What are the criteria for evaluating a sales manager? How to distinguish a "good" manager from a "bad" one. We evaluate the efficiency of the sales manager. Mystery shopping method

The effectiveness of a sales manager's work directly depends on many factors:

1. Personal predisposition;

2. Ability to learn quickly;

3. Desires to actively develop;

4. A good example;

5. Successful mentor;

6. Effective teaching;

7. Interesting motivation for the manager.

The task of a competent leader or HR manager is to determine the presence of the first three parameters from the above list at the interview stage. If you hire everyone in the sales team who will submit a resume and will not “disappear” after the interview, there are risks of spending a lot of time “swinging” the wrong managers. There is a mass different ways to select promising "salespeople" at the stage of the first acquaintance (at an interview) with potential employees: assessment centers, personality tests, case solving, career guidance checks.

What are the risks if we make a mistake at the interview stage and hire the wrong manager?

— The manager will not recoup the time, labor and financial investments spent on him during his work;

— A failed manager can bring confusion to the ranks of "salesmen", covering up his incompetence. For example, he may blame the product, his leader, or the company for his failures;

— can carry away a lot of valuable customer information;

— A company can undermine its reputation in the eyes potential clients.

Suppose the most promising salespeople were interviewed, the company provided them with everything they needed to ensure that managers were able to show high performance.

So how do you tell a “good” sales manager from a “bad” one?

How to evaluate the performance of a sales manager?

At first glance, everything seems obvious. “Well, of course, performance indicators will answer this question,” you say. Those who sell more are the “good” managers. But not everything is so simple. Especially if your company operates in the B2B sector.

Of course, strong sales results reflect to some extent the effectiveness of the manager. However, focusing only on this indicator may turn out to be a short-sighted assessment of the “salesperson's” work as a whole.

Let's look at various options for the development of events.

The manager shows high sales figures, fulfills the set plans, but after purchasing the "product" customers remain dissatisfied and prefer to continue cooperation with your competitors (for the B2B sector - provided excellent post-sales service is provided).

Cause: the result obtained differs from the expectations originally obtained at the time of the sale.

Solution: pay attention of a successful employee not only to sales (fulfillment of plans), but also to quality. Try to change the motivation system, link bonuses to the continuation of cooperation with the client.
The manager shows the highest sales results, fulfills the set plans, but the sales volume this employee lower than it was in previous periods.

Cause: a successful manager does not feel competition or does not receive additional motivation to constantly improve performance.

Solution: if you still can't find an equal to a successful manager, raise your plans (but you have to be very careful not to demotivate the most successful employee), or introduce additional motivation that will make the manager want to overfulfill the plans.
The manager shows high sales figures, fulfills the set plans, but disorganized work and problems with document management cause customer dissatisfaction.

Cause: inattention and disorganization of the employee. The main thing for a manager is to fulfill plans to obtain financial motivation. Lack of awareness of all stages of sales, including closing a deal.

Solution: control of the employee's work in order to organize his full-fledged work, the introduction of a system of penalties in the absence of an internal awareness of the need to comply with all business processes (again, be careful, the introduction of penalties can be a dangerous decision).
The manager shows high sales performance, fulfills the set plans, but ignores the decisions of the manager and the rules of the company, introduces disorganization and disruptions in the work process to the ranks of other managers.

Cause: awareness of one's own exclusivity and irreplaceability.

Solution: searching for employees who can seriously compete with the manager, raising plans or proposing a new direction of work (for example, mentoring newcomers) to complicate the task for the "arrogant" manager.

As you've seen, sometimes you can't mistake a “good” manager for one. But it is always important to look at the work of employees in the long term and from different angles. Sometimes just the momentary is not enough high performance work. You must imagine how events can develop and see the future of your department and all its components. Pay attention to the different aspects of employees' work.

I don’t think it’s necessary to summarize and list the qualities, professional and personal, that a “good” sales manager should have. The main thing is to pay attention not only to direct, but also indirect criteria that determine the effectiveness of a manager's work.

I wish you excellent skills in the selection of effective employees and "good" sales managers for you.

Constantly needs to increase the growth and development of its structure. The level of sales efficiency significantly affects the main activities and the success of the company. How to correctly evaluate all important criteria in work and build successful strategy business, learn from this article.

Concept

The very concept of "sales efficiency" is a defining indicator of a company's profitability. From this it becomes clear how the company attracts interest from the consumer.

When it comes to efficiency, there are many issues related to customer acquisition, measurement criteria, financial turnover and overall productivity. But in a concrete sense, we can refer to this as an indicator of the competitive level of a company in the market or a certain strategy.

Grade

The first step is to group expenses by distribution channel and collect all sales data. This will be needed to create an accounting system and analyze the relationship between the cost of the product and the sale.

Distribution channels can be divided into several categories:

Direct - employee salaries, insurance premiums, purchasing or manufacturing.
Additional - transport, telephony, Internet, travel, etc.
Specific - bonuses for sales volume, input money for the sale of goods, if necessary, etc.

The effectiveness of sales channels helps to find out following indicators:

Social and personality indicators

You can also compare key performance indicators, since it is not only economic standards that affect efficiency in general. In addition to the financial side, subjective categories should be considered.

motivation of employees;
psychological resources;
the level of staff satisfaction;
team relationships;
lack of staff turnover;
corporate component (team spirit);
competent distribution of efforts in activities.

