Having a sales department policy is the foundation of success for any organization, no matter how big or small. Whether you have one or one hundred sales people, you need to have clearly defined guidelines and expectations. This keeps everyone on the same course and provides metrics for measuring results.
The vision and goals of the organization are the starting point for all departmental policies. They are especially important to the sales team because it is these people who are going to be the face of your company to the outside world. They must understand who you are.
The what, who, and where are critical. What do you sell? This is the section where you talk about the actual product or service. Your sales team needs to have a complete grasp of what it is they are selling. You can insert manuals, sale sheets, and brochures here if they will help your sales people understand the product or service.
Who is your client? You should have a clear picture of what makes a client, and conversely, who is not a client. You don’t want your sales team pursuing prospects who aren’t really qualified. By sharing with them what an ideal client looks like, you help them target their sales efforts.
Where can they sell? Do you have territories? If so, how are they designated? What happens if a sales person gets a lead for a client in someone else’s territory? If you don’t have territories, are there geographical boundaries? Or do you want your sales people focusing on a particular size of company or industry? Spell it out.
When it comes to values, methods, and procedures, do you have particular methods you prefer your sales staff use? Do you offer platforms like webinars they can conduct? Do you exhibit at or attend tradeshows? Do you have a way for call-ins to be distributed? Get the point? You don’t want to stifle a salesperson by making them sell in a certain way. However, if there are resources and tools you offer to your sales team, put them in writing. If there are certain things you don’t want your sales staff doing, like spamming, tell them. Make sure everyone knows what they can and can’t do.
Clarity and consistency make a big difference here. You can’t over-communicate. Think about these things from the perspective of someone just walking into the company. They don’t know what you know. Your job is to make sure they have all the information they need to be successful.
The next thing to take into consideration is the salesperson’s perspective. Too often companies don’t think about things from the employee’s point of view. What do they need to know?
Let’s start with product knowledge. We talked about this in departmental direction, but it bears repeating. This is where you make sure your staff knows how they will become familiar with the product or service. Do they go to training? Is there information available online? What materials are available to them? Who is available to answer questions?
Equally important is this – what is the company’s expectation of how long it should take someone to learn about the product or service so they are capable of selling it? When new items are introduced how will they be shared with the sales staff?
Along the same lines is explaining what resources are available to the sales team. They need to know who they can turn to for answers. Will they be given a mentor? Will someone ride along with them on sales calls for a period of time? How much autonomy do they have to make decisions about how they quote a prospect? Are there templates?
Compensation is, of course, a huge part of a sales team policy. Not only should you put the compensation plan in writing, but it should be clear and easy to follow. Anyone should be able to know, at any time, how they are doing. I’ve seen companies create compensation policies that were so complicated they needed a programmed excel file to determine payment. The result? A lack of trust. The salespeople never really knew if they were being accurately compensated.
In addition, refrain from changing the compensation system too frequently. Determine what makes sense, put it in writing, and stick to it. And, please, make sure it’s fair. If you set your staff up for success, they will exceed your expectations. If you create a structure that is difficult to reach, they’ll become frustrated and probably leave. Then all that training and time you’ve invested in them will be lost.
Along with compensation and performance reviews is performance expectations. What are the sales goals? How will they be evaluated? The goals are tied to compensation, so they must be clearly spelled out. Remember to indicate the expectations of new employees versus seasoned.
Performance reviews are also a key aspect of an effective sales team policy. When and how will they be reviewed? What are the criteria upon which they will be evaluated? Make sure you put it in writing, and adhere to it. All too often, employees go too long without being reviewed. Then something happens and their manager reacts. It’s not a good situation. When you want your sales team to be successful, you have to give them timely feedback on how they are doing. Make sure you indicate in the policy the steps that will be taken to help them improve if necessary. Also include the rewards they will receive when they meet or exceed your expectations.
Lastly, let them know if there are opportunities for growth within the organization. If there are, indicate how someone positions themselves for growth. How are they evaluated, and what can they do to ensure they have those opportunities.
Now let’s talk about some best practices. There really are things you can do to make sure you are presenting the best policy for the best results. Some of them we’ve already touched on. The first, and in my opinion guiding principle, is to make it success oriented.
