3 Ideas to Set Your Sign Sales Course

IT SEEMS THAT IN the sign business, everyone builds a different kind of sales team and a different kind of sales process. While we all sell “signs,” we also know that each business, even in the sign franchise world, is different.

I’ve always believed each sign company’s sales team and process are the direct result of the business owner and how they built the company.
If you are trying to improve your business, changing how/who/what you sell is a key component.

Before I share ideas on how to develop individual sales team members, which I will cover in this series of articles, first I want to speak to you, the owner or manager, about what you have already built and where you want to go in the future.

Here are a series of questions to ask yourself when you have a quiet moment to reflect. Take time to ponder the questions, the different ways you might answer them, and hopefully you will find yourself looking at your future sales team in a new way.

1. What percentage of your business is directly the result of your effort? Take a look at the last 90 days of transactions and do the math!

• If you are handling 10% or less of your total sales, this could mean you are ready to move to zero percent.
• If you are handling 50% or more of your total sales, this could mean you are deeply embedded in the process of sales, and not finding time to manage your business.

2. If you could magically find the right people to handle all your sales, would you be excited to spend your time doing other stuff?

• Other stuff could mean managing your team, developing new lines of business, riding your favorite motorcycle across the state, or considering selling the business.
• Finding the “perfect” person is unrealistic — just think about finding the next best person you can. Hiring sales is more like a bus system than an Uber — you will get closer to what you want with each hire and as you learn how to train and manage.

3. Some owners love to be in sales and wouldn’t dream of giving it up.

• Depending on your business goals, you might question if this is the best use of your time. Owner-centric efforts can’t really be done by other people, but sales efforts can. Your absence may be costing your business in a big way.
• While you may really love it, weigh the “cost” of being involved in your sales team. Costs to your business can include lost opportunities to build your business, hoarding the best customers for yourself, creating competition against your own employees by cherry picking clients, and owners who are so busy, they don’t really do a great job of taking care of customers and following processes.

My next few columns will be about developing, managing and motivating sales teams. As an owner and leader, be sure you also consider your own role in how your behavior is impacting your sales team’s effectiveness.

If you have specific questions or problems you’d like to see me address, send them my way!