Social indicators require monitoring at the stages of planning and setting goals, during their achievement, as well as at the stage production process... All results taken together represent the personal level of compliance with the developed business plan.

Main factors

Key sales performance indicators:

Analysis

To analyze the effectiveness of sales and the growth of the sales economy, several key factors need to be assessed:

performance assessment of sales managers;
the number of employees in the sales department;
focus on target audience;
the number of buyers;
the number of regular, potential and lost customers;
targeted use of company funds;
targeted distribution of all company resources;
general economic indicators;
highest income rate
the reasons for the refusal of potential customers;
the level of communication between the manager and the buyer.

Other factors that affect performance also play a special role:

Sales department work

The effectiveness of the sales channel definitely depends on the efficiency of the staff. In addition to the fact that the number of employees corresponds to the volume of work, it should be understood how well they are coping with their professional duties. To understand the effectiveness of work, you need to consider the following criteria:

Costs and time spent on finding new employees.
The number and quality of realizations.
Contractual terms, convenient sales system for both parties.
Data on the work of managers.
The structure of the sales department.
Additional motivation as a reward for a good level of performance.
Retraining of specialists, the possibility of development and career growth.

Sales

Conversion shows the effectiveness of product sales. It is an indicator of the level of performance, called a sales funnel, and specifically, a marketing model that represents the stages of a product being sold before a deal is closed.

It consists of three important indicators: number of visitors ( point of sale or an Internet resource), direct requests from customers (live demand) and the number of sales. Sales performance is largely based on the interaction of the seller with the buyer. 3 main levels of employee readiness are determined:

Improving efficiency

Many aspects are considered to change the situation in order to improve sales efficiency. To analyze current problems, you should pay attention to such important categories of activities as:

sales strategy and planning;
pricing;
product presentation;
meetings with clients;
telephone communication;
business correspondence, participation in events;
efficiency of service provision.

The effectiveness of sales also depends on the established goals and methods of development of the organization. To develop the necessary skills, form your own convenient system sales, as well as highlight the strengths and weaknesses that need to be worked on to improve efficiency, you need to disassemble the following aspects of the work:

Determination of goals and priorities.
Market requirements.
Consumer interests.
Service model, features of service provision and sales.
Marketing plan.
Analysis of information received from the customer.
Product presentation.
A strategy for offering products to customers.
Specificity of proposals.
Manager's behavior and contact with the buyer.
Unique offer that distinguish the company from competitors.
Negotiation.
Registration of advertising materials.
Work with objections.
Customer support.
Image and reputation of the company.
Effective advertising.
A wide range of distribution channels.
Personnel training, training.
Individual approach to the buyer.
Preparation and style of business documents.
Participation in competitions and events.

A detailed study of all aspects will help to achieve effective communication with customers, will help to compile statistics of calls, assess the effectiveness of sales, form a client base, prepare an assortment and promotional materials, find out how motivated employees are, minimize mistakes, attract new customers, increase the level of professionalism.

Boosting methods

The tasks of the sales department are clear - it is necessary to interest the target audience as much as possible, to provide competent customer service, to increase consumer demand, to provide information about the product in an accessible way, and to establish strong contact with the buyer.

For effective sales, you can use different methods, taking into account the problematic sides of the company. To enhance the productive work of activities, it is necessary:

Expansion of distribution channels

Distribution of products is an important part of any business. The more sales channels a company has, the more successful and profitable it becomes, and therefore increases economic efficiency sales.

COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF SALES MANAGERS BY QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE INDICATORS.
Sukhanova I.M., Skriptunova E.A.
Sales Management June 2007

Effective management sales of any company is impossible without constant and comprehensive attention to the work of sales managers. The success of salespeople is one of the main components of good sales for a company. However, in modern companies it is not uncommon for sales managers to be left to their own devices. No one sets them any tasks (except, perhaps, the fulfillment of a certain sales plan), no one controls how effectively their work is organized, no one gives them feedback on the quality of their work. Of course, this speaks, first of all, of the low level of management of the sales department, on the one hand, and weak support from the company's personnel service, on the other. The task of the head of the sales department is to clearly set tasks for the sales managers and monitor their implementation. The task of the personnel service is to provide the head of the sales department with methodological support, tools for working with personnel. One of these sales management tools is a comprehensive assessment of sales managers in terms of quantitative and qualitative indicators, which will be discussed in this article.

First, let's remember what is the essence of the term "assessment".

Evaluation is the process of determining the effectiveness of employees' activities to achieve goals, which provides information for making further management decisions.

The concept of assessment includes the study of an employee according to a number of parameters:

performance results;
features of behavior;
performance job duties;
level of competence;
personal characteristics.

Thus, a comprehensive assessment is an assessment of all the listed parameters. However, this is not all. The complexity of the assessment of sales managers also lies in the fact that all of the above parameters are assessed from several positions: “from the inside” (by managers, managers) and “from the outside” (by the company's clients and, if necessary, attracted experts), using various methods.

