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One of the biggest mistakes in sales: selling without a plan. The basic principle of sales work is to develop a sales plan and sell according to that plan. Sales plan management includes both how to set a feasible sales target and the methods for achieving that target. The specific contents include: based on an analysis of the current market situation and the company’s current status, setting clear sales targets, collection targets, as well as other qualitative and quantitative goals ； Prepare budgets and budget allocation plans based on objectives ； Identify the specific personnel responsible, their duties, and the timeline. However, many companies face a range of problems in managing their sales plans: such as the lack of well-defined annual, quarterly, and monthly market development plans ； Sales targets are not set on the basis of a precise understanding of market opportunities and effective allocation of corporate resources; rather, they are determined arbitrarily ； The sales plan was not broken down by region, customer, product, salesperson, etc., which made it impossible to implement the plan in a concrete manner ； The sales plans of each branch are the result of negotiations between the branches and the company’s headquarters ； The company’s management simply sets target figures for the sales staff, without guiding them in formulating implementation plans ； Many companies fail to quantify the various elements of their sales plans on a per-salesperson basis; as a result, salespeople are unable to develop specific sales strategies based on the targets and tasks assigned to them. In some cases, salespeople don’t even know how to create their own sales plans. Due to the lack of a clear market development plan, the company’s sales efforts lost their focus; various sales strategies, plans, and measures were not coordinated with each other, budgets were uncertain, the necessary personnel were not assigned, and there was no concept of timing or scope for sales activities. Moreover, there were no measures in place for monitoring the sales process or evaluating its effectiveness. In such a competitive market, a company’s sales efforts are like a bison charging into battle – rushing around in all directions until it ends up covered in wounds. The second major mistake in sales: lack of control over the process. The approach of \"only focusing on results, regardless of the process\" – failing to supervise and control salespeople’s actions – is a common problem among companies. Many companies manage their salespeople in a very casual manner: they announce a business policy to the salespeople and then send them out into the market like pigeons, waiting for them to bring back orders and develop new markets for the company. This leads to a series of problems: salespeople act without a plan, and there are no assessments ； It is impossible to control the actions of sales representatives, which means there is no guarantee that sales plans will be fulfilled ； The sales process carried out by sales staff is not transparent, increasing the risks for business operations ； Salespeople are inefficient, resulting in high sales costs ； The sales skills of salespeople do not improve, and there is poor development of the salesforce. “Without cultivation, how can there be a harvest? ”Without effective management and control over the sales process, good performance results cannot be achieved. Haier’s “3E” management approach, which involves managing everything that each salesperson does every day, isn’t it precisely the guarantee for the smooth development of Haier’s sales activities? Third major mistake in sales: failing to manage customers. A single grain of wheat can have three fates: it can be ground into flour and consumed by people, thereby realizing its value ； Second, it serves as a seed sown to bear a fruitful fruit and create new value ； Third, due to poor storage, the wheat became moldy and spoiled, losing its value. In other words, with proper management, wheat can realize its own value or create new value for humanity ； Poor management will result in the loss of its own value. By the same logic, if a company manages its customers well, those customers will be enthusiastic about selling the products and will actively cooperate with the manufacturer’s policies to promote sales ； Poor management can lead to sales risks. However, many companies fail to manage their guest rooms effectively; as a result, they are unable to stimulate customers’ enthusiasm for purchasing nor to effectively control sales risks. Currently, the common problems in the sales process, such as customer loyalty issues, counterfeiting, and a large amount of outstanding accounts, are all the result of poor customer management by businesses. Fourth major mistake in sales: lack of feedback. Information is essential for corporate decision-making. Salespeople, being on the front lines of the market, have the best understanding of market trends, consumers’ needs and preferences, changes among competitors, and the requirements of distributors. Providing this information to the company in a timely manner is crucial for making informed decisions. On the other hand, any issues that arise during sales activities should also be reported promptly to higher management so that they can take appropriate action immediately. However, many companies have not established a systematic business reporting system to collect and provide feedback on information in a timely manner. The work results of salespeople include two aspects: one is sales volume, and the other is market information. For a company’s development, sales volume is not important; what matters is market information. Because sales figures refer to yesterday’s data, they represent amounts that have already been realized; things that have become a reality cannot be changed, so they are of no use to the company ； What matters is market information, because it determines a company’s sales performance and its market position tomorrow. However, many companies have neither requested their sales staff to collect information nor established a business reporting system to enable timely collection and feedback of information. It’s not scary if there are problems with a company’s sales efforts. The problem is that companies are unable to identify issues that arise in various aspects of their marketing activities in a timely manner, nor can they provide prompt managerial responses to resolve these issues quickly, thereby preventing them from causing significant