It's true that a company's sales effectiveness depends in part on the individual performance of each of its sales people. However, by implementing a good sales policy, sales management can better manage, control and steer its sales force. It's a clear roadmap to guide your sales forces in their activities. Kestio 's experts can help you to develop a solid sales policy. We'll equip you with the tools you need to structure your sales chain, with the key to predictable sales.
What are the differences between sales policy and sales strategy?
The two terms sales policy VS sales strategy are often confused. However, although they both refer to decisions taken by senior management, in this case the sales department, they are at different levels. A simple definition of sales policy would be the company's general orientation with regard to the marketing of its products and/or services. Sales strategy, on the other hand, indicates all the actions and means to be implemented to achieve what has been defined in the sales policy. This is then translated into a Sales Action Plan (SAP), at the operational level.
Sales policy includes the internal rules, principles and procedures designed to support the sales process effectively. It also includes the behaviors expected of the participants in this process (sales staff, salespeople and customer service) to facilitate communication and cooperation with prospects and customers.
In general, sales policy encompasses the following elements:
- Customer segmentation
- Pricing policy
- Pricing policy
- Delivery policy
- Sales management
- Sourcing policy
- Claims policy
- Customer code of conduct
- Organizing customer visits
How do you set up a sales policy?
Sales organization: this involves defining the roles and missions of the sales teams. This enables tasks to be allocated wisely, so as not to be dependent on high-performance salespeople. With the right organization, the loss of a key salesperson is less tragic for the company. It is more effective to categorize sales forces by market (key accounts, mid-market...), by sector (industry, energy, transport, healthcare...) or by activity (qualification of incoming prospects, cold sales prospecting, sales finalization, customer loyalty...).
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Sales objectives: These are global objectives, objectives by market segment and individual sales objectives for each salesperson. These objectives must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time-bound (SMART).
Sales remuneration policy: fixed or variable remuneration, commission, target-based bonuses... Which remuneration system should be adopted to motivate the sales force? In the case of variable pay, how often is it paid? Is it granted on a collective or individual basis? Should a floor or ceiling be set?
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Sales management: We need to choose the key performance indicators (KPIs) best suited to the company's activities (sales, number of leads, number of appointments, average deal value, length of sales cycle, conversion rate, customer satisfaction, etc.).
Our sales policy support
If you want to put an end to haphazard sales and accelerate your company's growth, our programs are for you. At KESTIO, we offer training and coaching sessions to help SME managers implement a strategic sales policy. More than 50 sales experts are at your disposal, not to mention the online resources on our platform.
We help managers build and optimize their sales policy. Thanks to our in-house philosophy of "doing with you" rather than "doing for you", you'll benefit from a real increase in skills. You'll have in your hands a genuine sales management tool that is the key to better sales performance. You'll understand how to direct the efforts of your sales force through an effective remuneration system. A structured sales organization will make it easier to manage your sales teams. What's more, you'll have the knowledge you need to set realistic sales forecasts and allocate the right resources to boost profitability. If you want to generate additional sales, you'll know which performance levers to activate in terms of sales policy.
If you already have sales plans in place, it's vital to adopt an agile vision of the sales function. The best sales policy is one that is regularly updated. In fact, it's an iterative process that can be improved according to the sales results obtained.
