3 MIN. READ
Twenty years ago, leaders looking to increase the success of their sales and marketing teams focused on improving efficiency. Today, the key to success is productivity.
While many employees value productivity, they are often impeded by the actions of their managers. Many managers create obstacles to their employees' productivity by:
● assigning time-consuming activities that slow their work and lead to "organizational drag."
● squandering the talents of their most skilled employees rather than assigning them to their "best and highest use."
● failing to inspire their employees.
Below, we’ll discuss how managers can build a productivity mindset and inspire their teams to be more productive so your company can reap the benefits through higher profits and longevity.
Many employees and leaders confuse efficiency with productivity. So what's the difference? Efficiency measures the amount of time and effort needed to complete a task within a given time frame, while productivity measures the output of work performed within that same amount of time.
The goal is to maximize the available resources, utilizing them to the fullest. If productivity is focused on results, efficiency can help to improve the quality of these results. As employees' performance improves, productivity increases. However, remember to analyse the data. A leader with a productivity mindset often thinks about how to improve team performance by simply counting numbers, forgetting to measure quality.
Eliminate time-consuming tasks that don’t produce value. Ensure that every team member utilizes their time in actions that are essential to the company’s growth. Start by simplifying activities and functions, and link them to value. Forgo stringent rules and regulations and allow team members to spend their time delivering value to customers.
Determine who your most talented members are, and position them in essential business roles. These members will produce more sales or profits and often faster results in your business strategy.
Get employees’ buy-in on team goals by explaining what's in it for them. This will release the discretionary energy they possess. There are many ways to do this, but the key is to align the company’s values with those of employees. The result will be a business culture of independence and accountability, with team members having ownership of the company’s development, including their sales goals.
Remember to evaluate and constantly update the current onboarding processes. Nothing is more demotivating than a new employee not having the right skills. It's much worse if they set the wrong goals. Spend your time and budget to create a successful onboarding program for new employees.
Identify and find the root cause for organizational drag. Streamline activities and assign your employees to their best and highest use. Go back to the drawing board and decide what company values and goals can align with your team members to build inspiration.
A key tool in streamlining your team is to create or update marketing materials. These marketing materials should offer guidance on how the team can improve as sellers, thus increasing profits. Keep materials updated and quick and easy to read so team members use them. Invest in sales books to increase your performance.
Make communication short and simple, focusing on the most important details. This will save time that can be allocated to productivity and delivering results. For emails, keep them to a few short lines. If more detail is required, schedule a meeting, ideally no more than 15 minutes.
Moving from efficiency to productivity may be overwhelming. But with the right guidance from proven resources, you can use these resources to guide your team towards higher profits and overall success.
Industry Select can jumpstart your productivity by helping you find ideal prospects, and delivering tools to organize vital information. This will allow you to maximize your time and see results faster.
With a database of over 400,000 U.S. manufacturers, suppliers, and industrial service providers all verified by real people, you’ll get a wealth of information on each company to support your research, recruiting, marketing, and sales efforts.
To see for yourself how IndustrySelect can help your team, try out a no-obligation demo and access 600 free leads.
https://hbr.org/2017/03/great-companies-obsess-over-productivity-not-efficiency
https://blog.thebrevetgroup.com/10-practical-sales-productivity-tips
https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/sales-productivity