[3 Simple Secrets] Focus On The Goose Not The Egg

Let's jump right in. Too many people view their Customer Relationship Management (CRM) as the reason they will make more money. I have news for you, it's not. A CRM saves you money but not losing it in the first place due to deals falling through the crack. It's a tool, just like a shovel is a tool for a gold miner. You have to use the tool in the right place in order to strike gold.

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Where The Goose Sleeps

Let's focus on the sales environment first which is the Customer Relationship Management (CRM). There are tons of software, videos, and literature about "How this is the perfect shiny toy" to put sales on autopilot. I want to strip this down to the first principles.

The Customer Relationship Management system is meant to reduce redundancies and amplify activity that leads to MORE business. Here is a quick diagram to explain a basic first principle logic of how to set up a CRM.

Mistakes I see in business are where entrepreneurs think that CRM or software will just magically create more business. That's further the truth. It is simply a catalyst in an existing sales process. If you manage it properly with automation and reporting it can give you a snapshot and help plug holes in the process to make things more effective with the opportunity to optimize.

The Playbook to Catch The Goose

A sales team is only as good as there certainty. Things hit another level when the entire team is feeding off the high level certainty of the vision, the desired outcome for the client and the progress towards there on personal goals.

Can't tell you how many entrepreneurs and managers I've watch be consumed with "numbers" and not with the DESIRED OUTCOME of the parties involved. I believe a playbook is more than just an SOP, its a BIBLE, its a COMPASS, its most importantly its the seed of certainty that company gets water every single day.

Here is a cheat sheet that would be needed to onboard a salesperson successfully: ?GOOGLE DOC TO COPY

Feed the Goose and it will Keep laying eggs

Based on the first principles diagram in the CRM and the Playbook now its time to talk about Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and how to shape the incentives around them.

We all know incentives drive behavior. This isn't the time to hold your quarters, its the time to make some ZERO's and the best way to do that is to leave a bread trail of cash for your team in order to hit key metrics that drive dollars to BOTTOM line.

Curve ball right? Top line is cool but bottom line keeps the business not only alive but growing. So let's use a case study example of how to set up some incentive structures with the KPI's. [P.S You can you use this same philosophy for closing deals with clients, I'll save that for another day]

KPI's that drive bottom line

1. Follow up to pending proposals
2. upsell/downsell metrics
3. Appointment sets for SPECIFIC profiles
4. Referrals
5. Strategic Partnership metrics

You notice that I didn't list, growth rate or revenue or margin or anything like that? Philosophically I want to focus on the activity or the numbers that drive the performance of the numbers that run the business. If you do decide to use high level numbers like revenue, growth, or margin. I recommend creating team compensation incentives since it will take the effort of everyone.

Compensation Packages that align incentives (individual)

1. Remove half the guarantee and replace with 150% upside on hitting KPI's + Superstar bonus/commissions
2. Pay more often for activity you want to see consistently. Most sales people tend to get hot the closer is to pay day. When pay can be everyday, you'll be surprised how hot they seem to always be. Example: You want to drive 10% to the bottom line for the month, setup a sales competition every week for 10% upsells and/or follow up metrics or referrals. Pay that week and make it a CEREMONY.
3. Scale the commission structure to incentive volume. Example: Base commission is 10% if you hit quota its 15%. If you break a company record its 16%