In addition, to ensure the comprehensiveness of the assessment, it should be carried out both in terms of quantitative and qualitative indicators. Let's consider what quantitative and qualitative indicators are suitable for evaluating sales managers:

the sales volume of the manager is consolidated (total sales for a certain period, the assessment period must correspond to the planning period);
sales volume segmented by different reasons(by groups of goods (services), by groups of clients, by territory of sales, by terms of payment);
sales dynamics for a certain period (month, quarter, year);
growth (or decrease) in the number of clients - general indicator and indicators for specific customer groups;
expanding customer orders - the dynamics of sales to regular customers;
average price (size) of the transaction;
accounts receivable, including overdue accounts receivable;
indicators of participation in the company's shares; the number of products sold, for which the tasks for its sale have been set (for example, within the framework of the "product of the month" promotion or promotions for the sale of a "stuck" product ") and others.

Please note that the assessment indicators directly follow from the company's goals for the current period, as well as from the employee's job responsibilities. Therefore, in order to choose adequate (and at the same time not unnecessary, since this makes the assessment heavier and makes it a poorly working tool) quantitative indicators, it is necessary to conduct a thorough analysis of the company's goals and the department goals arising from them. And also take into account the indicators recorded in regulatory documents concerning the activities of the sales manager (job descriptions, standards, work regulations).

Obviously, the quantitative assessment of sales managers is an “insider's” assessment. It can be carried out by the head of the sales department, it can be fully automated within the framework of the implemented CRM system (Customer Relationship Management). The assessment method will be analysis for all of the above indicators.

With regard to quantitative indicators, it is important to remember the following: total sales, as well as some other indicators, depend not only on sales managers, but also on the work of the entire company as a whole. A simple example that is common for many companies: The client sends a fax with any request for the sales department, the secretary receives it and ... forgets to send it ... or ... it is received by the one who was closest to the fax and ... leaves it on the table, and the secretary who comes decides that someone has forgotten document ... therefore it (the document) is of no value and ... throws it away. Therefore, this alone (sales volume) or another quantitative indicator is clearly not enough for a comprehensive assessment of managers. On the other hand, the number of indicators exceeding 5 dramatically reduces the value of the assessment procedure itself, since it takes too much time to calculate and analyze it, and feedback on the assessment results is only useful when it is provided promptly.

If the implementation of quantitative indicators to a greater extent affects the economic results of the company's activities, then the implementation of qualitative indicators also affects the company's image, its reputation. For example, a sales manager shows good results in terms of quantitative indicators, but at the same time is constantly late for meetings and forgets to fill out documents on time. Clients tolerate this (for the time being), this does not affect the volume of their purchases, but satisfaction with working with this manager is gradually decreasing. Accordingly, the attitude towards the manager is transferred to the attitude towards the whole company.

Also, an assessment of quality indicators makes it possible to assess the potential of a manager, possible ways his professional and career development. In addition, there are also relationships in the team, with colleagues in the department and employees of other departments. It also makes sense to evaluate, since the effectiveness of communications, loyalty to the company, the desire to solve problems, and not look for excuses also directly affect the activities of the entire company as a whole.

Consider the qualitative indicators by which it makes sense to evaluate sales managers:

Competencies (business, professional quality). Competency assessment allows you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees, select the necessary training programs for them, and determine the prospects for further development.
Customer satisfaction with the sales manager. Assessment of customer satisfaction is necessary for timely action to correct the situation, for correcting the manager's behavior, as well as for the development of comprehensive programs to increase customer loyalty.
Awareness of customers about new products and changes in the company. Informing the client directly affects the volume of his purchases. It often happens that a client would gladly purchase certain goods (and purchases them elsewhere), but simply does not suspect such a possibility.
Performing discipline level. Under performing discipline we understand that there are no delays for work and appointments, no leaving work ahead of time, and the execution of orders on time. The discipline of the manager directly affects the image of the company. In one company, the lead manager allowed himself to come to work when it was convenient for him. As a result, in order to contact him, customers had to call the company 2-3 times, wasting time and nerves. Failure to fulfill orders on time can lead to a decrease in the company's reputation and direct losses. Quite often we have to observe approximately the following situation. The company receives a request from a client. The head of the department promises the client that the manager will contact him, find out all the details, and within three days will prepare offer... Then the manager gives the manager the appropriate order. The manager does not call the client, but sends a commercial offer a week later. Naturally, by this time, the client, without waiting for the call, decides that the company is not interested in this and turns to another place where his request is fulfilled more accurately. As a result, the client is lost.
Compliance with the rules, norms and procedures of the company (recorded in corporate documents, as well as reporting standards and interaction of services). Regulatory documents are developed in order to increase the efficiency of the work and interaction of the company's divisions. Due to the inconsistency of actions in companies, duplication of functions often occurs, or vice versa, some important types of work are not done at all. To increase the productivity of work, which directly affects the cost of products or services, various regulations and standards are being developed. If the manager does not consider it necessary to follow them, then he thereby harms the company, since his actions reduce the productivity of the entire company, and also have a destructive effect on the atmosphere in the team. When someone does not follow the rules (quite often in a demonstrative manner), it provokes other employees to do the same.
Loyalty of the sales manager to the company. Loyalty almost always affects the employee's performance. Loyal employee tries to do his job as best he can, strives to achieve a result, and not just “sit out” at work for the allotted time, is not indifferent to problems, tries to creatively approach their solution, and in general is sick of the cause. All this, naturally, affects the results of his work. Many factors affect employee loyalty: satisfaction with their work, its content, a sense of fairness of remuneration, relationships in the team, trust in management, recognition of the employee's merits, and much more. Most of these factors can be corrected, so it is important to track them in order to notice the symptoms of trouble in time and take action.
Features of employee motivation. It is important for the head of the department to know what are stimulating factors for his subordinates, and what does not in any way affect the results of work. Moreover, for different employees, these can be completely different factors. For some, the main thing is money, all other incentives are simply not perceived. For some, money is important, but only if the team has a good atmosphere and his merits are appreciated. And for someone it is very important to gain experience and make a career. And it is very important for a manager to understand what each employee "breathes" with, because only then will he be able to somehow influence them. Therefore, the assessment of the characteristics of motivation is important as a personnel management tool in the case of building a motivation system, and for career development, and in general for increasing the efficiency of the department.
Cooperation, establishment of productive relationships with other departments. The head of the department needs to understand how his employees are able and willing to establish good relationships with other departments. It is not uncommon for sales managers to perceive themselves as some kind of elite department, in front of which everyone must "walk on their hind legs." Other departments have to put up with this. But if such a situation arises, sooner or later the moment will come when the sales department (or some of its employees) will need help and assistance. And then other departments will pay back in full for past grievances.