harm to the company. Why are some corporate customer profiles inaccurate for a long time? Why do some companies continue to experience accounts receivable issues that are not resolved? Why do similar incidents caused by certain companies keep recurring within the firm and cannot be resolved once and for all? Why are serious marketing problems in some companies not detected for a long time? By the time it is discovered, the company is already on the verge of bankruptcy and there is no way to turn things around! The root cause lies in the lack of monitoring and management of various information generated during the company’s marketing management process, especially the absence of timely and systematic management feedback. The fifth sales taboo: no performance evaluation. Many companies do not regularly assess the sales performance of their sales staff. Companies conduct regular quantitative and qualitative evaluations of their sales staff, including assessing the sales performance of these employees in terms of sales volume, revenue generated, profits earned, and the number of customers they have ； Evaluate the sales activities of sales representatives, such as the average number of visits per day, the time spent on each visit, the average revenue generated from sales visits per day, the average cost per visit, the average number of orders obtained per 100 visits, the number of new customers acquired within a certain period, the number of existing customers lost during that same period, and the proportion of the sales representative’s expenses in total sales revenue ； A qualitative assessment is conducted on sales representatives, evaluating aspects such as their spirit of cooperation, work enthusiasm, and loyalty and sense of responsibility toward the company. Evaluating sales staff serves, on the one hand, as an important basis for determining their compensation, rewards and punishments, as well as for deciding who should be dismissed or promoted, thereby motivating the sales team ； On the other hand, reviewing and analyzing salespeople’s performance can help them improve. An important aspect of sales management is developing the sales skills of salespeople; without progress on the part of salespeople, sales performance cannot improve. Sixth sales taboo: Inadequate systems. Many companies lack systematic sales management frameworks as well as sales management policies that are consistent with these frameworks. For a company’s sales operations to function without major problems, it is essential that there are no significant flaws or omissions in its sales management system. The sales management system should be well-structured and have mechanisms for mutual oversight, along with corresponding sales management policies to support it. Some companies have established strict penalty rules in their systems for sales staff who violate corporate regulations and cause significant losses to the company. However, in practice these penalties cannot be enforced, as the companies fail to put in place the necessary supporting systems. As a result, those sales employees who profit from taking bribes and cause the company to incur huge amounts of uncollectible debts can simply leave once issues arise, leaving the company unable to punish them in reality. Many companies have inadequate sales management systems; they are like buckets with a missing piece, unable to hold water. Their characteristic is that many actions that should be encouraged are not, while there are no institutional provisions for those that should be punished ； There are no institutional incentives for behaviors that should be encouraged, and no corresponding penalty systems for behaviors that are prohibited ； The rewards cannot be delivered in a timely manner, and the penalties cannot be actually enforced. Establish a comprehensive sales management system. Practice has shown that sales without proper management has become a trap that hinders the smooth progress of a company’s sales activities. To do a good job in product sales, companies must establish a comprehensive sales management system. 1. Sales plan management: Its core aspect is the rational breakdown of sales targets across various key areas. These aspects include variety, region, customer, salesperson, and settlement method. The sales methods and timeline: the breakdown process is both a process of implementation and a process of persuasion; moreover, through this breakdown it is possible to assess the Rationality and difficulty of the goals, and any issues identified can be addressed promptly. A reasonable and realistic sales plan, during its implementation, is able to reflect both market crises and market opportunities; it is also key to strict management in order to ensure the efficiency and intensity of sales efforts. 2. Management of sales representatives’ actions: Its core focus is on the main tasks related to sales, involving the management and monitoring of the representatives’ activities to ensure that their efforts are directed toward valuable opportunities. This includes formulating: monthly sales plans, monthly action plans and weekly action plans, daily sales reports, monthly work summaries and key tasks for the following month, mobile sales forecasts, analysis of competitive products, reports on market inspections, weekly scheduled visit routes, and reports from the market registration office, among others. 3. Customer Management The core tasks of customer management are enthusiastic customer management and market risk management; the key to motivating customers and fostering their enthusiasm lies in profits and prospects ； The key to market risk management is the creditworthiness of customers, their capabilities, and price control in the market. Management tools and methods include: customer profile cards, customer strategy cards, customer monthly evaluation cards, etc. 4. Result Management: The management of sales representatives’ performance results includes two aspects. One is performance evaluation, and the other is market information research. Performance evaluation includes: sales volume and collection status, the operation of the sales reporting system, control of sales expenses, compliance with management requirements, market planning, and progress made. Information research includes: the company’s performance, information on competitors such as quality data and price information (for bulk and retail sales), product variety information, market trends, customer information, etc. The key to sales management lies in comprehensiveness, systematicness, and professionalism.