No Records? No Excuses

Salespeople since the world began were probably fighting off the request to do call reports or make notes about their appointments. Paperwork was and still is a feared and unwanted request. No one wants to stop to take notes about what was said or promised to customers or referral sources.

But it's not all about building relationships, gaining trust or meeting as many potential clients as possible. It's also about tracking, monitoring, planning and building a marketing strategy. In order to accomplish those goals, managers need clear, concise and meaningful sales workflow reports.

I can hear the sales representative giving the excuses now: “If I do all that paperwork, I will not be able to see as many people. I don't want to spend my evenings doing paperwork. Who's going to look at it anyway? I'll do it, but once a month should be enough. I don't want to be writing those long reports that don't mean anything to anyone.”

Here's how you can address those excuses with your sales reps:

• Paperwork does take time, but so does writing your paycheck. Management needs to know what is happening in the field as key staff people represent the company to the health care community. Everyone needs to be aware of what promises were made, with whom salespeople are meeting and what the strategy will be for keeping this customer happy.

• Paperwork/notes should be written immediately following the appointment, not at night or before you set out on your busy day. If you wait too long, you will forget the important information.

• Paperwork should be concise, with no long paragraphs. Note the contact, key topics discussed, any promises made and the next step you will be taking with this account. Make sure you note your next appointment on the report. If you are out sick or on vacation, someone else can easily pick up the sales process and keep the appointment. That's one of the goals of tracking the workflow with your accounts.

• Reports should be submitted weekly. Management needs to know what is going on with the work of some of the company's best-paid employees. If you wait more than a week, the report and paperwork can become unmanageable. Management needs to advise and help those who are having problems with certain accounts, and waiting too long to review the sales documentation makes that difficult.

While there are many recommendations to make about paperwork, these are just some issues to remember:

• Don't let the paperwork control you. Make it quick, short and informative.