5 things every Salesperson must know about Activity

1. The Value of Activity

If ‘Location, Location, Location’ determines the value of a property, then ‘Activity, Activity, Activity’ determines the success of a salesperson. Simply put, the more active you are the more sales you will make.

There is a debate about the difference between working harder and working smarter, which might cloud some people’s minds. It infers that you should be working smarter and not harder to be more productive, which is true, but the hard work (activity) cannot be abandoned.

The same debate infers that sales is not a numbers game, that when you’re working smarter you don’t need the numbers because you will convert a lot more, again only true to a point. Lower ratios do not eliminate the need for a pipeline, it only lessens the volume required.

2. Activity Metrics

Every salesperson is measured on their performance by sales results, end of month or end of quarter sales numbers are what defines you, and these are known as Lagging Indicators. There is nothing wrong with that, after all, the purpose of having salespeople in the first place is to generate the money to pay for the cost of doing business and make a profit.

But not so many salespeople are measured on their activities, or by their Leading Indicators. There is another argument that if sales leaders put as much effort into managing activity levels, as they do with results, they would be better off. From a management perspective, Lagging Indicators are much easier to measure and present, they simply ask the accounts department to generate a report. But what about Leading Indicators?

• Leading Indicators = Activity
• Lagging Indicators = Results

Not so easy, but not impossible either. Activity metrics come in the form of coaching tools, simple software apps that prompt users to enter a value at predetermined times, along with a short narrative to explain the value (optional). Metrics are not as accurate as accounting numbers, but they are a powerful tool to stimulate activity.

3. A Blend of Activities

Salespeople who involve themselves in a blend of activities are more likely to succeed. This is because their prospects are a blend of individuals, each one with their own preferred style of communicating. Some prefer the phone to email, some are introverts and others are extroverts, (some are even ambiverts!), some are readers, while others are listeners, and the list goes on.

When a salesperson is actively prospecting for business, they must cover all of these bases, so that they don’t miss anyone. To do that, they must involve themselves in a blend of activities. For example, they may not meet introverts at a networking event, or if they send a letter in the post, it may not be read by listeners, etc. etc.

• Letter Writing
• Phone Calls
• Email
• Linkedin Messaging and Inmails
• Webinars / Seminars
• Networking
• Blogging / Articles
• Speaking Engagements....

4. Consistent Activity

Consistency is another word for developing a habit, preferably a good habit! This in turn leads to self-discipline and becoming comfortable with what you do. In relation to sales activity, it also means the difference between hitting your sales target occasionally and hitting it every time.

Salespeople can be guilty of inconsistency when it comes to sales activity, typically it runs in cycles. If you can imagine a scenario where a salesperson has had a bumper month, they are on a high with excitement and they are distracted by the glare of the win, what it means to them in terms of commission, prestige, or even a promotion. They are also concerned that their colleagues in logistics and engineering may not do their job correctly and make them look bad, so they get involved in the delivery.

They are now so involved in something that isn’t their job, that they stop doing theirs. As time progresses, they are losing the habit of sales activity and getting comfortable with being distracted. As more time progresses, their pipeline is shrinking because they are losing opportunities through the usual ratios, but not adding to it.

Eventually, the next end-of-month arrives (or possibly the following one, depending on the length of the sales cycle) and the pipeline is so depleted, that they struggle to hit sales target. This might continue to the next month when the target is well and truly missed before the salesperson smells the coffee and reverts to sales activity, eventually coming good again, but the cycle just repeats itself. This is the ‘Peaks and Troughs’ scenario, and the cure is Consistency.

5. The Cost of Activity

All activity comes at a cost, even when it’s free because your time is valuable, but some activities are more costly than others. This reference is more directed at management than salespeople because traditionally, salespeople don’t receive an activity budget. They might enjoy an expense account, but there is often a question mark over what is an acceptable spend and what is not, or what is acceptable one month is not acceptable another.

Management should provide an activity budget and work with salespeople to plan how they spend it. Often there is a trade-off between spending funds and spending time, which is more valuable? Consider the cost of access to Linkedin Sales Navigator at about €75 per person per month, versus buying a list at a cost of €1 per contact, or going online and finding targets at “zero” cost.

Put a budget in place, you’re going to spend it anyway, but at least this way you will get a better bank for your buck. You will be providing salespeople with stability and direction which will improve their blend and consistency, which in turn will deliver more value back to the company.

Brendan Dunne is the founder of Process Selling, a veteran sales professional, and a qualified trainer and coach.