How to evaluate sales managers after training. How is the performance of a sales manager assessed? Cycle, dynamics and sales volumes

Hello, friends! Have you ever thought that almost any area of ​​business involves sales? Every minute of its existence, any company strives to increase profits. This is achieved through the sale of goods, services, manufactured products, information - everything can be sold! To evaluate sales effectiveness, you need to use KPIs for the sales manager. It is the performance of managers that determines how successfully and quickly the company increases its momentum.

Today I will tell you:

• why implement a KPI system for managers;
• what indicators need to be assessed first;
• how to organize effective work sales department;
• how to monitor results;
• how to evaluate the obtained indicators.

What are KPIs in the sales department?

KPI are key performance indicators that are designed to serve the achievement of the organization's strategic goals.

This system is very effective and has been used in the West for a long time. Like everything else, it came to us relatively recently, but has already gained great popularity due to the impressive results achieved from its use.

This mechanism can be applied to various departments of the organization, such as the personnel department, quality control department, development department and so on. We will talk about KPIs for salespeople.

First of all, we note that the most global indicator is the money that a manager brings to his company. However, not all so simple. This fundamental factor can be made up of various key indicators. Below we will look at the most important of them.

Why implement a KPI system for a sales manager

Sales managers are not a position where you can just sit through the hours and not worry about pay. This profession requires great dynamics from a person, speed of decision-making and absolutely does not tolerate laziness.

The implementation of the system allows:

1. motivate employees to achieve their goals;
2. establish the relationship between the formed plan and the real state of affairs at each moment in time;
3. see the results of the work.

The most important KPIs for a sales manager

A specialist must be assessed according to various key indicators. Below I will list the most significant of them.

No. 1 Profit brought to the company

As noted above, profit is the most key and important factor in assessing a manager’s performance.

It is worth examining this concept in more detail.

If you read the article about KPIs in Internet marketing, you should remember that profit is not equal to revenue.

Profit= Revenue received – (Product cost + All possible additional costs)

At the same time, the profit from the same revenue can be completely different.

For example: one employee managed to sell products for the same amount as another. At the same time, the first one spent 20% less on additional costs. It is logical that the company made a large profit. Therefore, the KPI of the first employee is also higher.

#2 Average transaction value

It is also called the average check. The indicator directly affects the enrichment of the company.

Two employees can make the same number of transactions per month. The average bill for one will be an order of magnitude higher than for the other. Thus, there is no need to talk about equal efficiency - after all, the income from sales of one of the managers will be greater.

The average cost is best measured when a sufficiently large number of transactions have been made. Then the picture will be more accurate.

No. 3 Number of potential clients attracted

The KPI system for sales managers also includes such an indicator as expansion client base. Attracting potential customers and working with them plays an important role in the process of selling products.

Performance is taken into account. That is: first, the contact must take place, second, the contact that has taken place must have a result.

The indicator will consist of the number of effective contacts and the actual replenishment of the potential client base.

#4 Converting potential clients into buyers

Example: You've talked to 1,000 potential clients and presented them with a sales proposition. 54 clients agreed to the purchase and asked for an invoice. Then the conversion is: 54/1000 * 100% = 5.4%.

The specialist who has a higher percentage has a higher indicator.

No. 5 Accounts receivable

The ability to sell is not all that a manager needs to know. It is very important to get payment from the client.

In practice, things with payment do not always go as smoothly as you would like. Therefore, the employee must competently and timely contact the client, diplomatically but persistently forcing him to pay.

When the reporting period approaches, this factor is seriously taken into account. After all, the company does not benefit from unpaid bills.

#6 Number of repeat business

This takes into account repeat transactions with existing customers.

Everyone knows that older customers are more loyal, easier to sell to, and more willing to spend large sums.

Working with your existing customer base should be a priority no lower than finding new customers. Therefore, this KPI is also of great importance.

Organization of an effective sales department

If the KPI of the head of the sales department is high, then most likely he will be able to help improve key indicators for his subordinates.

In addition to the fact that sellers should be selected who are energetic, ambitious and stress-resistant, the work process should be properly organized.

Within the department, a regulated schedule and certain rules must be followed.

Managers must be fluent in sales scripts and repeat them daily. If a department employee does not know the scripts, then he should not be allowed on the phone until the scripts are learned.

A person needs to understand that the time spent on studying is directly proportional to the decrease in his personal income. The more profit the manager was able to bring to the company, the more his wage in the current month.

In addition, the actions (or inactions) of the employee must be recorded and monitored. It is not enough to simply report the calls made. The result for each of them should be reflected.

In the control process, CRM systems are simply irreplaceable, which are increasingly used in enterprises.

Every day at a certain time, the manager must send a report on the work done.

The sales manager adaptation system should occupy a special place in the company. Newly arrived employees can be quite good professionals, but a new place of work always has its own nuances that you should get used to. The faster the company manages to adapt a new specialist, the faster he will bring it profit.

KPIs for sales managers should also be calculated and evaluated along with those of managers.

Examples of KPIs for a sales manager could include indicators such as sales revenue, sales volume through new channels, external client satisfaction, and much more.

Remember, each manager can have his own sales plan, but the KPI requirement should be the same for everyone.

You should not set the key indicator less than 10%.

And one more piece of advice in conclusion. To motivate an employee to work more productively, familiarize him with the formula according to which his salary is calculated.

Bonus formula= Salary (main part) + % of turnover *(weight KPI1*KPI1 + weight KPI2*KPI2 + weight KPI2*KPI2);

Each indicator has its own weight.

Example: KPI1 – fulfillment of the sales plan has a weight of 50%

Sales less than 50% = 0

from 51-89% = 0.5

The plan is 60% completed,

then the weight of KPI1*KPI1 = 50% *0.5.

Knowing the weight of each key indicator and the percentage of completion, you can easily calculate the bonus amount.

Having seen clearly how much one can earn by working efficiently, the employee will have a good incentive.

I will end today’s post on this optimistic note.

Implement KPIs for the sales manager and let everyone benefit from it.

TO The criteria for evaluating managers allow the organization to determine the degree to which managers are suitable for the position, the degree to which strategic and tactical goals are achieved and the specific tasks that employees face.

IN All criteria for evaluating managers can be divided into three groups:

1. Criteria for assessing performance effectiveness

2. Criteria for assessing personal qualities

3. Criteria for assessing professional qualities.

The first group of criteria - Criteria for assessing the effectiveness of activities

TO criteria for assessing performance are metrics, indicators that help assess the quality of work of sales managers, the productivity and efficiency of the manager, correlate actual results with planned ones and determine how quickly the organization is approaching its goal through these labor resources.

TO I propose to divide the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of activities, in turn, into three categories:

• Criteria for assessing the performance of a manager;
• Quality assessment criteria ;
• Quality assessment criteria.

R Let's take a closer look at each category.

1. Criteria for assessing the manager’s performance:

• Sales volume (income/revenue).
• The share of actual sales volume from planned sales volume.
• Gross profit (income minus expenses).
• The share of actual gross profit from planned gross profit.

2. Criteria for assessing the quality of work with clients.

TO criteria for assessing the quality of work with clients are needed in order to determine how well the manager works with clients, and, if the quality leaves much to be desired, to identify the manager’s mistakes and determine at what stages of work the main difficulties arise.

• Active customer base.
• Number of new clients.
• Number of repeat applications.
• Number of lost clients.
• Number of calls per day.
• Number of cross-selling.
• Duration of one sales cycle (from the first call to the conclusion of the deal).
• Average transaction amount.

3. Criteria for assessing the quality of work with receivables.

D These criteria help to assess how well the manager works with accounts receivable (can he prevent it, does he work to pay debts, etc.):

• Number of invoices issued.
• Number of invoices with late payment.
• Share of invoices with a delay from the total number of issued invoices.
• Average debt amount.
• The share of the amount owed from total income.
• Number of customers with late payments.

D To improve the efficiency of sales personnel management, it is necessary to collect information on each criterion, conduct an analysis, identify patterns, draw conclusions on the basis of which decisions are made management decisions, draw up an action plan and implement the plan.

For anyone Russian company, the sales department is very important department, on which the profit and development of the company depends. And it’s not uncommon for it to become the company’s biggest headache. Therefore, the question is always relevant for every company. And in an increasingly competitive environment, finding and selecting salespeople is becoming a very difficult task for many recruiters.

— What questions to ask a candidate during an interview allow you to evaluate and select the best sales manager?
— Do you pay special attention?

We summarized the experts’ answers and compiled a block of 15 best questions, which will allow you to comprehensively evaluate candidates for a vacancy and select the best sales manager.

15 questions for a candidate to interview for the position of sales manager.

