Sales Standards: Do You Have Them?

Most professions have standards. Lawyers have the ABA, accountants have GAAP, doctors have the AMA, engineers have IEEE. But when it comes to sales pros, though, the standard is pretty much CACC (Catch As Catch Can).

And that's too bad, because a lack of standards inevitably results in poor salesmanship, which in turn generates lost sales, depressed profits and unhappy customers.

Someday, the sales profession may have a standards body that defines what's expected of people who work in this field. Until then, however, you'll need to set your own standards.

Here's an easy framework to set your own standards, courtesy of one of my favorite sales experts Sharon Daniels, president and CEO of AchieveGlobal. She recommends visualizing sales standards is as a pyramid, each layer dependent upon the layer beneath:

1. Company results (Does your activity actually result in profitability?)
2. Customer Results (Does your activity result in satisfaction, retention, repeat business?)
3. Competitive Knowledge (Do you understand competitive offerings?)
4. Product Knowledge (Can you demonstrate knowledge of products and/or services?)
5. Sales Skills (How well do you manage prospecting, sales calls, followup?)
6. Sales Activities (Are you making the right number of calls, appointments, proposals, etc.?)

The reason is simple. A weakness at the foundation could cause the entire structure to collapse!

Pretty neat, eh?