To assess quality indicators, internal reserves can be used, as a rule, the assessment can be carried out by the head of the sales department, heads and managers of "related" departments. However, the external assessment is no less interesting. An external assessment can be carried out by the company's clients, as well as by external experts. It makes sense to involve external experts to assess such parameters as the satisfaction of the sales manager with the activities in the company; level of competence development; features of motivation; structure of relationships with colleagues; general loyalty.

Consider the main methods for assessing quality indicators.

Personality questionnaires make it possible to assess a large number of employees and obtain quantitative and descriptive results of assessment of both personality traits and competencies, which is especially important for large companies... Quantitative results allow you to compare employees with each other according to certain qualities. This assessment method is most appropriate for conducting annual certification, where it is necessary to assess the level of competence of employees and outline a professional development plan for them. It is appropriate to use questionnaires to form a reserve for leadership positions, as well as when holding internal competitions for a certain position
Ability tests allow assessing a person's performance in a certain type of activity (analysis of numerical, verbal, technical information, reaction speed, attention to detail). The advantages of this method are the speed of implementation (from 10 minutes), the ability to assess a large number of employees and obtain quantitative results. The reliability of the forecast in this case depends on the accuracy of determining the key abilities required for a particular position and the choice of tests for their assessment.
Professional tests are developed for a specific job and test the knowledge and skills that are key for it. They can be created by the direct supervisor to assess the employees of his department, as well as external experts. consulting companies, specialized specialists of other organizations.
A competency interview is a structured conversation aimed at obtaining a detailed description of real-life work situations that a person has encountered in their professional activity... The advantage of this method is that the interview questions can be easily "adjusted" to the required set of competencies for the assessment. An example of questions and possible answers is given in the Appendix (box).
Assessment according to the "360 degrees" method is the receipt of data on a person's actions in real work situations and on the qualities shown by him from people who interact with him (from bosses, colleagues, associates, subordinates, clients). Getting information from different sources makes this method quite reliable.
Profile business cases are an example of a typical working situation, in which the key qualities and competencies for a given position should be manifested and assessed. A business case is a problem with many unknowns: it contains information that the assessed must study and make a specific decision; there is characters, also involved in this situation (the subject must interact with them). The role of additional heroes in a business case can be played by work colleagues or employees of the HR department. The accuracy of the choice of a typical working situation and a professionally created business case determine the reliability of the forecast when using this method.
An assessment center is a combination of various listed methods for assessing not individual competencies, but their set, as key for a given group of positions or for the company as a whole. This method is considered one of the most predictive, since a person in many situations is assessed by several specialists. Its accuracy is primarily determined by how correctly the key competencies are identified, as well as the quality of the cases developed for their assessment and the professionalism of the assessors.
Assessment by KPI (Key Performance Indicators) is the most formalized method for assessing employee performance. It makes sense to use this method in large and highly developed companies (those companies where management by goals is implemented, company goals are developed, plans are drawn up and reports are prepared both at the level of the company as a whole, and for each department and specialist). It requires a well-developed methodology for identifying KPIs and, preferably, automation of the assessment. To given view Evaluation really worked not only to control the results, but also to improve the efficiency of employees, he must, on the one hand, take into account the strategic goals of the company, on the other, be clear and understandable for each employee.
Customer surveys. A survey of customer satisfaction with cooperation with a company shows, among other things, how competently the manager builds relationships with customers, whether he knows his needs, whether he informs about new products on time, whether he is trying to expand cooperation. It is best to outsource customer surveys to a related business unit (such as marketing) or outsourced experts. Also, the head of the sales department can himself from time to time selectively call the clients of his subordinates and informally find out their opinion on cooperation with the company and a specific manager.
Mystery shopper. A method for assessing the quality of services and external communications of the company. This method allows you to assess the quality of the sales personnel and is a process in which the controller, disguised as a buyer, purchases goods. The agent, on the basis of a previously drawn up report template, forms a contact card in hot pursuit, subjectively evaluates the most significant characteristics and expresses his private opinion. The SQI (Service Quality Index) methodology used for this makes it possible to compare the quality of customer service in any organization operating in the market of consumer goods and services by a single set of key factors. Service quality is assessed according to the following criteria:

appearance(shop, salon)
convenience of obtaining information
the appearance of workers trading floor
establishing contact (client meeting)
identification of needs
product presentation
answers to questions and objections
end contact
time spent
attitude towards the client
subjective assessment of a salesperson

