Adopting a systemised sales structure not only leads to greater efficiency for the sales team but also strengthens overall business performance.

Many of Lackovic’s clients complain that, while they’re able to systemise processes such as accounts, administration, recruitment and so on, it’s very difficult to systemise sales. But without a structure, he says, sales teams will not improve their performance.

To illustrate this point, Lackovic uses McDonald’s. “The average age of staff is 16 – don’t tell me they know how to run a business,” he says. “But they have a system that makes them successful. They produce the same products and utilise the same sales presentation across the globe.”

In the past, a top salesperson has often relied on intuition but such individual skills can rarely be replicated and learnt by a team. In a tougher, more competitive environment, a strong system removes this reliance on individuals.

A sales manager must work out what their business’s specific model will encompass. “You must systemise such processes as prospecting, initial-contact techniques, report-building techniques, qualification of needs and wants of customers, explanation of the product, presentation of prices and follow up,” says Lackovic.

“There should be steps to follow to eliminate potential objections from a customer before objections come up, rather than overcoming them with pushy, old-school techniques. In the end, you should have a lot of good people doing a good job in a systemised way.”

The icing on the cake, says Lackovic, is when a business gets the sales motivation right. “You have to incentivise for what you want,” he explains. “Do you want a greater number of sales or greater dollar value of sales? If you’re just rewarding a sale, all you’ll get is a sale. You then have to do a motivation evaluation to find out what actually motivates your team.

“Finally, give instant, daily awards, such as small cash bonuses or movie tickets, as well as the usual monthly or quarterly bonuses.”