

Do you record information about each client? Which one? Are you using it to boost your sales? How?

Are you satisfied with your target group? Solvency, willingness to pay, willingness to pay more than competitors, consumption volumes?

How much of your turnover did you make in the past period with old clients, and how much with new ones? Whom do you call old and whom do you call new? What part of the turnover (in percent and in dollars) will you make in the next period for old and how much for new clients? Is the plan divided into work with old clients and work with new clients (there are goals for their number, average bill / invoice)?

Does the turnover for each client grow over time? How do we achieve an increase in turnover per customer and an increase in average turnover per customer?

Who are your largest customers, what is the share of their turnover? Is the list growing, is their turnover growing and is their share decreasing?

Are your customers changing in any way? How will they change over the next period? How will their requirements and preferences change?

Is the customer mix changing? What is the percentage of clients and what is the share in the turnover of clients who have been working with you for more than a year (period)? What percentage of new attracted customers continue to work with you after the first purchase (make repeat purchases)? How much has changed and how has the composition and structure of clients changed over the past year?

What market share do you have today? Is it falling or growing? How much / how many times can you grow before your market share reaches 30% (20%)?

What other new markets can you enter? Are you planning to leave? Went over the past year?

3. What are we selling? What will we do the growth on?

What is the assortment structure? How many product groups / items? What groups / positions / brands are the most popular? And the most profitable ones? Are they growing faster than others? And what are the most popular and the most profitable and with the highest growth rates? Can you drag any other positions into this category? Do you plan to do this and what do you plan to do for this? How many positions make 20% of the turnover? What about 20% profit?

How much of the turnover is done in old positions and how much in new ones? What positions have appeared over the past year (period)? Which of them have grown to the minimum level of turnover / profit, and which have been closed / withdrawn from the range?

What groups / positions have growth potential in the planning period by at least a percentage by which the company should grow in terms of turnover / profit for the period?

What groups / positions do you plan to withdraw from the assortment in the next period?

On which groups / positions will the main growth be made in the planning period?

How are these groups / positions better than competitors? Why will customers choose them?

Do sellers (sales representatives, sales managers, sellers …) know the assortment structure, functional properties and customer values ​​for these groups / positions?

Are the key arguments for these groups / positions spelled out?

Is there an auxiliary sales toolkit for these groups / positions?

How did you improve the quality of the goods in the main groups? How do you plan to improve in the planning period? How do you plan to improve the quality of customer service?

4. Who is selling? By whose forces will we make growth?

Who is responsible for sales in the company? Who is involved and who is not involved in sales? Who else does sales depend on? Who provides sales with anything? Who else (and how) affects sales? Who is the customer contact group? Who is leading them? Are all of the above interested in achieving sales and profit growth goals, achieving intermediate performance targets?

In answering these questions, think about not only staff or managers, but also external staff: distributors, suppliers, contractors, etc.

Does each of the above clearly understand his role in achieving the growth goals? Does everyone know their measurable goals for the planning period (day, week, month, year, five years)?

Do we know what kind of knowledge and skills each of them needs to achieve these goals? Do they possess this knowledge and skills?

What proportion of sales over the past year was made by old employees (salespeople), and how much by new? And what will be done in the planning period? What is the proportion of old and what is the proportion of new salespeople in total? Who left the old ones and why? Who came from the new ones and how were they attracted and selected? Is there a constant influx of newbies?

Which of the sales people makes the main 20% of sales? Which of the sellers will make the main 20% increase?

What are we doing to retain and develop employees? Who of the leaders grew up in the company, and who came from the outside?

5. How much do we sell? Is our pricing policy driving growth?

Are we price competitive? Does the price allow us to earn enough profit to invest in business development? Are customers interested in high volume purchases through our pricing / discount system?

Do we regularly reduce costs? Are we lowering prices without lowering profitability?

What price sales tools (promotions) do you plan to use in the planning period?

What is the share of expensive (more profitable) goods in the check / account today? How much should it grow? By what means?

6. How do we sell? Are we armed with sales techniques?

What proportion of sales are passive sales and how much are active sales? What share and volume of growth will be made through passive sales and how much through active sales?

How much should the number of outgoing contacts with clients, the number of incoming contacts with clients increase in the planning period? How much should the sales funnel indicator for inbound and outbound contacts grow?

What sales techniques, sales tools, blanks (scripts, sales book, recommended arguments and objection answers) are used in sales?

How do we develop and plan to develop in the planning period the professionalism and efficiency of our sales people?

Do we constantly compare our service and sales practice with the main competitors and market leaders, do we try to surpass them in terms of sales and service technology?

7. With what are we selling? Are we provided with everything necessary for growth (including production supply, etc.).

What are the company’s salesmen provided with to familiarize the customer with the product? How is information about the company and the product communicated to the client before contacting the salesperson? What are all the senses (sight, hearing, touch, smell) of the client busy with while getting to know the product, getting to know the company, communicating with the sales person? What remains with the client after contact with the seller?

What opportunities does the client have to get acquainted with the product and purchase the product bypassing the sales person?

What help / support do sellers receive from other departments and senior management in the process of work?

Does the salesperson have the required quantity and quality of the goods at the time and place required by the client?

How is the salesperson’s time saved and more than 80% of the time focused directly on the sale?