Professionalism (experience):
1.What does the concept of “sale” mean to you?
(Does the applicant understand the essence of sales.)

2.Sell yourself to us as a salesperson.
(The desired answer should be formulated according to the principle (properties-advantages-benefits))

Motivation:
3.Have you come to us to sell?
(The question allows you to find out the motivation of the candidate)

4.What do you like most about working as a sales manager?
(The question allows you to find out what the sales manager is focused on: the process or the result?)

Results orientation:
5.What is important to you in the work of a salesperson?
(The question allows you to find out the behavior of the sales manager (aspiration-avoidance))

6.What are you willing to do for a basic salary?
(Reveal the candidate’s true focus on results and material motivation)

Customer focus:

7.How did you deal with “difficult” clients?

8.Remember the most difficult conflict with a client?
(Assess the technique of working with the client, with objections, conflict resolution)

Achievements:

9. Do you consider yourself a successful salesperson?
(Allows you to determine the candidate’s level of self-esteem. It should not be too high or low)

10. Provide facts about your sales achievements.
(We check the candidate's past successes, achievements and experience)

Communication skills, team work:

11.Which team is most comfortable for you?
(Testing the employee’s flexibility and adaptability, desire to work in a team, corporate culture)

12.Which team, in your opinion, works most productively?
(Understanding the basics of an effective team, and whether the candidate contradicts himself in answer No. 11)

Remuneration Negotiations:

13. How much do you want to earn in our company (name the minimum and maximum)?
(Shows the candidate’s goals are realistic and ambitious)

14.What is the minimum salary that will suit you? probation?
(acceptable for the candidate)

15.What is your average monthly income for the last 3-6 months?
(We determine the level of monetary remuneration acceptable to the candidate)

What interview questions allow you to evaluate and select the best sales manager from the candidates?

Katerina Gavrilova, IT – DigitalHR Recruiting Agency.The most important thing in an interview is not the questions, but what goals you have set for yourself.

For example, you need to find out the candidate’s motivation: where he wants to grow, etc.
Ideally, there will be no questions as such, but just an informal conversation, during which the person himself will gradually talk about all the causes and consequences.

The HR manager can only competently structure the conversation according to the “funnel” principle - starting with a general question, gradually moving to the specific.
Let's say you have decided on the goals of the interview. Questions that involve linguistic analysis of the answers are very helpful.

For example: What do you enjoy most about working as a sales professional? (process-result).

If a candidate enjoys communicating with a client, then he enjoys the process. A sales manager is not a person of process, but a person of results. Most likely, he should be offered an account job.

If the candidate answers that he likes to receive his bonuses upon closing a deal, such a specialist is result-oriented.

Typical answer for salespeople What is important to you in your work? (aspiration-avoidance)“It is important to me that my manager NOT be... and further” is avoidance. This helps us understand what problems we had at our previous place of work and assess whether there may be risks that we will stumble upon this again at company X. A thorough analysis of the situation is necessary.

If the candidate answers: “It is important that I can benefit the company and be truly needed, and be able to increase the company’s turnover” - this is about desire and activity. Such a specialist should be hired to open new markets, for example. How do you make decisions? (internal or external reference) It is important to understand whether the candidate is looking for clues from others or conducting market analytics and looking for solutions himself. If we need a high-quality performer, then he should rather have an advantage in external reference.

If we need a leader, then internal reference must be developed.

Anastasia Kazmina, Deputy Director for Human Resources, AutoSpetsCenter Group of Companies.

For anyone retail company, sales manager is the basis, the key figure on whom the profitability and leading position of the company depends.

Who should this key figure be?
Of course, the first thing we pay attention to is how client-oriented our candidate is, how he establishes contact, whether he knows how to listen and hear, how to identify the client’s needs, and is not afraid to ask open questions and at the same time, positively and reasonably addresses the client’s possible objections, focusing on the advantages of the purchase.

For a sales manager, it is no less important. He is motivated by money - excellent, he wants to be first, recognition is important - even better!
For example, employees with a sports background in which there were victories or gold medalists make excellent sales managers, they always strive to be leaders, they are result-oriented, and if the manager also knows how to highlight them, praise them, motivate them, then they will run the fastest!

How to evaluate all these qualities?
It is important to discern, even in a person without specialized experience, a focus on results, it is important to understand what achievements were in the past, what one is motivated for in the present, this is a biographical interview and it is important to give the candidate a case, i.e. play out a real situation with a client, let him sell anything, throw objections at him, be dissatisfied, ask “stupid questions”, ask again - after all, the client in real life can be anyone and his task is to find an approach and, as a result, sell the product, so that The client was satisfied and came back again!

Marina Lysikova, HR director of the international network of culinary studios CULINARYON. Nowadays at any time commercial organization providing certain services or goods, the issue of search and selection is always very acute effective manager by sales.

In fact, the HR market is overflowing with resumes of sales managers. But how to choose truly good candidates from this entire pool?

Of course, there are some such specialists. One example of companies that pay special attention to the quality of their sales department is the international network of culinary studios CULINARYON.

CULINARYON is a dynamically developing company with a unique corporate culture, which is why when searching for employees, the following two competencies are of particular importance to us: professionalism and compliance with the company’s corporate culture. If we talk specifically about sales managers, our HR specialists advise paying special attention to 5 fundamental competencies and asking the candidate the relevant questions:

1. Professionalism. In this case, there are standard questions, such as work experience, functionality, tools used by the manager for finding clients, sales and handling objections, understanding target audience companies. These questions provide a clear picture of the applicant’s experience and provide an opportunity to understand how well he or she meets our criteria.

2. Result orientation. This competence can be tested through a situational case. Example: “The sales plan is set for the quarter. 2 months have passed, but you understand that if you continue the current style of work, the plan will not be fulfilled. “What actions will you take to correct and improve the current situation?” The applicant’s answer will allow you to immediately determine how quickly he is able to navigate force majeure circumstances, as well as his level of motivation in achieving a successful result. Candidates who show creativity in solving even such a trivial case will be especially valuable.

3. . It is also possible to assess this competence using a case. Simple example: “How do you organize your workday to achieve your goals? Describe him". In this case, special attention should be paid to the applicant’s thought process, the structure of the arrangement and his decision-making.

4. Relationships and teamwork. As mentioned earlier, for CULINARYON (as for any other company specializing in organizing and holding events) this competency is one of the most important. A fundamental quality for a successful candidate will be developed communication skills. But in order to assess the competence to work in a team as efficiently as possible, you can resort to mixing key queries in the case presented to the applicant.

Example: “Which team, in your opinion, works most productively? Which team is most comfortable for you? You find out that a co-worker is not very complimentary about you, which is hindering your career. What are your actions in such a situation? In this way, the employee’s flexibility and adaptability in changing conditions are tested, as well as the level of stress resistance, which in itself is very important quality for an effective sales manager.

5. Compliance- this is a general observation of the candidate during the entire interview, during which it is necessary to pay attention to appearance, spoken language, facial expressions and gestures. For example, very sociable and active young people work at CULINARYON, so we are always looking for a similar psychotype.

Currently, the search and selection of sales managers is quite popular, as they are in great demand. As a rule, there are no universal requirements; each company approaches this issue based on the specifics of its work. However, there are key competencies and issues on which you can beat a good candidate.

First of all, follows . For a good salesperson, it’s money. You can discuss for a long time what interesting functionality will be, growth prospects, a friendly team or a convenient schedule, everything will fade into the background, because such specialists are focused on making a profit for the company, for which they are paid well. You can ask the following questions: “What are you working for?” or “Describe the portrait of a successful sales manager”. The answers of a motivated employee should include words such as “effective”, “working for results”, “will do”, “I always achieve my goals”, etc.

An equally important criterion when choosing is customer focus. To understand this, it’s worth asking situational questions, for example: “How did you deal with “difficult” clients”, “Give examples of client complaints you encountered” or “Remember the most difficult conflict with a client”, etc.

A customer-oriented employee is pleasant in communication, answers questions without irritation, with a smile, is tactful, and most often “mirrors” the opponent so that he feels comfortable. Ideally, if the candidate says that there are no difficult clients, you can always find a way out and retain him.

To assess communication skills and flexibility, it is enough to pay attention to the applicant’s communication style. Evidence of a good level is the following behavioral characteristics: adapts to the interlocutor’s style, does not interrupt, knows how to listen, and joins the conversation at the right moment.

We have a special technology, which in recruitment is called “competitive selection”. Its essence is that a large number of candidates are invited for a position at once, and the selection takes place in three stages at once on one day.

First stage.
A series of rapid-fire interviews with groups of 5 candidates, 15 minutes apart. During such an interview, we identify key qualities and characteristics: resistance to stress, basic positive attitude towards life, flexible mind, adequacy of position.