Write your sales team policy from a standpoint of wanting everyone to be successful. Talk about what it takes to be successful and how the organization works with the team to ensure that success.
As I said before, make sure it is clear. There’s no need for complicated, lengthy prose. Say it straight so it is understood. That’s the goal!
Having said that, make sure it is content rich. Say everything you need to say. Don’t leave anything out. Lack of information can cause problems that are unnecessary.
When we talked about compensation, I mentioned simple. Keep it straightforward and clear. This stance goes along with being success oriented and trustworthy. While you never want to complicate anything, this is a place where simple really matters. A grade school kid who can add, subtract and multiply should be able to figure it out.
Indicate how you train your staff. I’m talking about product training, and professional development training. Do you offer sales training? Or presentations training? Or, how about leadership training to those people who wish to grow with the company? Whatever training you offer, spell it out here. What are the guidelines, expectations, and time frames? How do you monitor to make sure the training is working?
My favorite part of the policy is expectations and consequences – mostly because, for some reason, people avoid it. The truth is, we all have expectations around our employee’s performance and success. And in reality there are (or should be) consequences when those expectations are met or not. When we don’t communicate them clearly, we create a vague situation that isn’t good for anyone. I submit it is mostly bad for the people who are meeting your expectations. They have to put up with people not meeting expectations without any consequences. This causes dissension and creates a bad environment for everyone. So does unreasonable expectations and consequences. So keep them reasonable. Remember, you want to set people up for success.
You want the expectations and consequences to be clear and consistent. They have to be the same for everyone. Consider them carefully and then commit them to paper.
And equally important is to identify the monitoring system. How will you monitor each person to be sure they are meeting your expectations? That should be included in the policy. Nothing should be left out. You want everyone to know what is expected of them, what they will gain when they meet or exceed those expectations, and what they will encounter if they don’t. You also want them to know what to expect in terms of how they will be monitored and evaluated.
Clear and consistent communication keeps them from guessing or drawing their own conclusions. It also prevents anyone from being able to say that they didn’t know.
This leads us to communication channels. When it comes to communication, consider all the ways people communicate – direction (who to and from), methods (email, phone, reports), dos and don’ts.
How does the leadership communicate with the sales staff, and conversely, how does the sales staff communicate up the chain? Are there reports they are supposed to submit? How often and with what information? How will the leadership acknowledge and respond? What about situations when the sales person needs assistance or has a question? In other words, those times outside of the reporting cycle.
How are the sales people expected to communicate with other departments? Are there forms or protocols that are supposed to be followed?
Are there guidelines on how the sales people are expected to communicate with prospects? Many organizations have expectations here – for example, they expect their sales people to go door to door. That should be in writing.
If you expect your sales people to create their own structure, say that! Don’t leave them wondering if you are going to drive that train.
What kind of follow-up do you expect your sales people to do with current clients? Some organizations have the salespeople hand off their new clients to inside customer service reps. In this situation, the sales people have no continuing contact with their clients. Other organizations expect their salespeople to maintain relationships with their clients. Whatever you choose, put it in writing.
Now let’s talk about some legal considerations. Whenever you put a policy together and put it in writing, you want to be sure that you are following guidelines that will keep you out of trouble. The first is equal employment. Your policies have to be the same for everyone. No playing favorites or having different rules for different people. And I’m not just talking about sex, race, and the like. I’m talking about top performers versus others.
You want to follow guidelines for vehicle use and expense reimbursement. Of course, the pay schedule and guidelines must follow legal practices. There should be a non-compete and a non-disclosure form signed by all sales staff, and the information about them should be in the policy. Explain why you have them and what your expectations are.
Identify the work schedule and keep it sane. In other words, unless there is a true business reason for the sales team to be in the office at 4pm on a Friday, don’t make it part of the schedule. You want your sales people out making sales. Having them come in at 4pm on Friday is really just a tactic and tells them you don’t trust them.
And to make sure you are following federal and local laws, visit the department of labor online and your state government websites.
In conclusion, remember this: Knowledge is power. When you create an effective sales team policy that speaks to the company’s and the employee’s needs, you empower everyone to succeed. As we’ve seen, expectations and consequences are key parts of any effective policy. And remember, you can’t over communicate!