What can be the subject of Mystery Shopper assessment for sales managers:

Assessment subject	What is evaluated
Telephone communication	The level is measured corporate culture, availability of communication standards, employees' possession of telephone communication techniques
Internet - communication	As a rule, the information content and speed of responses to visitors' requests left on a web page or sent by e-mail are measured.
Checking sellers for honesty	Suppose the management of the company suspects that one of the employees is dishonest, but do not know how to catch him at the “crime scene”.
Sales promotions	For example, a "mystery shopper" asks the seller for a certain type of product, without pointing out a specific trade mark, and fixes what the seller will offer him. If he recommends a brand promoted as part of the action, the "mystery shopper" reveals himself and gives the seller a prize (cash, gift).
Competitor analysis	Assessment of the strengths and weaknesses your company in relation to competing companies. One application form is used. The parameters of the assessment can be: the level of service, prices, assortment and availability of goods in the warehouse, the system of working with wholesale buyers, the convenience of making a purchase, the quality of sales personnel, etc. Data on competitors is compared with data on the company, and based on this information, a conclusion is made about the development reserves of sales managers.

This entire complex of works is focused on:

Assessment of the company's personnel in terms of compliance with regulations, their implementation and viability.
Assessment of the level of competence and awareness of personnel.
An assessment of how sales managers ensure the desired image of the company (including if agents visit not only “their own” but also competing companies, forming a comparative profile of the main players in the local market).
Assessment of the conscientiousness of employees.

So why do you need a comprehensive assessment of sales managers? In addition to the most common assessment goals (such as ongoing motivation of sellers, promotion of career ladder, referral to training), the results of a comprehensive assessment of sales managers allow:

Assess the level of professionalism of employees, outline comprehensive measures to improve it. For example, the Sales Manager Professionalism Development Program may include: conducting general department training, personal coaching with some employees and supervision with others, appointing mentors, introducing necessary regulations, improving forms of control, and holding round tables to exchange opinions.
Reallocate human resources sales department, depending on the complexity of the tasks and, accordingly, the required skill level.
Make adjustments to the motivation system for sales managers, relying on an understanding of the situation in the team, the motives of employees and the goals of the company.
Make adjustments to training programs, bring them closer to the specifics of the department's work and the characteristics of specific managers.
Develop special programs to increase staff loyalty.
Outline measures to improve performance discipline.
Identify deficiencies in organizational structure company and horizontal communications.
Identify management problems that hinder the development of the company.

It is very important to understand that the complex of quantitative and qualitative indicators in each specific case will be different. There is no standard set of metrics that can be used by any company. Each company has its own characteristics, its goals and objectives, its own problems, and the assessment of sales managers, respectively, in each company pursues its own goals. The set of indicators depends on the goals of the assessment and therefore each company should develop it for themselves. Naturally, some blanks can be used for this. Consider a few of the most common assessment goals and which, based on them, indicators and methods for their assessment are more appropriate.

The goal is career advancement. Two options are possible here:

Option one.

We make the “best” salesperson a “senior” or “leader” in order to fix his status, to increase the size of the fixed part of the salary, which should be evidence of recognition of his achievements. In this case, quantitative performance indicators are of greater importance. Special attention it is necessary to pay attention to the stability of the dynamics of sales, the absence of overdue receivables. From qualitative indicators, it makes sense to assess the loyalty of the sales manager to the organization, the structure of his motivation, since the step taken is motivational. However, even if you are satisfied with all the indicators, do not rush, talk to the manager about the conditions on which you are ready to promote him in the position, all the more to increase his “fixing”. Perhaps this will be an increase in sales (or total, or a separate category goods, or for the selected sector of clients), perhaps, it will be work with illiquid assets on conditions that are interesting for the manager and for the company - that is, some additional functions that will "pay off" the new appointment. It is possible to stipulate some intermediate results, in which first the position changes, and then, after reaching certain indicators, the salary.

The second option is within the career development goal.

We want to determine which of the sales managers can become the head of the sales department. In this case, quality indicators - competencies will be more interesting for us, and priority will be managerial competencies, the level of their development. These competencies need to be assessed both internally (for example, within the framework of a 360-degree assessment) and with the involvement of external resources: independent experts, less often clients. At the same time, quantitative indicators can be at a stable average level, which will indicate that the employee understands the goals, objectives, and priorities of the company in the field of sales. Having evaluated the managerial potential, do not forget that a good leader must be cultivated. It is necessary to set in front of him, or better with him, a system of goals for the entire sales department, teach him to delegate individual tasks. Otherwise, the company may suffer from the “loss” of a stable seller, without getting a worthy leader. Unfortunately, it is very common practice in companies to appoint a manager from the best salespeople. Why "Unfortunately? You can't think that the most successful sales person can be a good leader. It is important to look at and evaluate precisely managerial competencies, not professional ones. As a result, even if a specialist has good motivation To professional growth, for a very long time he remains only a "leader - best seller”, Often (due to the desire to prove that he is worthy of the title of manager) pulling out the department only at the expense of his own sales. It is unlikely that this is the result that the company wants to get as a result of the employee's career advancement.

The goal is to plan the training of sales staff.

