5 important sales and marketing controls you should be aware of

One of the first things they teach you in any marketing course is to recognise the going system or ‘control’ in your company – the one that, officially or not, is followed by the employees and managers alike. This system contains implemented orders that aim to secure greater sales and meet the requisite numbers – all as a by-play of doing the right thing at the right time.

Image : shutterstock

No one can argue about the fact that being a part of the sales and marketing team for any organisation is tricky, because its long-term outcome depends on their capabilities in securing the right deals.

However, like everything else in the professional world, there has to be a fool-proof structure in place which can promise a positive outcome. On that note, here is a list of some of the most important sales and marketing controls that make up the system that will guarantee a rise in numbers.

Transparency in terms of the database

While competition is a natural and often encouraged presence in a sales team, with every employee trying to out-bid each other, it also calls for the implementation of transparency in terms of the processes involved in scoring the big deals. For instance, X is required to provide all information and paperwork regarding the angle he wishes to undertake in order to win over a client to the team and supervisors in question, without resorting to personal means to achieve this aim. He should not use wrongful external sources, private numbers, and emails for the same purpose, since it would grant him an undue advantage over his colleagues. The data regarding a particular deal should be made available and accessible to all involved in it, mitigating the chances of greater ego-clashes and walk-outs.

Authorised contracts

The greatest confusion that should be cleared away in the first instance is the one regarding the authenticity of the offered contracts. Individuals require their demands to be met on paper, and it is advisable to alleviate their fears of being taken for a ride by ensuring that they are granted favourable contracts that are passed through the standard legal procedures, eliminating any chances of fraud. Make sure that these are set in stone after being passed, because a dispute over the same can cause an overall setback to the company’s sales in the long-run. As the saying goes, happy employees make for the most productive investments.

Set targets

At the same time, it is important to foster an air of competition in the workspace, so that people do not get lax in their duties. As a result, it is important to set monthly or yearly targets for all the employees involved in the sales and marketing departments, so that they take it in their stride to meet these targets, which will consequently help raise the overall numbers for the company or organisation in question.

Customer analysis

Customer analysis is the keystone to any successful sales and marketing programme. Hence, companies should ensure that they carry out a detailed scrutiny on the different kind of customers that they are catering to and who are the most likely to purchase the product or service in question, in terms of factors like age, gender, profession, and more. For this, you need to list out the expected numbers in a separate spreadsheet and fill in the required data. In another spreadsheet, you need to fill in the data that states the actual numbers post the purchase. This will help give you a clearer idea of the customer-base that you should be tailor-making your product or service accessible to.

Feedback

Customer feedback can help provide you with an evaluation with customers' opinions of existing products or services and the marketing methods that are currently in play. To this end, you should carry out a survey, be it oral or written, and list out certain factors to those who have already purchased the company’s products. You could also provide them with a suggestion-box, to receive tips on how you can improve your service, which in turn will help you tweak your existing sales and marketing structure.

On a closing note, we quote business executive Beth Comstock, who says, “Whether B2B or B2C, I believe passionately that good marketing essentials are the same. We all are emotional beings looking for relevance, context and connection.”

Do you agree? Let us know in the comments below!