In our last blog, we discussed sales metrics and the importance of measuring what matters. Once you have collected a month or so of data, you can evaluate what you see and start to determine the best course of action. The goal of analyzing your sales numbers is to allow your sales reps to be more efficient in home remodeling, make more money and get better at their craft.
An inexperienced manager may look at an underperforming rep’s data and simply say they need to “do better,” or “sell more” or “try harder.” That “advice” doesn’t offer constructive feedback or create a blueprint for the rep to follow and improve. Instead, let’s look at some examples of what the numbers can tell us…
Let’s assume the following monthly stats for a rep:
- 28 appointments
- 9 sales
- $5000 average sale
Using industry standards, he earned around $4,000 – $5,000. However, the expectation set when he took the job was double that amount. He is performing below expectations, and he needs help.
Anyone who knows the industry can see right away that most likely the average sale price is below where it needs to be. Again, an inexperienced manager may just say “sell more,” but a more experienced manager understands that a “low average sale price” could stem from a litany of reasons:
- Thinking it is easier to sell partials
- Not looking for opportunities to upsell
- Selling against the big project
- Not knowing how to add on products
There are countless examples to draw from sales metrics. Regardless of the reason, once you start to uncover the true source of below average stats, you can craft a game plan to help your team improve.
The home remodeling industry has a very high turnover rate for sales reps, in part because of a lack of good leaders to help the reps improve and succeed. If as an owner you want to grow your business, you will have to eventually add sales reps to your team. But simply adding them to the team isn’t enough. It is your responsibility to train and manage them properly too. Collecting and analyzing the data and managing your people with the numbers you collect does require more work, more time and more creativity, but it is the right way to run your business and get the most from your investment.
If you need help getting started, training your sales managers or scaling your business, give us a call. This is what we do.