Quite often, sales managers attribute insufficient sales to the lack of proper qualifications of managers. To solve the problem, they order sales training and say: "We need to teach them how to sell correctly, as a result of the training, sales should increase by at least 20%." This phrase, in printed form, looks more than naive. However, such statements are heard all the time. Even if really low sales are a consequence of the unprofessionalism of the sellers, nevertheless, one training session cannot solve all sales problems in a company. Managers return to their familiar environment and, if not controlled and stimulated, quickly (if not immediately) return to their usual way of acting. That is, after the training, they already know how and what to do, and if you ask them about it, they will answer more or less correctly. But knowing does not mean doing it. Changing your habits is very difficult and requires a lot of effort. But more often than not, the reason for low sales is not only, and sometimes not so much, in the professionalism of managers. There are many factors, without changing which, one should not hope for a significant increase in sales. This is the positioning of the company in the market, and the choice of the target client, and competently built sales channels, and the demand for the product, and taking into account the needs of customers and interesting working conditions for them, and sufficient advertising support, etc. etc. Thus, there is no direct relationship between a one-off training and an increase in sales. At a minimum, you need to launch a whole cycle of seminars, which will consider the company's marketing policy, target customer groups, sales organization technology, the interaction of all departments within the business process of sales, and at the very end of such a cycle there will be a series of training seminars dedicated to work technologies with clients, including the skills of effective sales. So, in the course of the assessment, we must find out: "What to teach." As part of answering this question, it is important for us to assess the competence of a sales manager, his understanding of sales technology, and sales standards that are accepted in the company.

The term "competence" is used quite often in this article. As an example, it makes sense to cite some of the competencies of a sales manager.

Result orientation, achievement. The ability to take responsibility for the implementation of decisions, the ability to set new ambitious goals while achieving previous ones. Task-oriented and relationship-oriented behavior.

Flexibility... The ability to quickly and adequately respond to emergency situations, see and define the problem, find ways to solve it, assemble a team for implementation, evaluate the results.

Ability to learn, self-study... Learnability, receptivity to new methods and technologies, the ability to apply new things in practice. The capacity for introspection. Willingness to analyze one's achievements and shortcomings, to look at familiar things with different eyes, to reasonably use someone else's experience.

Influence, ability to persuade... The ability to defend one's own opinion. Consistency when conducting constructive conversations. Possession of techniques of influence. Ability to identify and use people's motives. Ability to ask the right questions and determine the level of awareness and emotional state of the partner.

Ability to hear others, receive feedback. Ability to create channels of two-way communication - to abstract from their opinions and thoughts, to concentrate on the words of the interlocutor. Good auditory and visual memory. Possession of different ways of feedback. Ability to effectively encourage and criticize other people.

Skills of presentations, negotiations... Ability to determine the goals and objectives of the presentation, the interests of the audience. Building an effective introduction, connecting phrases, the main part and the end of the presentation. Possession of persuasion strategies and public speaking skills. Knowledge of the stages of an effective negotiation process. Ability to identify the interests of the participants, to choose the best alternative. Ability to discuss, propose, conduct positional bargaining. Possession of manipulation techniques and the ability to resist them.

Customer focus... Knowledge of customer service policies and standards. Focus on current and future customer needs. The ability to behave correctly with different types Difficult clients. Ability to build partnerships with clients, the ability to recognize additional opportunities and risks in relation to clients.

The competencies of a sales manager can also include: analytical skills, creativity, organizational skills, teamwork skills, etc. Accordingly, depending on what competencies need to be developed, the training program will also be built. Assessment methods here can be 360 degrees, Mystery Shopper, KPI assessment, competency interviews, professional tests.

The goal is to make adjustments to the motivation system sales managers, relying on an understanding of the motives of the employees and the goals of the company. To achieve this goal, both quantitative and qualitative indicators should be used as indicators, based on the current tasks facing the department.

For example, the department was tasked with increasing sales of its own brands, reducing the volume and terms of accounts receivable, and increasing the share of regular customers in the sales structure.

Accordingly, it makes sense to evaluate the following indicators:
increase in total sales monthly;
the share of sales by own brands is not lower than a certain level;
monthly positive dynamics in the share of own brands in the sales structure;
the volume of accounts receivable is not higher than a certain amount;
the average term of accounts receivable is not more than a certain number of days;
positive quarterly dynamics in terms of the share of regular customers in the sales structure;
overall customer satisfaction (annual growth);
structure of managers' motivation.

To assess the motivation of employees of the sales department, you can use such methods as: personal questionnaires, questionnaires, interviews.

The goal is to assess the level of professionalism of employees, to compare it with competitors. In this case, we need to develop a portrait of an “ideal” sales manager with a certain level of competence and compare it with real portraits of employee competencies. To understand the competitiveness of personnel, it is necessary to include in the procedure for assessing the company's customers, its partners. The methods in this case can be 360 degrees, professional tests, "Mystery Shopper", customer questionnaires.

The goal is to identify shortcomings in the organizational structure of the company, management problems hindering the development of the company. We have said several times that sales are influenced by the entire organization. Therefore, the analysis of sales, decline or instability of indicators will be some "indicator" that there are problems in the organization. This may be a violation of the interaction of sales managers within the division: pulling in or "pushing" customers. Communication between the sales department and other departments (accounting, warehouse, production, marketing, etc.) may be disrupted. Among the managerial problems the following can be identified: the speed of decision-making (for example, according to the system of discounts for a particular group of clients); lack of marketing policy; lack of customer service standards and others. Assessment methods that will help identify such problems are as follows: analysis of the sales business process (regulations, standards, orders, etc.); analysis of the organizational structure, regulations on divisions, job descriptions... The Mystery Shopper method will be effective, as determined by Additional information can be obtained through training programs (for example, "Sales Technology Training").