Second phase.
An in-depth study of the competencies of the remaining candidates.

Third stage.
Homework. This is a very indicative test of readiness to keep commitments. Surprisingly, not everyone manages to meet deadlines rather than show off their knowledge.
As a rule, it is those who complete the test on time who then work hard, long and effectively in their positions.

At the first stage there are not many questions, they rarely directly require you to talk in detail about specific sales technologies. But we managed to collect a pool of questions that very clearly show the candidate’s competencies and motivation.

For example, a simple question perfectly demonstrates a candidate’s motivation: Have you come to us to sell?

Some are confused, because the answer is obvious - he came to the position of sales manager. But others happily nod: “Of course! This is exactly what I want to do! Tell us a little about your company, and I can immediately draw your attention to the advantages of the product” - before we had time to look back, the future salesman seized the initiative. Of course, this is a big sign that a person is “in love” with his business.

Another easy task: sell yourself to us as a salesperson- may confuse shy candidates. But if a person does not hesitate to praise himself, we look at the consistency of his speech. It’s great if he describes himself according to the “properties-advantages-benefits” model. Ideally, he will first ask: “What kind of person are you looking for?” - and will be able to make a presentation based on our needs.

So, after one question, we understand what technologies and sales models a person actually owns.
We have tested this method on many development companies throughout Russia. He helped select the best sales experts from the market for our clients.

About Mann, Cheremnykh and Partners
Consulting company specializing in development. Over 2 years, 26 successful cases of increasing sales of apartments of different levels. The founders of the company are Igor Mann, the most famous marketer in Russia, speaker, author, publisher; Ivan Cheremnykh, expert in strategic management in development, co-owner of PIC. We co-authored “That Developer’s Book,” which has become a reference book for advanced construction companies in Russia.

Mikhail Smuschenko, CEO TSC "Gelster".

During interviews, we ask potential sales managers both questions about their experience and the principles that guide their work.

The questions from the first block are not limited to listing the applicant’s responsibilities at the previous place of work. We also try to find out the level of ambition of the applicant, as well as the degree of his activity and professionalism. For example, we ask what place the candidate occupied among his colleagues at his previous job and whether he did anything to get ahead. This question allows you to understand how much effort the applicant is willing to put into his work, whether he strives to become the best, or whether he is used to being content with little.

Another frequently asked question: “What is the most big project are you proud?. We make sure to clarify the transaction amount and why the candidate chose him. This helps determine the scale of the tasks the specialist has worked on, as well as his professional values. A candidate who chooses a project that is large in terms of profit, and also notes the work methods that led to success, gets several points in our eyes.

We often ask if the seller has had conflicts with clients and how he resolved them: on his own or with the help of his manager. Controversial situations possible in work, but it is very important that the manager is not afraid to report dissatisfaction to the manager and together with him find a solution.

Among our questions there are also questions about cold calling. For example, we often ask how a specialist generally feels about them. A professional sales manager should not be afraid of them, because in any market there are periods of decline, and then you will have to pick up the phone. We do not consider specialists who are not ready for this. For those who are not afraid to work “in the fields,” we definitely ask about the number of calls per day and their effectiveness.

A sales manager must be proactive. The question helps to identify this quality of his: “Where did you get clients at your last place of work?” If the specialist only advised the incoming flow of buyers, we mark this as a minus. If, among other things, he was looking for clients, we be sure to clarify where and what the results were.

Another set of professional issues is related to solving situations that may arise in real work.

For example, what to do if a client says about a product: “Expensive”? A bad answer to this question is to offer a discount. Discounts teach the customer to pay less; in the future, such a customer will always ask for a lower price, even if the budget allows them to buy the product at full price. A good answer in this case is to find out what “Expensive” means to the client. Perhaps the client is comparing the product with a cheaper analogue. Then it’s worth talking about the advantages and benefits that the client acquires along with a more expensive product.

Question “How to steal a client from a competitor?” allows you to identify the principles of the applicant’s work. If he fights with competitors only with the help of price, then this is bad, because he will not be able to earn much for the company. If, in the candidate’s opinion, it is necessary to offer the best product, high-level service, and professional advice, then such an applicant will not only be able to outperform competitors, but will also win the trust of the consumer.

The most difficult question for many job seekers is: “How to make a permanent client?” Most candidates get lost or give the wrong answer, not understanding how to build long-term and fruitful relationships with the client. Any buyer is very pleased with the attention and care. Therefore, the manager’s task is to remember the client, visit him, congratulate him on the holidays, and sometimes call him just like that.

Mandatory question for the sales manager in our company: “What is more important: to be able to sell, no matter what, or to know the product perfectly?” A qualified specialist will not be able to choose one or the other. Without knowledge of the product, the manager will not select the most suitable product for the client, and without sales techniques, he will not be able to close the deal.

All these questions are suitable for those candidates who already have experience in sales. Applicants without work experience should be asked about their personal qualities, values, and priorities. It is important that the future sales manager is open, friendly, ambitious and willing to learn. Even without experience, such a person can be turned into a sales “star.”

As an experienced HR director, I can say: the main thing is to be able to evaluate the candidate by his communication style, to give him the opportunity to reason, and not wait for “socially expected” answers to standard questions, which today are available to everyone on the Internet.

Of course, an interview is a dialogue; for it to start, one must ask, the other must answer. And the main questions for sales managers (including real estate) can be divided into three main groups. It is important that the candidate is able to confirm the experience stated in the resume and explain how he achieved the results achieved in other places of work.

Therefore, the first group is logic questions. There is no correct answer to them, so it will be difficult for an inexperienced personnel officer to learn from the applicant’s story useful information. “Name three pros and three cons of important tasks,” “what would you choose between successfully closing a deal and maintaining your reputation,” or simply “what do you like about sales?” — what matters is not what the interlocutor will answer, but how he will justify it.

The second group is projective questions. As a rule, this is an offer to simulate a situation. And yes, the offer “sell me a ballpoint pen” can also be put forward. More complex options that will allow you to extract more interesting information: “how to identify the client’s needs and whether it is possible to form additional ones”, “what methods do you know of successfully completing a transaction.” Or: “examples and reasons for your professional failures.” Let the person show that he knows how to draw conclusions - this is more than valuable in any job.

Finally, It is worth determining the level of motivation of the salesperson. “A colleague is letting you down, what are your actions?”, “your number one achievement, justify it.” Does the candidate have criteria for evaluating his own work, how does he understand that he is successful? A sales manager must have a personal interest (I now change my car once a year, and not once every three - which means I’m on top), and not follow KPIs (it’s not my business to evaluate my work, there’s a manager and bonuses for that ).

He is enthusiastic, can even speak rashly, but without going overboard - artificiality is easy to recognize.

The most important competencies that we identify and evaluate in sales managers are:

Initiative
ability to make independent decisions
ability to persuade
ability to sell
stress resistance
communication skills

It is also important to pay attention to additional education, duration of work at each place, reasons for looking for work.
During interviews with these specialists, we ask quite a lot of questions.

Here are some of the ones we think should be asked:
How do you imagine your working day?
Name your most.
What makes you stand out as a sales professional?
How are you going to find new clients?
How do you track changes in your sales segment?
What motivates you best at work?
How do you cope with difficulties? Tell us about the “black” streaks in your work?

In addition to questions, we also pay attention to appearance - clothes, shoes, hairstyle, manicure, because a sales manager is the face of any company. We make sure to listen to the applicant’s speech, analyze how he constructs phrases, and listen to his manner of expressing his thoughts.

It is very important that during the dialogue the candidate behaves confidently, does not lower his eyes to the floor, does not fiddle with his hair and ears, or build “barriers” with his hands.

I like to interview sales managers in person. Because this is the person who will be the “face of the company” and brings in money; the development of the company depends on the results of his work.

In addition to the standard ones - o bad habits, hobbies, what books he reads, what he does after work, about the 5 stages of sales, I ask the following questions during a personal interview:

— What does development mean to you? Do you like to develop yourself? Tell us more.

Why is this important - managers will have to communicate with decision makers, in 50% of cases these are the owners of small and medium-sized businesses themselves. If a manager in the age of galloping information has knowledge that is 2-5 years old, then the chances of making successful transactions with a high check will tend to zero.
I also like to check how ready a person is not only to take, but also to give. In this case, I ask the following question:

— Our company is ready to invest money in education and advanced training of employees. But in return, we sign an agreement with him, in which we stipulate that after training you can leave the company, compensating the payment 3 times or working for at least 1.5 years. Are you ready for this?

— Are you ready to be responsible not only for your results, but for the results of the work of every employee of the company - another manager in the sales department, an accountant, a secretary or a courier?

