How Healthy Are Your Sales?

A regular sales checkup is critical to assessing and addressing the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in your company's sales efforts. Frank J. Rumbauskas Jr., author of Never Cold Call Again: Achieve Sales Greatness Without Cold Calling, believes that because entrepreneurs generally don't have the time or money to allow for waste, they must act quickly to address any deficiencies in the sales process before their company's profits suffer. He advises entrepreneurs to conduct a thorough sales checkup every three months, with the caveat that any longer between checkups can "allow too much damage to occur--the longer you wait, the harder it is to correct a problem." Rumbauskas advises sales managers to look at the following elements when conducting a quarterly sales audit.

Conversion rate: Also known as a "close rate," your conversion rate indicates the quality of your leads. A low conversion rate is a sign that your leads may not be qualified--or your sales force is doing a poor job ruling out those potential clients who have no intent or ability to buy.