All of the above, as well as other assessment goals necessary for the company, can be used as the basis for the regular (annual) certification of sales managers. Evaluation within the framework of any of the listed goals is not a one-off action to figure out “who is to blame” and “what to do”. A systematic comprehensive assessment of sales managers will allow an organization to respond flexibly to changes in external and internal environment conditions, thereby increasing the level of its competitiveness.

Summing up, we want to emphasize once again that the assessment of sales managers only then gives the expected results when it is carried out precisely by a set of indicators. For example, if we are talking about quantitative indicators, then the analysis of only the number of contracts concluded is not enough to draw a conclusion about the seller's success. The same manager may have large accounts receivable, contracts may be for “unpromising” customers or for products that are not a priority, which does not contribute to the achievement of the goals and objectives of the organization. Speaking of quality indicators, we can also find that the seller has good indicators in terms of professional competencies, satisfaction and awareness of his clients. At the same time, his loyalty to the company is not great and, if we do not take certain steps, then soon, this specialist may leave the organization and at the same time either “take away” customers or otherwise “annoy” the unloved company.

How often should salespeople be assessed? In terms of quantitative indicators - monthly, quarterly, annually. In terms of quality - no more than once every six months. Many executives believe that the very ability to conduct an assessment disciplines sales managers and stabilizes the sales themselves. In some ways this is true, nevertheless, the assessment should be carried out only if clear goals and, accordingly, the methods selected for this purpose. It is in this case that the main objectives of the assessment will be resolved, and the overall tone of the department will remain at a high level, and the costs of the assessment will pay off.

Appendix (sidebar)

Competencies	Verification question	Desirable answer
General competences
People-oriented	What do you like about the profession?	The employee should mention that they enjoy interacting with people.
Striving to understand another person	The client avoids eye contact with you. What are the reasons for this behavior?	This may depend on the characteristics of the person's character. Maybe he is tired, he is tired, not interested, he is hiding something, he is embarrassed, etc.
Responsibility, focus on success	Why do some sellers have good sales, regular customers and so on, while others are doing much worse?	It is important that the manager starts by explaining the reasons for the success. He should indicate such qualities that contribute to success such as: purposefulness, persuasion, communication skills, etc. It is bad when the seller starts talking about luck, good territory or a successful customer base ...
Result orientation	How is seller success determined?	The answer must necessarily contain quantitative indicators: sales volume, number of customers, etc.
Ability to make decisions independently and take reasonable risks	You are on a business trip. The client insists on changing the standard terms of the contract (while the company is still profitable). You are trying to contact the manager, but this is not possible. Your actions.	I will accept the client's offer, as it is beneficial for the company.
Special competencies
Sales skills	What are the techniques for justifying the price.	There should be several of them. For example: Reception of the "sandwich". … .And all this you will receive for… Reception qualitative justification... Compare price to product benefits. Reception of division. The price of the base model and the addition of options. Determination of the price and operating time. Reception of multiplication. Demonstrates the client's savings in a temporary mode. Other.
Analytic skills	In what situations is sales volume important and not profit margin?	At the stage of promoting a new product, capturing market share from competitors, and also, if necessary, a quick sale of a “dying” product.
Presentation skills	How do you determine what to talk about at the presentation	It all depends on the audience. If we are talking about one client, we need to identify his needs by asking him questions, and based on the client's answers, build a presentation of the product. If we are talking about a public presentation, we focus on anticipating needs (that is, we analyze the basic, typical needs of this target group).

TO Criteria for evaluating managers allow an organization to determine the degree of suitability of managers to the position, the degree of achievement of strategic and tactical goals and specific tasks that employees face.

V All criteria for evaluating managers can be divided into three groups:

1. Criteria for assessing the effectiveness of activities

2. Criteria for assessing personal qualities

3. Criteria for assessing professional qualities.

The first group of criteria - Criteria for assessing the effectiveness of activities

TO Criteria for assessing performance are indicators, indicators that help to assess the quality of work of sales managers, the productivity and efficiency of the manager, correlate the actual results with the planned ones and determine how quickly the organization is approaching its goal through the given workforce.

TO The criteria for assessing the effectiveness of activities, in turn, I propose to divide into three categories:

Criteria for evaluating the result of a manager's work;
Criteria for assessing the quality of work with clients;
Criteria for assessing the quality of work with receivables.

R Let's take a closer look at each category.

1. Criteria for evaluating the result of the manager's work:

Sales volume (revenue / revenue).
The share of the actual sales volume from the planned sales volume.
Gross profit (income minus expense).
The proportion of the actual gross profit of the planned gross profit.

2. Criteria for assessing the quality of work with clients.

TO Criteria for assessing the quality of work with clients are needed in order to determine how well the manager works with clients, and, if the quality leaves much to be desired, to identify the manager's mistakes, to determine at what stages of work the main difficulties arise.

Active customer base.
The number of new clients.
The number of repeated applications.
The number of lost clients.
The number of calls per day.
Number of cross-sells.
The duration of one sales cycle (from the first call to the conclusion of the deal).
Average transaction amount.

