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Questions a publisher needs to ask when shopping for publishing software – Part 8

Written by Tom Bellen

Published: 06/12/2014

This post is the eighth in a series of questions you as a publisher should ask when interviewing software service providers. (View the seventh question here.) The questions will help you find out if a product is the right fit for you business and if it is really going to do what it claims: help you save time and sell more advertisements.

 

How can I monitor my sales reps’ productivity?

Nobody enjoys the idea of big brother, but knowing your team is making good use of their time and completing their tasks is necessary to manage your business. The systematic measurement of key sales activities is crucial to obtain solid sales results. Good publishing software will have the ability to set up revenue, contract, issue, call, and appointment goals for your reps to strive for and polished dashboards and robust reporting for managers to view progress. You should be able to view team members’ calendars, calls, appointments, and important correspondence all in one centralized place. Linking key activities with results, you can determine those factors that drive success and direct performance to improve outcomes.

 

Along with setting goals and tracking daily activities, make sure the system has sound forecasting features. Pipeline reports will keep your reps actively updating their progress with clients and help you avoid any surprises when it comes to production or the bottom-line. Using your forecasting tools efficiently can help reps to focus on getting to key benchmarks of the sales process vs. just trying to sell from step one.

 

All of these tracked activities and correspondence will be vital to avoid loss of information in case of a transition of responsibilities. Whether it is in the case of vacation, illness, or turnover, the centralized tracking of sales activity will allow anyone to jump right in and see the status of a client.

 

Using all of this activity data not only will improve the middle of the sales process, but also will determine the quality of the initial target list. Use the system to see what company characteristics were most responsive to your pitch, and whom you should be targeting going forward.

 

Next: How can I get artwork and start building my issues?

 

POSTED BY Tom Bellen, to contact click here.

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