Comments on: A Rant About Sales Reporting, Bureaucracy, and Paperwork!

By: David Brock

David Brock — Sun, 06 Mar 2011 01:29:24 +0000

Great story Bill. Thanks for contributing.

By: Bill O'Neill

Bill O'Neill — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 21:58:51 +0000

Hi Dave,

Years ago, I worked with a very good rep, and we were both due to submit some report. I noticed he wasn’t doing it very quickly, and asked if was going to get it in by 5:30PM. He told me no, he’d get it done tomorrow, some time, and anyway, he wasn’t going to send it in. I asked him why, and he told me he thought some reports assumed a life of their own, and nobody read them. So, periodically, he’d hold the report, and see if anybody missed it. If nobody missed it, he didn’t do them, if somebody did, he said “Sorry” and faxed it in. It was just his little sanity check.

By: David Brock

David Brock — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:40:21 +0000

John, thanks fro joining the discussion! Great one about “Dr. Howser.” I’d be on the lookout for “House”

Great comments, thanks for joining the discussion. Hope to see you here frequently. Regards, Dave

By: David Brock

David Brock — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 15:38:14 +0000

I’m wondering if I need to put a warning, “Reading This Blog Could Be Hazardous…..” Thanks, as always for the comment.

By: John Stott

John Stott — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 00:11:07 +0000

An even better f(worse ?) story…..monthly reports being submitted by sales managers simply stating major objectives accomplished for the month, revenue milestones, and specifically physicians (surgeons) contacted. First one I read, as marketing manager, lists Doogie Howser, MD as the physician. It seems that the sales manager had been submitting the reports for over a year to his boss, with TV doctor’s names on the sheets, and had never been called on it. That was the last of that monthly report !

Also, on CRM systems – I wholeheartedly agree, and in particular with one key point. Unless the system is designed to benefit the “major inputter” to the system (usually the sales rep), the quality and quantity of information available will always be less than highly useful and there will always be some fights about getting the input in a timely fashion. Hence the absolute need to design them to be personal productivity enhancers first, and management tools second.

By: Kelley Robertson

Kelley Robertson — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 20:10:21 +0000

Dave,

LOVE the story about the sales guy submitting a sheet pf paper with the poem. I almost choked on the mouthful of water I had just drank! I also applaud the approach you took with him; too many VPs would have dragged him over the coals for that behavior.

Cheers!
Kelley

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