I have prepared this question and will ask it to the managers of a new project that will start in the fall, because the company has begun to introduce the technology of non-salary payment. This has already been implemented and works in the company of Ayaz Shabudtinov, Maxim Gralnik, and is taught by Irina Narchemashvili - she has control over the work of three international companies takes only 3 days (!) per month.

An interview is stressful for the applicant. Therefore, it is also important to understand and evaluate how ready a person is to perceive new information in a stressful situation and is ready to think and analyze productively:

— We produce and supply high-tech equipment, used in production facilities with conveyor belts. Tell me, who are our clients? Which sales channels are best to use? Explain why.

- Do you have a family? Are there children? If not, are you planning to and when?

I definitely ask this question regardless of the gender and age of the applicant. Because it makes it clear how stable a person is and how determined he is to realize himself not only in work, but also in the family. Because there is no place in the team for childfree people - I am a mother myself, and I am happy to hire people who love children.

Hiring and testing a sales manager is a different story. Here it is important to understand not what he had in the past, old orders and medals are not particularly interesting, but whether he is ready to “move mountains” in the future. I have three favorite questions.

1. What is your cost of living?
In this way, you can determine the desired and comfortable fix for a person. Most people talk about 50-60 thousand. Here another question arises: maybe the minimum is enough for a person? And we are looking for super-motivated sales people! Then you start discussing a fixed percentage 10-15 lower than stated and look at the reaction. If resistance and panic begin, the candidate is not focused on growth. Only the fix will work.

2. How much do you want to earn?
Some say 120 thousand, others 180. For me, this is a sign that, having reached this number, a person will enter the “comfort zone” and stop. The best answer is “There are no restrictions.”

3. What is your dream?
Few people talk about cosmonaut pilots, as everyone wanted in childhood. People are adults, the world is cruel and material. They call something material that can be bought with money. And here attention to the previous question. “I want an island in the Indian Ocean” has nothing to do with the maximum salary of 120 thousand. We definitely won’t work together.

I never had to choose from several candidates. If a person approaches, tell him immediately YES. If not, also immediately. It very rarely comes down to the phrase “We’ll call you back.”

It should be noted that we are looking for people to sell complex B2B projects. For a simple “writer” of invoices on incoming traffic, completely different qualities are needed.

Dmitry Chernov, security company "Caesar".

During the interview, in addition to standard questions based on personal data, I ask several creative ones. Please tell me several stories, one of which should be fictitious - this allows you to evaluate the candidate’s speed of thinking and how beautifully and confidently he can “lie” (it’s no secret that sales people like to exaggerate the properties of their product).

I am interested in hobbies, interests and informal work experience. I may not be impressed myself work book, but I have a wealth of experience working on various projects. Many people, especially young people, are embarrassed or forget to show such experience.

A common creative technique for testing sales skills is the task of selling a pen. Despite the fact that this technique has been shown in many feature films and has been discussed in all sales books, not all applicants know which way to approach it. In addition, the continuation of “selling a pen” allows you to evaluate how and to what extent a person can and knows how to bargain, whether he is ready to take advantage of the opportunity and make upsell or increase supply.

Today's labor market realities, on the one hand, inspire us that there are more than enough sales specialists looking for work; on the other hand, a considerable proportion of these specialists, unfortunately, are not effective “sales people.” How to assess the competencies of a sales manager at the interview stage so as not to make a mistake when hiring a key specialist? What are the criteria for evaluating a sales manager? Which What are the main interview questions for a sales manager? Assessing sales managers is an important component of the selection process; let’s consider everything in order.

How to evaluate a sales manager during an interview (questions for a sales manager during an interview)

Let's consider the main criteria that should be carefully planned in assessing sales managers when deciding to hire a sales specialist ( interview for sales managers).

1. Logic of career building

Even at the stage of evaluating the resume, it is necessary to analyze professional experience candidate. If the candidate moved from sales to process activities ( financial management, engineering, technical support etc.), it is quite possible that his “salesman” competencies are very weak, or he is not sufficiently motivated to work in sales, or, perhaps, he is process-oriented, which is unacceptable for an effective sales manager. It is necessary to find out the reasons for such dramatic changes in his career and draw the right conclusions.

It is also necessary to evaluate the dynamics career growth candidate according to age. If the candidate is over 40, and his professional experience includes only positions of specialist managers, without management functions, it’s worth thinking: why didn’t the candidate reach a higher career level? Either he did not strive for career growth due to fear of responsibility, or his professional achievements were not noted by management, or he lacked managerial qualities. We cannot exclude the possibility that the candidate is only interested in sales and did not consciously move to a higher level. The last reason should not be confused with the candidate’s rigidity, fear of leaving the “comfort zone” - these are already negative signals when assessing the candidate.

2. Frequency of transitions from Company to Company

For a sales manager, in my opinion, a discount should be made when assessing his stability from the point of view of choosing an employer. As a rule, a good “sales person” is motivated by money, but, unfortunately, the motivation system for the sales department is not always transparent, understandable and fair. In conditions of inadequate motivation, a sales manager “burns out,” as a rule, after a year of work. There may be other objective reasons for changing employers, so it is important to thoroughly find out why the candidate changed jobs.

It happens that candidates are disingenuous by not voicing the real reasons for leaving; it is quite difficult to verify this. Therefore, it is important to create a trusting atmosphere during the interview. It is not a fact that even after this the candidate will talk about everything in spirit, but the chances that he will be more open will increase significantly.

3. Self-presentation skills

This issue requires careful and comprehensive consideration. On the one hand, if a candidate can position himself competently, this is certainly a plus. But it is necessary to understand that the candidate could simply carefully prepare for the interview, or attend a sufficient number of them, before coming to you. In this case, an experienced recruiter will hear “memorized phrases”; they, as a rule, are difficult to integrate into the structure of the narrative when the interview is carried out competently by the recruiter.

On the other hand, we must not forget that an interview is, as a rule, stressful for the candidate, and therefore he cannot always show off a bright self-presentation.

Therefore, in the process of the candidate’s answers to a greater extent You should pay attention to the structure and sequence of the narrative.

Numerous digressions, avoidance of answers, the manner of answering a question with a question, an overly long story filled with numerous details should be considered as negative factors.

4. Company level

This assessment criterion should be considered in three directions:

Number of the Company.

If a candidate has worked in small organizations, it will be difficult for him to integrate into a large structure, since the level of communications, approvals and time frames in solving certain problems differs significantly.

Client level.

Decision makers (decision makers) at different levels are different. If a manager concludes a deal for a million rubles, one circle of people communicates with him, if for 30 million, the circle of people, firstly, expands, and secondly, the level of negotiations becomes more complicated. As a rule, large organizations are focused on tangible financial results and attracting large key clients, so the “sales people” there are stronger and more experienced.

Of course, there are exceptions; in this case, you need to analyze the candidate’s sales volumes within a particular Company.

Company mentality.

Yes, there is such a concept; it includes corporate culture, Company policy, leadership style, workplace organization.

For example, if the previous employer had an “office” system, it will be difficult for the candidate to adapt to the “open-space” format. Or, for example, if a candidate previously had a democratic leader, it will be almost impossible for him to adopt an authoritarian leadership style.

I recently interviewed a candidate who had left a large construction company due to the fact that profanity was constantly present in communication between colleagues.

Here it is important to provide the candidate with the opportunity to assess his strength: whether he can adapt and accept the “rules of the game” of the new employer. The main thing is to voice all the nuances to the candidate “at the entrance” so that there are no unpleasant surprises for him after he becomes an employee of the Company.

Basically, this criterion is expressed in the cost of the candidate, in the level of his salary expectations. If a sales manager wants to earn 35 thousand rubles, then he is not a sales manager. If a sales manager expects a monthly financial remuneration of 300 thousand rubles, he is either a good sales manager or an inadequate person.

How to understand how adequate a candidate’s self-esteem is? It is important to clarify two points:

1. How much the candidate earned at his previous job.

Perhaps his income was close to the amount indicated on his resume, then there are no questions, everything is quite understandable. Again: if the candidate does not embellish reality.

This can be checked by looking at the vacancies of the Company in which the candidate worked and the level of payment for these vacancies. Or ask the candidate for certificate 2 - personal income tax, if his income at his previous place of work was official.

2. Whatever “fix” would be comfortable for him.

If a candidate names a salary amount that is close to his expected income level, this is a bad indicator. Any sales manager wants to earn money, so he will tie his income to a percentage of sales. Of course, a low level of a fixed amount is not good, but during the interview process it is important to understand whether the candidate is focused on salary or is ready to tie his financial reward to the results achieved.

