Sales Bloat

Ever have that feeling? No, the feeling of too many people trying to do too little work? It does happen in sales, especially in commission only sales. As a business owner you may want your sales team hit a certain number, but do you care if it is all from 1 salesperson, or 10? You should, and here is why.

Happy. You want your salespeople happy, and money makes them happy. Too many people sharing the pie equals less money per salesperson equals less happy salespeople. If they find more business, you think great, but can you deliver? Sales and service have to be in alignment.

Overhead. Everybody you have adds overhead. The more salespeople, the more overhead, you may need to add 10-15% to what you think you need, per additional resource. More work, more cost, same profit, bad deal.

Predictable. Being able to predict your business with a solid pipeline is a key part of your growth. Salespeople with small pipeline will try to expand their pipeline. This can be good, if it is good business, but often it is marginal out of market business with a small chance of closing. Inflated pipelines, loss of productive sales time and technical time can be the result.

Keep your team hungry, but streamlined and efficient.