Using A Sales Scoreboard To Increase Results
This article on executing using a sales scoreboard to increase results is part of a 4 article series by guest author Stephen Pearson from the Cambridge, Ontario branch of Franklin Covey Co. Canada. If you are not familiar with Franklin Covey it was found by Stephen Covey he is best known for his original best selling book titled “7 Habits Of Highly Effective People”. Now here is the article....
This is the third article of this 4 article series on executing your sales strategy. If you have not read the first article titled Executing Your Sales Strategy, you may wish to start there.
What steps do you need to take to maximize your probability of successfully achieving your sales strategy and goals? Franklin Covey has spent almost 10 years researching and developing a process to dramatically increase a team’s ability to execute on their strategy. The result is a simple, 4-step process called “The 4 Disciplines of Execution®”.
The 4 Disciplines of Execution® are:
1. Focus on the Wildly Important Goals (WIGs)
3. Keep a Compelling Scoreboard
4. Create a Cadence of Accountability
Here again is the example we are using for this article series
The scenario includes a fictitious company called Company eMarketing. Lets assume this company is launching their new, breakthrough service. This service is ideal for companies in the technology sector who utilize the internet as a core part of their business activity, or product/service. The pricing and scope of eMarketing's new service makes it appropriate for companies of 100 employees or larger, or revenue of $1 million/year. The ideal decision makers for considering this product include such titles as: VP of Product Development; VP of Operations; VP of Software Engineering; or a variation thereof. eMarketing wants to achieve $500K in sales in year 1; $1 million in year 2; and $4 million by year 5. They have selected team of 5 key sales reps to train on how to position and sell this new service, and to reach key technology sectors in Ontario, Quebec and BC.
So, eMarketing has the basic elements of a general sales strategy: Target price; target market; target decision makers; revenue/sales targets & benchmarks; target locations; timeframe; skilled & trained sales team to execute the strategy and the allocation of various resources to this project.
Of course there are many other pieces that may go into a sound sales strategy, but for the purpose of this simple example the main bases have been covered here.
The Execution
3. Keep a Compelling Scoreboard
Humans are hard-wired to work harder when they’re keeping score. Can you tell if two teams are keeping score or not? Most often it is reflected in their focus and intensity as they play, and in their reaction when either side scores.
The same principle can be used as a powerful tool to motivate and engage each team, and team member, involved in achieving the strategy or WIGs. If you don’t keep score, how do you know if you are winning or losing, or if you are on the right track to success? As well, how will you know if you have chosen the right lead measures to track activity toward the goals? A simple, effective scoreboard will help you monitor, motivate, and course correct as required.
This scoreboard should track the activities you have determined are key to your WIGs, the amount of progress for these activities and track your performance to your WIGs to date. So for example if your key lead measure activities are telephone calls with prospects, sales meetings and facebook likes then you will need to track the number of each you have completed, the amount you should have completed by this point in time and the percentage you have completed of the entire project target. In addition eMarketing would need to show on their scoreboard the percentage of sales they have achieved of their one, two and four sales targets given this is their 3 WIGs.
There are multiple ways to display this scorecard. The key thing is that all employees have access and view this score card on a regular basis. Ways to do this would be to post it weekly on a communal bulletin board in a high traffic area or to print off hard copies once a week. Another option would be to send a daily or weekly email that contains the score card. There are really countless ways do distribute and make the scorecard available, the key is that it is easily accessible to all and regularly reviewed. The optimal way to distribute a score card is to make it pop up on everyone's computer screen when they first login to their computer. This method ensures everyone has access and views it daily.
To read the next part in this four part series check back in a few days or subscribe by email to this blog to have the next article automatically delivered to your email.
Stephen Pearson is an Associate Client Partner with Franklin Covey C. Canada. He services the Ontario market including but not limited to Kitchener, Cambridge, Guelph and Waterloo helping companies to instill behaviors in their employees that help with goal and objective achievement.
To learn more about achieving goals and objectives follow his blog at http://franklincoveystephenpearson.blogspot.com or check out their website at www.franklincovey.ca. If you want a copy of Stephen Covey's book The 4 Disciplines of Execution
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I hope you have found this blog article on using a sales scoreboard to increase results informative.
