The primary goal of every sales executive is to maximize sales productivity. It takes time to research new prospects, make cold calls, and do sales prospecting. In today’s business climate, more leads are coming in through the internet, which means sales representatives also need to react to sales queries—whether they’re qualified or not.

Unfortunately, a lot of time is wasted in activities that don’t yield results. How can sales managers increase sales productivity with so many variables affecting the sales process?

There is no magic formula to galvanize your sales team to reach new heights overnight, but here are four proven tactics guaranteed to improve sales productivity:

1. Adopt AOR to Boost Sales Productivity

We like to use the AOR framework (Activity + Objectives = Results) with our customers to improve sales productivity. Jason Jordan outlines the AOR selling strategy in his book Cracking the Sales Management Code: The Secrets to Measuring and Managing Sales Performance. His premise is that most sales executives use the stick rather than the carrot to motivate sales reps. This outdated model sets arbitrary sales targets and tells reps to “hit these numbers,” but it doesn’t provide them with  the tools or incentives to reach their targets. The better way? Hire first-rate sales managers who can align sales activities with objectives who can use positive coaching to show the sales team how to achieve the best results.

Jordan’s approach to AOR understands that the current selling process is broken; there is a lot of wasted activity (and time!) that doesn’t align with long-term goals. Using Jordan’s ideas, we coach our customers on how to reframe the sales process and transform sales teams by mapping activities toward objectives—and scrupulously measuring outcomes:

• Activities are day-to-day procedures and actions that sales reps are assigned to meet sales goals. They can be proactively managed by sales executives and measured to determine their effectiveness in achieving objectives.
• Objectives are set against activities but are not all under the control of the sales rep. For example, activities might include outbound sales calls and email solicitations, but the objective would be to add a specific number of leads to the pipeline, which in turn is affected by an indeterminate number of inbound sales queries. These are also measured to ensure objectives are realistic and to refine sales planning.
• Results are the outcome of objectives, and by their nature cannot be directly managed. Metrics are used in reporting results to determine what changes could be required in sales staff, sales automation, sales processes, etc.

2. Retain the Best Sales Talent

A well-defined AOR sales structure should not only yield better sales performance but it should also improve hiring and retention.

According to research from ClearSlide and CSO Insights, the annual turnover rate for the average sales force is 20 percent. Seventy-one percent of companies spend six months or more onboarding new sales reps, and an Aberdeen study estimates that training a new sales rep costs $30,000 on average.

When you consider the investment in onboarding and training of sales reps against the attrition rate, it’s no wonder companies are looking for a better way to retain and continually improve the best sales staff.

Using the AOR sales structure creates a collaborative approach with the continued measurement of activities against objectives so that management and employees can agree on tactics and strategies to achieve sales outcomes. The result is that sales reps feel more empowered and find more professional and personal satisfaction. Additionally, everyone becomes a contributor—not just a few rainmakers. At the same time, management can identify sales team weaknesses and hire to fill the gaps.

3. Find Your Flow

In addition to having different sales skills, every rep has a different personal flow. Some employees are sharper first thing in the morning and others pick up steam after lunch. Many workers need absolute quiet to maintain focus and others thrive where there is a lot of ambient noise.

The key to team productivity is individual productivity, so anything you can do to promote personal productivity will benefit everyone. Consider strategies such as flex time or allowing employees to work from home a few days a month. In fact, one study reports that 77 percent of workers who telecommute are actually more productive, so this strategy could boost your sales team’s productivity.

Also, embrace flexibility in communication styles to cater to different work styles. For example, many companies thrive on email and live chat to promote faster communications. Some people are better at balancing the disruptive nature of immediate email and chat responses and others need to mute incoming messages in order to concentrate. Using a balance of email for less urgent communications and chat or phone for urgent matters will do wonders for personal productivity.

4. Ongoing Education and Training

Sales training is an ongoing necessity. There are two types of sales training: The first involves teaching the basics of how to sell and the second features company-specific sales processes based on your organization’s products and services. Both are equally important.

As much as 87 percent of sales training is forgotten within a few weeks, so keeping the sales team sharp requires ongoing training in sales tools and protocols. Sales tools should never get in the way of actual selling, so the more painless and intuitive you can make sales processes, the more time sales reps will have to actually sell goods and services.

Ongoing training in sales techniques and strategies is equally important. As part of AOR selling, the sales manager also assumes the role of sales coach, whose responsibilities  include assessing and refining selling techniques. Although sales training classes and online courses can be extremely valuable to improve selling skills, one-on-one coaching can allow for the application of  those skills in real-world scenarios.

These are just four ways to improve sales productivity. The important thing is to strike a balance between company sales goals and personal rewards and satisfaction. If you can work with your sales reps to ensure that they have proper ownership of their sales activities and give them the tools to succeed, you will have a happier sales force that is better equipped to exceed your expectations.