3. Criteria for assessing the quality of work with accounts receivable.

D These criteria help to assess how well the manager works with accounts receivable (does he know how to prevent it, does he work to pay debts, etc.):

The number of invoices issued.
The number of invoices with delayed payment.
The proportion of invoices with a delay in the total number of invoices issued.
Average amount owed.
The share of the amount owed from the total income.
Number of overdue clients.

D To improve the efficiency of sales personnel management, it is necessary to collect information on each criterion, conduct an analysis, identify patterns, draw conclusions on the basis of which management decisions, draw up an action plan and implement the plan.

Sales managers are an integral part of almost every organization, they carry out direct communication with the company's customers and are its face. The main task of a sales manager- is to bring the client to the purchase of the proposed product or service, receive economic benefits from the transaction, as well as increase the overall level of consumer loyalty to the company.

The main feature of every sales manager is his bright charisma and sociability. The ability to win over people and build trust is one of the guarantors of successful implementation. official duties and improve the efficiency of their work. Today the vacancy "sales manager" is the most popular for some reason among companies that are recruiting personnel.

Indeed, it is quite difficult to find a person who can quickly recoup the company's expenses for marketing tools and wages the manager himself. However, what if the sales manager is already on the staff and you need to assess the degree of his professional suitability?

Today, there are many ways evaluating the performance of sales managers, for example:

Performance evaluation (in monetary / quantitative terms);
Features of behavior in society, in a team and with a client;
The quality of the work performed;
Aptitude and qualifications level;
Personal qualities;
The degree and nature of the employee's influence on the company's image, etc.

It is advisable to evaluate an employee within the enterprise or with the involvement of third-party disinterested persons. Direct communication with existing clients of the company can bear fruit, but this method is not worth practicing: the internal affairs of the organization should not concern the client, otherwise, if there are any problems, the information will quickly reach him and can negatively affect the impression, the level of loyalty and trust.

Engaging third parties, for example, people in the HR industry, to analyze the work of a sales manager will be a decisive step towards solving the problem: a person who has professional skills in personnel assessment will be able to perform his work in a structured and high-quality manner, analyze professional and personal qualities a person and, if necessary, develop several options for stimulating an increase in the efficiency of personnel.

The main criteria for evaluating personnel, including sales managers, are divided into qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative indicators include:

Total sales for a specific time period
The degree of implementation of the sales plan and its regularity
Sales of goods and services that are priority for the company for a given period of time
The number of new customers and repeated calls of existing customers
Dynamics of the average order / purchase amount for the period of the employee's work
Employee sales figures, taking into account seasonality / crisis situations / competitive struggle
The presence / absence of a positive growth in sales dynamics.

The main goals of the analysis and assessment of quantitative indicators of an employee's work is to identify the actual results of activities, to record changes in the dynamics of his indicators and to determine the degree of performance in financial terms in relation to the company.

All data can be obtained by examining data on transactions made, sales, etc. depending on the specialization of the employing company.

Quality indicators are highly subjective, but they are an integral and truly important part of evaluating a sales manager's performance. These include:

Degree vocational training(this allows you to identify the need for further training of the employee)
Customer satisfaction with whom the sales manager interacted directly
Compliance with company standards and discipline in the workplace
Lack / presence of employee motivation to increase the number of sales and improve the quality of service
The degree of customer satisfaction with the quality of the manager's service (revealed by, for example, anonymous questionnaires or studying reviews on Internet resources), etc.

When analyzing qualitative indicators, one should not forget about the importance of a person's personal qualities. As practice shows, there are “born” sales managers whose character traits and behavior patterns allow them to make sales as efficiently as possible even in the absence of the necessary knowledge and experience.

The second group includes those sales managers who achieve success in their field of activity exclusively, as the people say, "with sweat and blood." Their personal qualities do not correspond to the norms of the "ideal employee of the sales department", but professional skills, abilities, knowledge and experience become decisive on the way to the goal.

Key for professional manager for sales are the following qualities:

Self confidence
Independence in decision making
Sociability
Stress tolerance
Erudition
Energy
Purposefulness
Self-control
Motivation
Flexibility
Resourcefulness

You should not evaluate the productivity of a sales manager by a large number of parameters at once - experts recommend choosing no more than 5, otherwise a large amount of information can cause a biased assessment of the employee's work and lead to wrong decisions in the planning of further activities in internal environment organizations.

The identification and study of qualitative indicators can be carried out in many ways, depending on the desire and capabilities of the analyzing link. This mainly happens through third-party observation of the personnel manager, questionnaires, testing (effective to determine the degree of professional suitability and awareness of the subject of activity), personal conversation with the employee, role play, by the "mystery shopper" method, by establishing direct contact with the manager's clients, studying materials (reviews, conversations) in Internet resources.

Whatever the purpose of evaluating the work of a sales manager, it is always necessary to take into account the specialization of the employing company and its way of selling the product being produced. To achieve the maximum effect, it is recommended to contact professionals in their field, for example recruiting agency"Triumph". Its specialists have extensive experience in personnel assessment, as well as in the development of motivational and training programs. This will maximize short time and the most effective way to analyze personnel without harming the company's budget and develop a set of measures to improve the personnel structure.

Personnel center "TRIUMPH"

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