It is worth noting the following negative factor when assessing a candidate: if a candidate voices the amount of his monthly expenses, this may indicate his immaturity and passive life position.

6. Self-confidence

A successful salesperson is full of self-confidence. He has sold, sells and will sell, he, as a rule, has no negative sales experience, he is ready to cope with any non-standard situation, his luggage has everything that is necessary for effective sales.

A true salesperson will never prepare for failure in advance. This can be understood by the questions he asks. If they are of an organizational nature or relate to the specifics of the product, you can breathe easy: the candidate does not feel afraid of the sales process itself.

A candidate who is unsure of his abilities asks “guaranteeing” questions. He asks you whether a customer base is provided, whether you need to make “cold calls”, what will happen if he doesn’t sell, who will teach him the specifics of selling this product - this means that he is either not fully competent or has negative sales experience, and more precisely, “non-sales”.

In short, if the candidate’s questions boil down to external factors and possible failures, it is unlikely that a true seller is sitting in front of you.

7. Professional passion

Ask the candidate to describe the most difficult deal they have ever dealt with. He will talk about it in an interesting, “tasty” way; his eyes will sparkle, remembering his recent victory.

Another enthusiastic salesperson, if the conversation is structured correctly on the part of the recruiter, will begin to voice possible options for finding clients, potential markets, and will ask about competitors.

It’s as if he is already working here, he seems to be “trying on” the role of an employee, he already sees the goals set for himself and the ways to achieve them.

8. Mixed reference

As we all know, internal reference is important for managers, external reference is important for performers. The sales manager faces a “skew” in one direction or another negative consequences for sales. If the reference is internal, he may not have enough flexibility when interacting with the client, and he will not always easily accept management decisions. If the external reference prevails, he will not be able to “press” the client, will follow his lead, will not be able to express his position or enter into a constructive discussion.

We need a golden mean. If, nevertheless, a “skew” can be traced, it is allowed in the direction of internal reference. People with internal reference, as a rule, have leadership qualities, the ability to defend their own position, they are charismatic, stubborn and efficient. All of the above qualities are decisive for a successful sales manager.

9. Sales specifics

It is necessary to find out how the candidate’s professional experience will fit into the specifics of the new Company.

If a candidate worked in consulting, it is not a fact that he will be able to effectively sell engineering equipment. And vice versa. Product and service are psychologically different things. Both for the client and for the sales manager. Quite often, candidates’ resumes contain organizations with different areas of activity. In this case, the risks of ineffective work in a new place are significantly reduced.

Or, if the candidate built distribution, it will be difficult for him to carry out direct sales, since the specifics are significantly different.

You can also note candidates with experience in FMCG ( sales representatives, working in the “fields”): level of negotiations on this market usually quite low.

B2B and B2C sales should not be strictly divided by levels of complexity: interaction with clients occurs at a decent level, in both areas there is an active search for clients, in addition, B2C sales have a relatively recent history, so candidates’ resumes usually include a share of work in B2C sales , is small.

10. Cycle, dynamics and sales volumes

There are different sales cycles, different sales dynamics and, naturally, different sales volumes. All these indicators should be clarified and analyzed during the interview.

For example, in companies providing certification services, the sales cycle can range from 1 to 3 years, from negotiations to payment for services by the client.

A manager who knows how to manage a long sales cycle can easily cope with a short cycle, but the opposite can be more difficult.

IN transport companies The sales dynamics for the first six months are low: the client “tests” the contractor to ensure compliance with deadlines and cargo safety, and only after that begins full-fledged cooperation and provides tangible volumes.

Sales dynamics should be taken into account to a greater extent during the sales manager’s adaptation period: you should not set ambitious sales plans from the first month. Sales dynamics have little impact on professional experience.

Sales volumes, I think, do not require explanation, but it is important to understand that if your Company carries out millions of transactions, the decision to hire an employee with experience in selling low-cost products and services is reckless. This is an important point for assessing sales managers.

Firstly, it is psychologically difficult to operate large sums out of habit.

Secondly, let me remind you once again about the level of negotiations: depending on how much the client is willing to part with, the circle of decision-makers changes dramatically and the level of negotiations, accordingly, too.

11. Motivators

A good salesperson's main motivator is money.

We can talk as much as we like about interesting tasks, career prospects, etc.: a sales manager wants to earn money.

He is ready to give his all, stay after work, go on business trips, bring results, but for this he will expect a decent financial reward.

Therefore, it is very important that the Company has an adequate, transparent and understandable motivation system for sales managers.

There are examples when key specialists sales people left the Company because they reached the financial “ceiling”: they bring in large clients, and their level of payment remains the same, because the motivation system has a number of conscious or unconscious shortcomings.

On the other hand, there are examples of managers reaching a financial “comfort zone” - a certain psychological “maximum” that is enough for them to live quite comfortably. Such managers, consciously or unconsciously, reduce their activity, switch to process actions and become less effective.

The “ceiling” hinders strong “sales people”; the “comfort zone” reaches the “average”.

Analyze the situation in the sales department and decide what kind of motivation will work for you.

12. Results-oriented

There's nothing scarier than a process-oriented salesperson. They are guided by the principle “if you do something, something will happen.”

They make cold calls honestly, often even more than high-performing managers; send out commercial offers, analyze the customer base, monitor competitors, and write reports.

Such managers, as a rule, have a sufficient number of intermediate results: the client ordered a trial batch, the client requested Commercial offer and so on. But, most likely, the intermediate results will remain intermediate. The effectiveness of such a specialist will be spontaneous, he will lose clients and fail deals, and all because he is not results-oriented.

How to identify an effective manager?

Results-oriented sales managers communicate results in measurable terms. They name numbers, deadlines, remember their clients perfectly, sometimes know more about them than necessary: ​​what kind of cognac Ivan Ivanovich likes, what breed is Svetlana Petrovna’s favorite dog, when is Serafima Sergeevna’s daughter’s birthday.

Non-process-oriented specialists, accordingly, will describe the process: “walked, called, sent,” etc.

13. Decency

If a candidate for a sales “manager” vacancy solemnly tells you that he has a customer base, do not rush to rejoice. This speaks primarily of his dishonesty towards past employers. He was selling the Company's services, not his own? And when he left, he “took” his portfolio of clients with him. We all have a certain pattern of behavior in certain situations. Think about it: are you facing the same fate that befell your previous employer?

Transitions from competitors to competitors should not be assessed positively either. Such an employee is a risk factor for your Company in terms of maintaining confidential information and customer base.

A number of Companies have already abandoned the practice of “poaching” sales specialists, primarily for security reasons, but also for the purpose of complying with business ethics.

14. Effective use of sales tools

We will consider this point in terms of two types of sales specialists:

Managers with an "aspiration" attitude.

Managers with an avoidance attitude.

How to find out the position of a sales manager?

Ask them one simple question: “Do you think cold calling works?”

Managers with a drive attitude will always answer that cold calling works.

They will ask clarifying questions about delivery times, terms for agreeing contracts - in a word, they will focus on quality, efficiency and the level of interaction between the selling and supply departments, so that nothing prevents them from selling and there are no problems with customer satisfaction. They will also be interested in whether they will need to engage in follow-up with the attracted client.

They save their time and work for results, without referring to external circumstances.

Managers with an avoidance attitude will say that cold calling is last century, they will ask in detail about discounts, installment plans, and possible problems in interaction with the client.

It is important to be able to identify a candidate’s “avoidance” attitude. For such managers, difficulties have a demotivating effect. Prices for products have increased, negotiations have gone wrong, the client has been rude - and he already gives up, the manager sighs and complains about injustice, while often taking an accusing position.

The avoidance position is manifested in the candidate’s concentration on negative experiences, in voicing external circumstances that prevented him from performing certain tasks.

Ask Interview questions for a sales manager! We wish you effective evaluation of sales managers and clear criteria for evaluating sales managers!

Effective sales management of any company is impossible without constant and comprehensive attention to the work of sales managers. The success of salespeople is one of the main components good sales companies. However, in modern companies It’s not uncommon for sales managers to be left to their own devices. No one sets them any tasks (except, perhaps, for fulfilling a certain sales plan), no one controls how effectively their work is organized, no one gives them feedback about the quality of their work. Of course, this speaks, first of all, about the low level of management of the sales department, on the one hand, and weak support from the company’s personnel service, on the other. The task of the head of the sales department is to clearly set tasks for sales managers and monitor their implementation. The task of the personnel service is to provide the head of the sales department with methodological support and tools for working with personnel. One of these sales management tools is a comprehensive assessment of sales managers based on quantitative and qualitative indicators, which will be discussed in this article.

First, let's remember what the essence of the term “assessment” is.

