A lot of businesses are struggling with the expenses that come along with running a sales team. With an ever-growing customer base, it is getting more and more difficult to keep up. Did you know that there are some easy tricks for cutting down on your costs? We’re giving you a few steps to help lower your expenses without sacrificing quality. These will help you save money in the long term!
Step 1: Create a budget for the sales team
Keep your budget as a strict line item. Ensure that the team is aware of what they can and cannot spend their money on. Be sure to include:
- travel expenses – often sales teams need to commute a lot but can combine trips to cut down expenses. Use company cars instead of individual vehicles for employees who need them. If you have a fleet vehicle program in place already, be sure to assign those cars to the salespeople that need them.
- meals – your team needs food! Ensure that the meal is not lavish and ensure everyone participates in splitting the bill evenly. This will keep costs down for each person, but also show teamwork.
- office supplies – try streamlining how you get office supplies by purchasing them together as a group or via a bulk order. This will not only reduce costs but ensure that nobody is running out of pens at the same time as everyone else!
- advertising – again, if your sales team has a budget for advertising you may want to consider purchasing it together as a group or through one individual so they can negotiate better deals and more options.
- equipment costs – your sales team will need specific equipment to do their jobs, but it is helpful if they can share some of the costs. For example, maybe your sales team uses tablets for presentations and notes – ensure that everyone has a device so you don’t have any one person having to foot the bill on those!
- holidays – this isn’t related to expenses at all, but it is a great time to get your team together. Everyone needs a vacation and this can help with the bonding process!
- software for the sales team – purchasing software for your sales team can be expensive, but there are often group deals that happen with companies. Find out if this is something you could save money on by asking the company about it directly!
Make sure that you are keeping track of all expenses. Whether it is by email, spreadsheet, or on a physical ledger – make sure everyone has access to this information and they are updating the team weekly using the latest data. This will be essential for budgeting purposes moving forward as well as ensuring your company’s bottom line stays healthy.
Step 2: Be flexible
Give your sales team a little bit of leeway when it comes to expenses. If you have a well-deserved charge that falls outside of the budget, be sure to allow them some time before sending up an alert. This will keep everyone from having their feathers ruffled and ensure they don’t feel as if there is too much red tape.
Step 3: Be transparent
Transparency is important. Ensure that your sales team knows how much money they have to work with and be sure to keep them updated on the latest financial information so there aren’t any surprises at the end of the month! This will ensure everyone stays happy throughout their current projects as well as after new financial goals are put in place.
Your sales team is your best resource when it comes to getting the job done and they also know how much money you have available for them each month! Be sure that everyone on the team knows their boundaries so there aren’t any issues moving forward with expenses, but don’t be too hands-on about the process either. Be sure to follow these tips and your sales team will be able to get their jobs done without breaking the bank or feeling as if they are being micromanaged!
Step 4: Hire an accountant
If you have other responsibilities or don’t feel comfortable handling finances yourself, that’s a natural step to take.
This will ensure the finances are handled properly and you have an unbiased opinion on what is going on. This is especially important if your sales team has gone over the budget before, so you can avoid that in future months.
Maintain a healthy relationship with your accountant to ensure there are no surprises when it comes to numbers and money! This will help everyone feel comfortable moving forward whether they have exceeded their budget or not.
Don’t forget about your business taxes! Make sure to hire a good accountant that knows how your sales team operates so they can help minimize tax bites where possible by having all of their work documented correctly from the beginning. You want to be able to maximize the profits and the tax breaks to help your business grow. The right accountant should also be of help when it comes to further recommendations for your sales budget.
Step 5: Use sales automation to reduce costs
Sales automation is a great way to keep an eye on spending. If someone needs the latest copy of your presentation, they can check out what you have available online and use it immediately! This will prevent unnecessary printing fees or having to wait around for copies to be made while neglecting other tasks that are waiting for them.
Be sure everyone knows what can and cannot be accessed in this manner. This will ensure that there are no unnecessary costs incurred while keeping you from having to micromanage your sales team’s behavior.
Sales automation also includes using tools. For example, instead of spending long hours and a lot of money on configuring an on-premise phone system, invest in online, remote solutions such as cloud-based call center software, solutions based on click-to-call or click-to-chat, etc. It will help you reduce costs without compromising the quality of your sales team’s work.
Over to you
As you can see, there are several ways to keep your sales team expenses down while still maintaining a high-quality product and service level for your customers! From company cars to budgets, this will help you save money in the long run which is especially helpful during these tough economic times. With just a few small changes here and there, you can make a real difference in the bottom line of your company. See what a positive impact it has on your sales team!
About The Author:
Kinga Edwards is the CEO of Brainy Bees. Creativity is her blood type. Insights are everywhere!
