Is Your Sales Staff Losing You Money?

There are many keys to successful sales, and the sales staff has a tremendous amount of responsibility when it comes to making money.

As a business owner or manager it is your responsibility to employ the best sales staff possible.

Often there are steps you can take to make sure that your sales staff increases their success rate when it comes to making money for you. Customer interactions, experience and desire are all huge factors to consider when finding out where your money is going.

Have Things Changed?

If you have made money in the past but suddenly see a decline in sales, ask yourself what, if anything has changed.

If you recently hired a new manager and placed him or her in charge of hiring sales staff, take a hard look at the criteria they are using when interviewing candidates.

A manager should make sure that all staff work diligently to make sales on a consistent basis. The manager is responsible for making sure that money is correctly logged and accounted for.

Sales staff which a manager hires should have plenty of background experience from similar jobs. They must be responsible and willing to do what it takes to make a customer happy. A sloppy, disorganized manager can lead to big problems and a loss in sales.

Customer interactions are equally important to look at if you suspect your sales staff of losing money.

When a customer comes into a business they meet the sales staff first. The staff should have an inviting demeanor, and they should be approachable. Too many sales workers are under the impression that they should wait to be approached by customers, but this is simply not the case. Sales staff should approach customers in a warm, friendly manner.

Many sales are lost to overly pushy sales staff, or to staff who exhibit behavior consistent with not caring. It may be important to suggest your sales staff go through customer interaction training if it continues to be a problem.

In some cases it may be best to simply fire those who do not have the best interests of the company in mind.

Never Overlook Importance of Desire

Desire is another factor in why sales staffs lose money.

If there is no incentive to make a sale, then chances are they will not put forth the full effort necessary to be successful. Commission-based sales are important in any retail environment. A worker making minimum wage or barely above it is not always going to go above and beyond to close a sale.

However, as you’re looking at how to make a budget for your sales needs, remember that a commission-based job can lead sales staff to work harder to close deals so they can earn extra money. This is a great incentive to employ if you find yourself losing money.

Sometimes all it takes is a change in pay to boost the morale of the sales staff you have hired.

It enables sales staff to have a reason to work harder and make the company successful.

About the Author: Tina Samuels writes on small business topics, social media, and finances.