Evaluation is the process of determining the effectiveness of employees’ activities to achieve goals, allowing one to obtain information for making further management decisions.

The concept of assessment includes studying an employee according to a number of parameters:

• performance results;
• behavioral characteristics;
• performance job responsibilities;
• level of competence;
• personal characteristics.

Thus, a comprehensive assessment is an assessment based on all of the listed parameters. However, that's not all. The complexity of assessing sales managers also lies in the fact that all of the listed parameters are assessed from several positions: “from the inside” (by managers, executives) and “from the outside” (by the company’s clients and, if necessary, attracted experts), using various methods.

In addition, to ensure the comprehensiveness of the assessment, it should be carried out using both quantitative and qualitative indicators. Let's consider what quantitative and qualitative indicators are suitable for assessing sales managers:

• the manager's consolidated sales volume (total sales volume for a certain period, the assessment period must correspond to the planning period);
• sales volume segmented on various grounds (by groups of goods (services), by customer groups, by sales territory, by payment terms);
• sales dynamics for a certain period (month, quarter, year);
• growth (or decline) in the number of clients – general indicator and indicators for individual groups of clients;
• expansion of customer orders - sales dynamics to regular customers;
• average price (size) of the transaction;
• accounts receivable, including overdue accounts receivable;
• indicators of participation in company shares; the number of products sold, for which sales targets have been set (for example, as part of a “product of the month” promotion or promotions for the sale of “stuck” products”) and others.

Please note that evaluation indicators directly follow from the company’s goals for the current period, as well as from the employee’s job responsibilities. Therefore, in order to select adequate (and not excessive, since this makes the assessment heavier and makes it a poorly functioning tool) quantitative indicators, it is necessary to conduct a thorough analysis of the company’s goals and the department’s goals arising from them. And also take into account the indicators recorded in regulatory documents relating to the activities of the sales manager (job descriptions, standards, work regulations).

Obviously, assessing sales managers based on quantitative indicators is an assessment “from the inside.” It can be carried out by the head of the sales department, it can be fully automated within the framework of the implemented CRM system (Customer Relationship Management). The assessment method will be analysis of all of the above indicators.

Regarding quantitative indicators, it is important to remember the following: the total sales volume, as well as some other indicators, depends not only on sales managers, but also on the work of the entire company as a whole. A simple example that is typical for many companies: The client sends a fax with some request for the sales department, the secretary receives it and... forgets to hand it over... or... it is received by the one who was closest to the fax and... leaves it on the table, and the secretary who came decides that someone forgot it the document... therefore it (the document) does not represent any value and... throws it away. Therefore, this alone (sales volume) or another quantitative indicator is clearly not enough for a comprehensive assessment of managers. On the other hand, the number of indicators exceeding 5 sharply reduces the value of the assessment procedure itself, since it takes too much time to calculate and analyze it, and feedback on the assessment results is only useful when provided promptly.

If the fulfillment of quantitative indicators has a greater impact on the economic results of the company’s activities, then the fulfillment of qualitative indicators also affects the company’s image and reputation. For example, a sales manager shows good results in terms of quantitative indicators, but is constantly late for meetings and forgets to complete documents on time. Clients tolerate this (for the time being), this does not affect the volume of their purchases, but their satisfaction with working with this manager gradually decreases. Accordingly, the attitude towards the manager is transferred to the attitude towards the entire company.

Also, assessment based on qualitative indicators makes it possible to assess the manager’s potential, possible ways his professional and career development. In addition, there are also relationships within the team, with colleagues in the department and employees of other departments. It also makes sense to evaluate this, since the effectiveness of communications, loyalty to the company, the desire to solve problems and not look for excuses also directly affects the activities of the entire company as a whole.

Let's consider the qualitative indicators by which it makes sense to evaluate sales managers:

1. Competencies (business, professional quality). Competency assessment allows you to identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees and select for them necessary programs training, determine prospects for further development.
2. Customer satisfaction with the sales manager. Assessing customer satisfaction is necessary for timely actions to correct the situation, to adjust the behavior of the manager, as well as to develop comprehensive programs to increase customer loyalty.
3. Keeping customers informed about new products and changes of the company. Informing the client directly affects the volume of his purchases. It often happens that a client would happily purchase certain goods (and purchases them elsewhere), but is simply not aware of this possibility.
4. Level of performance discipline. By performance discipline we mean no being late for work or meetings, no leaving work early, and completing assignments on time. A manager's discipline directly affects the company's image. In one company, the leading manager allowed himself to come to work when it was convenient for him. As a result, in order to contact him, clients had to call the company 2-3 times, wasting time and nerves. Failure to fulfill instructions on time can lead to a decrease in the company’s reputation and direct losses. Often we see something like the following situation. The company receives a request from a client. The head of the department promises the client that a manager will contact him, find out all the details, and prepare a commercial proposal within three days. Then the manager gives the manager the appropriate instructions. The manager does not call the client, but sends a commercial proposal a week later. Naturally, by this time the client, without waiting for the call, decides that the company is not interested and turns to another place where his request is fulfilled more accurately. As a result, the client is lost.
5. Compliance with company rules, regulations and procedures (as set out in corporate documents, as well as standards for reporting and interaction of services). Regulatory documents are developed in order to increase the efficiency of work and interaction between company divisions. Due to inconsistency of actions in companies, duplication of functions quite often occurs, or vice versa, some important types of work are not done at all. To increase productivity, which directly affects the cost of products or services, various regulations and standards are being developed. If a manager does not consider it necessary to follow them, then he thereby harms the company, since his actions reduce the productivity of the entire company and also have a destructive effect on the atmosphere in the team. When someone doesn't follow the rules (quite often pointedly), it provokes other workers to do the same.
6. The sales manager's loyalty to the company. Loyalty almost always affects an employee’s performance. Loyal employee tries to do his job as best as possible, strives to achieve results, and not just “serve” the allotted time at work, is not indifferent to problems, tries to creatively approach their solution, and in general is passionate about the work. All this, naturally, affects the results of his work. Employee loyalty is influenced by many factors: satisfaction with their work, its content, a sense of fairness of remuneration, relationships in the team, trust in management, recognition of the employee’s merits and much more. Most of these factors can be adjusted, so it is important to monitor them in order to notice the symptoms of trouble in time and take action.
7. Features of employee motivation. It is important for the head of a department to know what is a stimulating factor for his subordinates and what does not in any way affect the results of work. Moreover, for different employees these can be completely different factors. For some, the main thing is money; all other incentives are simply not perceived. For some, money is important, but only if there is a good atmosphere in the team and his merits are appreciated. And for some it is very important to gain experience and make a career. And it is very important for a manager to understand what each of his employees “breathes,” because only then will he be able to somehow influence them. Therefore, assessing the characteristics of motivation is important as a personnel management tool both in the case of building a motivation system, and for career development, and in general for increasing the efficiency of the department.
8. Cooperation, establishing productive relationships with other departments. The head of a department needs to understand how much his employees are able and want to establish good relationships with other departments. There are often cases when sales managers perceive themselves as some kind of elite unit, in front of which everyone must “walk on their hind legs.” Other departments have to put up with this. But if such a situation arises, sooner or later there will come a time when the sales department (or some of its employees) will need help and assistance. And then other departments will pay back in full for past grievances.

To assess quality indicators, internal reserves can be used; as a rule, the assessment can be carried out by the head of the sales department, heads and managers of “related” departments. However, external assessment is no less interesting. External assessment can be carried out by the company’s clients, as well as external experts. It makes sense to involve external experts to assess such parameters as the sales manager’s satisfaction with the company’s activities; level of development of competencies; features of motivation; structure of relationships with colleagues; general loyalty.

Let's consider the main methods for assessing quality indicators.

