7 Strategies You Can Use To Improve Sales Productivity

Sales productivity has a significant impact on revenue and is the ultimate key factor for success in any type of business.

For sales reps, improving sales productivity means maximizing results while minimizing the resources expended. This is no easy challenge. According to a study conducted by Aberdeen Management, two-thirds of sales reps fail to reach their annual sales quota.

So, how to capitalize on human talent and be more efficient with the allotted time? Discover these 7 strategies you can use to improve sales productivity and form stronger relationships with clients and leads:

Invest in Technology

When properly designed and executed, Sales Enablement Technologies can make a huge difference, both increasing productivity and motivating sales reps.

Considering that the average sales rep needs to update over 300 CRM records per week, it’s no surprise that tech is rattling the sales world in the best of ways.

Measure Everything

According to a recent Accenture report, 57% of high performing sales teams rely on sales analytics, compared with the 16% of underperforming teams.

Tools such as leaderboards are extremely useful when it comes to visualizing the number of daily activities each seller has made, in real time, boosting awareness and recognition.

Keep the team motivated

As we just pointed out, technology solutions may work like a charm. But just having the tools will not deliver the results.

The sales team must have enough motivation to actively embrace the technology and incorporate it into their daily workflow to boost productivity levels.

Always remember to focus on positivity and supporting each member of the team through the whole sales process.

Implement training programs

It takes over 7 months and almost $30.000 to fully train and onboard a new sales rep, according to a recent Aberdeen research.

Moreover, unhappy and unproductive employees often complain of the lack of learning opportunities provided by the company they work for.

Work on your priorities

Working long and hard hours doesn’t necessarily mean you’re being more productive. Productivity’s best-kept secret is simple: visualizing your priorities.

Research conducted by Wrike found that over half of sales reps feel unclear about their priorities. This directly results negatively on their individual performances and also on the overall accomplishment of collective goals.

Eliminate or Automated Superfluous Tasks

The same Wrike study we previously mentioned also shows that 60% of sales reps feel that they are working on too many things at the same time.

Although many times it’s seen as an asset, multitasking can be counterproductive and lead to a lack of focus.

It’s estimated that sales rep only spend one-third of their time actually selling, which means the other work hours are spent on administrative tasks such as reading and responding emails, attending meetings and updating CRM.

Communicate With Your Team

Last but definitely not least, it’s impossible to take sales productivity to the next level without fluid communication to the team.

They need to know and to be constantly reminded of priorities and expectations. But also encouraged and engaged in open dialogue.

A Harvard Business Review survey revealed that 70% of employees are more engaged when senior leadership continually updates and communicates company strategies.

How can Hurrah! Help Improve This Productivity?

When it comes to implementing strategies to improve sales productivity, we like to think of Hurrah! Leaderboards as the ultimate tech solution to adopt. For instance, it can be set to display various KPI’s, and dynamic values that managers want to track and relate to their team’s daily goals.

With Hurrah! you can measure the total sales for the day, the week or any parameter of opportunities won by team collaboration and effort. As far as motivation goes, Hurrah! is designed to inspire a culture of success. Both for individuals and the whole team.

Leaderboards can recognize achievements in a clear, customized and visually appealing style.

And how can gamification oriented software like Hurrah! help in the training process? It can greatly decrease attrition and turnover rates through fun interactive experiences.

Leaderboard contests and recognition can also turn mundane and meticulous training materials into easily-digestible and highly effective learning programs.

And finally, Hurrah! can become the ultimate communication tool for the entire team. You have the complete freedom to announce important meetings, share goals, present news, and events. Or get everyone excited about the company trip to the Bahamas (or so we hope!).

This article was originally published on our company’s blog, feel free to check it here: 7 Strategies You Can Use To Improve Sales Productivity.