Sales Audit: The Sales Manager's Playbook for Getting Control of the Selling Cycle and Improving Results

Executives want predictability and improvement in the performance of the business. Top-line predictability is the result of repeatable execution of a documented sales process, examination of the results, and modification of the process to assure future results. Predictability depends on auditing the selling process.


Can the sales process be audited? Sales managers argue that selling is an art-form exempt from scrutiny. But to produce predictable results, the sales organization must document and interrogate its processes using 'Sarbanes-Oxley-like' rigor and 'comply' with senior management expectations.


This book organizes effective sales management processes into a comprehensive, repeatable system. It distills years of observation, training, and real-world experience into a step-by-step system for auditing a sales process.


How do executives view the sales team's skills and effectiveness? Is the company hiring and tracking these skills through a defined sales process? Is the company measuring the sales team on their execution using these skills?


This book explores the concept of the Sales Audit and explains how to use it to achieve predictability of results through 'sales process compliance':


* Align senior management expectations with those of the sales team.

* Interrogate the steps of the current sales process to evaluate its effectiveness.

* Measure the sales team's adherence to the process and their results.

* Review the performance of the process in terms of predictability of results.

* Ensure the continual improvement of the process and its future alignment with organizational results.