• Personality questionnaires allow you to assess a large number of employees and obtain assessment results of both personality traits and competencies in quantitative and descriptive form, which is especially important for large companies. Quantitative results allow you to compare employees with each other based on certain qualities. This assessment method is most appropriate for conducting annual certification, where it is necessary to assess the level of competence of employees and outline a plan for them professional development. It is appropriate to use questionnaires to form a reserve for leadership positions, as well as during internal competitions for a certain position
• Ability tests allow you to assess a person’s effectiveness in a certain type of activity (analysis of numerical, verbal, technical information, reaction speed, attention to detail). The advantages of this method are the speed of implementation (from 10 minutes), the ability to evaluate a large number of employees and obtain quantitative results. The reliability of the forecast in this case depends on the accuracy of determining the key abilities required for a particular position and the choice of tests to evaluate them.
• Professional tests are developed under specific position and test key knowledge and skills. They can be created by the immediate supervisor to evaluate the employees of his department, as well as external experts consulting companies, specialized specialists from other organizations.
• A competency interview is a structured conversation aimed at obtaining detailed description real work situations that a person has encountered in his professional activity. The advantage of this method is that the interview questions are easily “adjusted” to the set of competencies required for assessment. An example of questions and possible answers is given in the Appendix (box).
• Assessment using the “360 degree” method is obtaining data about a person’s actions in real work situations and about the qualities he exhibits from people who interact with him (from bosses, colleagues, subordinates, subordinates, clients). Obtaining information from different sources makes this method quite reliable.
• Profile business cases are an example of a typical working situation in which the key qualities and competencies for a given position should be demonstrated and assessed. A business case is a problem with many unknowns: it contains information that the assessee must study and make a specific decision; there are actors also involved in this situation(the subject must interact with them). The role of additional heroes in the business case can be played by work colleagues or employees of the HR department. The accuracy of the selection of a typical work situation and a professionally created business case determine the reliability of the forecast when using this method.
• An assessment center is a combination of the various listed methods for assessing not individual competencies, but a set of them, as key for a given group of positions or for the company as a whole. This method It is considered one of the most prognostic, since a person in many situations is assessed by several specialists. Its accuracy is primarily determined by how correctly the key competencies are identified, as well as the quality of the cases developed for their assessment and the professionalism of the assessment specialists.
• Assessment by KPI (key performance indicators) is the most formalized method for assessing employee performance. This method makes sense to use in large and highly developed companies (those companies where management by objectives has been introduced, company goals are developed, plans are drawn up and reports are prepared both at the level of the company as a whole and for each division and specialist). It requires a precisely developed methodology for identifying KPIs and, preferably, automation of the assessment. To this type assessments actually worked not only to control results, but also to increase the efficiency of employees, it must, on the one hand, take into account strategic goals company, on the other hand, to be clear and understandable for every employee.
• Customer surveys. A survey of customer satisfaction with cooperation with a company shows, among other things, how competently the manager builds relationships with customers, whether he knows his needs, whether he informs him about new products in a timely manner, and whether he tries to expand cooperation. It is better to entrust customer surveys to a related department of the company (for example, the marketing department) or external experts. Also, the head of the sales department can from time to time selectively call the clients of his subordinates and informally find out their opinion about cooperation with the company and a specific manager.
• Mystery buyer. Quality assessment method services and external communications of the company. This method allows you to evaluate the quality of work of sales personnel and is a process in which a controller, disguised as a buyer, purchases goods. The agent, based on a pre-compiled report template, creates a contact card without delay, subjectively evaluates the most significant characteristics and expresses his private opinion. The SQI (Service Quality Index) methodology used for this allows us to compare the quality of customer service in any organizations operating in the market of consumer goods and services using a single set of key factors. The quality of service is assessed according to the following criteria:
  • appearance (of a store, salon)
  • convenience of obtaining information
  • appearance of store employees
  • establishing contact (client meeting)
  • identifying needs
  • product presentation
  • answers to questions and objections
  • ending contact
  • time spent
  • attitude towards the client
  • subjective assessment of a sales floor employee

What can be the subject of an assessment using the Mystery Shopper method for sales managers:

Subject of assessment	What is being assessed
Telephone communication	The level is measured corporate culture, availability of communication standards, employee proficiency in telephone communication techniques
Internet - communication	As a rule, the information content and speed of responses to visitor requests left on a web page or sent by email are measured.
Checking sellers for honesty	Suppose the company's management suspects that one of its employees is dishonest, but does not know how to catch him at the “scene of the crime.”
Sales promotions	For example, a “mystery shopper” asks the seller for a certain type of product, without indicating a specific brand, and records what the seller will offer him. If he recommends a brand promoted as part of the promotion, the “mystery shopper” reveals himself and gives the seller a prize (cash, gift).
Competitor analysis	Assessment of strengths and weaknesses your company in relation to competing companies. One questionnaire form is used. The evaluation parameters may include: level of service, prices, assortment and availability of goods in stock, system of working with wholesale customers, ease of purchase, quality of sales staff, etc. Data on competitors is compared with data about the company, and based on this information, a conclusion is made about the development reserves of sales managers

This entire range of work is focused on:

• Assessment of company personnel in terms of compliance with regulations, their implementation and viability.
• Assessing the level of competence and awareness of personnel.
• An assessment of how well sales managers ensure the desired image of the company (including if agents visit not only “their own” but also competing companies, forming a comparative profile of the main players in the local market).
• Assessing the integrity of employees.

So, why do we need a comprehensive assessment of sales managers? In addition to the most common assessment purposes (such as current motivation of salespeople, career advancement, referral for training), the results of a comprehensive assessment of sales managers allow:

• Assess the level of professionalism of employees and outline comprehensive measures to improve it. For example, a program for developing the professionalism of sales managers may include: conducting general training for the department, personal coaching with some employees and supervision with others, appointing mentors, introducing the necessary regulations, improving forms of control, conducting round tables for an exchange of views.
• Redistribute human resources sales department, depending on the complexity of the tasks and, accordingly, the required level of qualifications.
• Make adjustments to the motivation system for sales managers, based on an understanding of the situation in the team, the motives of employees and the company’s goals.
• Make adjustments to training programs, bringing them closer to the specifics of the department’s work and the characteristics of specific managers.
• Develop special programs to increase staff loyalty.
• Outline measures to improve performance discipline.
• Identify deficiencies in organizational structure company and horizontal communications.
• Identify management problems that hinder the development of the company.

It is very important to understand that the complex of quantitative and qualitative indicators will be different in each specific case. There is no standard set of metrics that can be used in any company. Each company has its own characteristics, its own goals and objectives, its own problems, and the assessment of sales managers accordingly in each company pursues its own goals. The set of indicators depends on the purposes of the assessment and therefore each company must develop it for itself. Naturally, you can use some blanks for this. Let's look at several of the most common assessment purposes and which, based on them, indicators and methods for assessing them are more appropriate.

The goal is career advancement. There are two options here:

Option one.

We make the “best” salesperson a “fear” or “leader” in order to fix his status and increase the size of the fixed part of his salary, which should be evidence of recognition of his achievements. In this case, quantitative performance indicators are more important. Special attention You need to pay attention to the stability of sales dynamics and the absence of overdue accounts receivable. Among the qualitative indicators, it makes sense to evaluate the sales manager’s loyalty to the organization and the structure of his motivation, since the step being taken is motivational. However, even if you are satisfied with all the indicators, take your time and discuss with the manager the conditions under which you are ready to promote him in his position, especially increase his “fixing”. Perhaps this will be an increase in sales volume (either total, or for a specific product category, or for a selected customer sector), perhaps it will be working with illiquid assets on conditions that are interesting for the manager and for the company - that is, some additional functions that will “pay off” new appointment. It is possible to stipulate some intermediate results, in which the position first changes, and then, after achieving certain indicators, the salary.

The second option is within the framework of a career development goal.

We want to determine which sales managers can become the head of the sales department. In this case, more interesting for us will be quality indicators - competencies, and the priority will be management competencies and the level of their development. These competencies need to be assessed both internally (for example, as part of a 360-degree assessment) and with the involvement of external resources: independent experts, less often - clients. Quantitative indicators may be at a stable average level, which will indicate that the employee understands the goals, objectives, and priorities of the company in the field of sales. Having assessed your managerial potential, do not forget that a good leader must be cultivated. It is necessary to set before him, or better yet together with him, a system of goals for the entire sales department, teach him to delegate individual tasks. Otherwise, the company may suffer from the “loss” of a stable salesperson without receiving a worthy leader. Unfortunately, very often companies practice appointing a manager from the best salespeople. Why "Unfortunately? You cannot think that the most successful sales manager can become a good leader. It is important to look at and evaluate managerial competencies, not professional ones. As a result, even if a specialist has good motivation for professional growth, he remains for a very long time just a “manager - best seller”, often (due to the desire to prove that he is worthy of the title of manager) extending the department only through his own sales. This is unlikely to be the result that the company wants to achieve as a result of an employee’s career advancement.

The goal is to plan training for sales department employees.

Quite often, sales managers explain insufficient sales by the lack of proper qualifications of managers. To solve the problem, they order sales training and say: “We need to teach them to sell competently, as a result of training, sales should increase by at least 20%.” This phrase, in printed form, looks more than naive. However, one hears such statements all the time. Even if really low sales are a consequence of the lack of professionalism of salespeople, training alone cannot solve all the sales problems in a company. Managers return to their familiar environment and, if not controlled and stimulated, quite quickly (if not immediately) return to to the usual way actions. That is, after the training, they already know how and what to do, and if you ask them about it, they will answer more or less correctly. But knowing does not mean doing it. Changing your habits is very difficult, you need to put a lot of effort into it. But more often than not, the reason for low sales is not only, and sometimes not so much, the professionalism of managers. There are many factors, without changing which, you should not hope for a significant increase in sales. This includes the positioning of the company in the market, the choice of the target client, well-structured sales channels, the demand for the product, taking into account the needs of clients and working conditions that are interesting to them, and sufficient advertising support, etc. and so on. Thus, there is no direct relationship between a single training and sales growth. At a minimum, you need to launch a whole series of seminars, which will consider the company’s marketing policy, target customer groups, sales organization technology, interaction of all departments within the framework of the business sales process, and at the very end of such a cycle there will be a series of training seminars dedicated to work technologies with clients, including effective sales skills. So, during the assessment we have to find out: “What to teach.” As part of answering this question, it is important for us to assess the competencies of the sales manager, his understanding of sales technology, and sales standards that are accepted in the company.

The term “competencies” is used quite often in this article. As an example, it makes sense to cite some of the competencies of a sales manager.

Result orientation, achievements. The ability to be responsible for the implementation of decisions, the ability to set new ambitious goals upon achieving previous ones. Task-oriented and relationship-oriented behavior.

Flexibility. The ability to quickly and adequately respond to emergency situations, see and identify a problem, find ways to solve it, assemble a team for implementation, and evaluate the results.

Ability to learn, self-learn. Learning ability, sensitivity to new methods and technologies, ability to apply new things in practice. Ability for self-analysis. Willingness to analyze your achievements and shortcomings, look at familiar things with different eyes, and wisely use other people's experience.

Influence, ability to persuade. The ability to defend one's own opinion. Use logic when conducting constructive conversations. Mastery of influence techniques. The ability to identify and use people's motives. Ability to ask the right questions and determine the level of awareness and emotional condition partner.

Ability to listen to others and accept feedback. The ability to create channels of two-way communication - abstract from one’s own opinions and thoughts, concentrate on the words of the interlocutor. Good auditory and visual memory. Mastery of different feedback methods. Ability to effectively encourage and criticize others.

Presentation and negotiation skills. Ability to determine the goals and objectives of the presentation, the interests of the audience. Constructing an effective introduction, connecting phrases, the main part and conclusion of the presentation. Mastery of persuasion strategies and public speaking skills. Knowledge of the stages of an effective negotiation process. The ability to identify the interests of participants, choose the best alternative. Ability to discuss, propose, and conduct positional bargaining. Mastery of manipulation techniques and the ability to resist them.

Customer focus. Knowledge of customer service policies and standards. Focus on current and future customer needs. Ability to behave correctly with different types"difficult" clients. Ability to build partnerships with clients, ability to recognize additional features and risks in relationships with clients.

The competencies of a sales manager can also include: analytical skills, creativity, organizational skills, ability to work in a team, etc. Accordingly, depending on what competencies need development, the training program will be built. Assessment methods here can be 360 ​​degrees, “Mystery shopping”, KPI assessment, competency interviews, professional tests.

The goal is to make adjustments to the motivation system sales managers, based on an understanding of employee motivations and company goals. To achieve this goal, both quantitative and qualitative indicators must be used as indicators, based on their current tasks facing the department.

For example, the department was tasked with increasing sales volumes for products of its own brands, reducing the volume and timing of accounts receivable, and increasing the share of regular customers in the sales structure.

• Accordingly, it makes sense to evaluate the following indicators:
• increase in total sales monthly;
• the share of sales from own brands is not below a certain level;
• monthly positive dynamics in the share of own brands in the sales structure;
• the volume of accounts receivable does not exceed a certain amount;
• the average period of receivables is no more than a certain number of days;
• positive quarterly dynamics in the share of regular customers in the sales structure;
• overall customer satisfaction (annual growth);
• structure of managers' motivation.

To assess the motivation of sales department employees, you can use methods such as: personal questionnaires, questionnaires, and interviews.

The goal is to assess the level of professionalism of employees and compare it with competitors. In this case, we will need to develop a portrait of an “ideal” sales manager with a certain level of competencies and compare it with real portraits of employee competencies. To understand the competitiveness of personnel, it is necessary to include the company’s clients and its partners in the assessment procedure. Methods in this case can be 360 ​​degrees, professional tests, “Mystery shopping”, customer surveys.

The goal is to identify shortcomings in the company’s organizational structure, management problems hindering the development of the company. We have already repeated several times that sales volume is influenced by the entire organization. Therefore, sales analysis, decrease or instability of indicators will be some “indicator” that there are problems in the organization. This may be a disruption in the interaction of sales managers within the department: pulling or “pushing” clients. Communications between the sales department and other departments (accounting, warehouse, production, marketing, etc.) may be disrupted. Among the management problems, the following can be identified: speed of decision-making (for example, on a system of discounts for a particular group of clients); lack of marketing policy; lack of customer service standards and others. Assessment methods that will help identify such problems are the following: analysis of the sales business process (regulations, standards, orders, etc.); analysis of the organizational structure, regulations on divisions, job descriptions. The Mystery Shopper method will be effective, Additional information can be obtained as part of training programs (for example, “Sales Technology Training”).

All of the above, as well as other assessment goals necessary for the company, can be used as the basis for regular (annual) certification of sales managers. An assessment within the framework of any of the listed goals is not a single action to figure out “who is to blame” and “what to do.” A systematic comprehensive assessment of sales managers will allow the organization to respond flexibly to changes in external and internal environment, thereby increasing the level of its competitiveness.

Summing up, we would like to emphasize once again that the assessment of sales managers only gives the expected results when it is carried out precisely according to a set of indicators. For example, if we are talking about quantitative indicators, then analyzing only the number of concluded contracts is not enough to draw a conclusion about the success of the seller. The same manager may have large accounts receivable; contracts may be for “unpromising” clients or for products that are not a priority, which does not contribute to achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. Speaking of quality indicators, we may also encounter the fact that the seller has good performance indicators professional competencies, satisfaction and awareness of its customers. At the same time, his loyalty to the company is small and, if we do not take certain steps, then soon this specialist may leave the organization and at the same time either “steal away” clients or otherwise “annoy” the unloved company.

How often should sales managers be assessed? By quantitative indicators - monthly, quarterly, annually. For quality ones - no more than once every six months. Many managers believe that the very possibility of conducting an assessment disciplines sales managers and stabilizes sales themselves. To some extent this is true, however, assessment should be carried out only with clear goals and methods appropriately selected for this goal. It is in this case that the main goals of the assessment will be achieved, and the overall tone of the department will be maintained at a high level, and the costs of the assessment will be recouped.

Appendix (box)

Competencies	Test question	Desired answer
General competencies
Focus on working with people	What do you like about the profession?	The employee should mention that he enjoys interacting with people.
Trying to understand another person	The client avoids eye contact with you. Give reasons for this behavior.	This may depend on the person's character. Maybe he is tired, bored, uninterested, he is hiding something, he is embarrassed, etc.
Responsibility, orientation towards success	Why do some sellers have good sales volume? regular customers etc., and for others things are going much worse?	It is important that the manager begins by explaining the reasons for success. He must indicate such qualities that contribute to success as: determination, ability to persuade, communication skills, etc. It’s bad when the seller starts talking about luck, good territory or a successful customer base...
Result oriented	How is sales success determined?	The answer must include quantitative indicators: sales volume, number of clients, etc.
Ability to make independent decisions and take reasonable risks	You are on a business trip. The client insists on changing the standard terms of the contract (while the company still benefits from this). You try to contact the manager, but it is impossible. Your actions.	I will accept the client's offer, as it is beneficial for the company.
Special competencies
Sales skills	Name methods for justifying prices.	There should be several of them. For example: - Taking a “sandwich”. ….And you will get all this for… — Acceptance of qualitative justification. Balance the price with the benefits of the product. — Reception of division. Price of the base model and additional options. Determination of price and operating time. - Method of multiplication. The client's savings are demonstrated in a temporary mode. And others.
Analytic skills	In what situations is sales volume important rather than contribution margin?	At the stage of promoting a new product, capturing market share from competitors, and also, if necessary, quickly selling a “dying” product.
Presentation skills	How do you decide what to talk about at a presentation?	It all depends on the audience. If we are talking about one client, we need to identify his needs by asking him questions, and based on the client’s answers, build a presentation of the product. If we are talking about a public presentation, we focus on anticipating needs (that is, we analyze the basic, typical needs of a given target group).

Authors: Sukhanova I.M., consultant of the company "AXIMA: Consulting, Research, Training", Skriptunova E.A., General Director of the company "AXIMA: Consulting, Research, Training"
Published in Sales Management magazine, June 2007