Sales management · The sales operations audit
Score eight areas of your sales function and fix the weakest one first.
Eight area sales operations scoring rates how well a business runs its sales management, team structure, reporting, hiring, training, territories, pay and evaluation, each against documents and not impressions. It ends with a ranked list that shows the weakest area to fix first.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
Eight area sales operations scoring rates how well a business runs its sales management, team structure, reporting, hiring, training, territories, pay and evaluation, each against documents and not impressions. It ends with a ranked list that shows the weakest area to fix first.
A building-materials dealer in Nashik thinks the problem is that reps do not work hard enough. When you score the eight areas, hiring and induction come out strong, because the hiring is careful. Reporting comes out at the floor: nobody can say which leads are open today. The effort was never the issue.
The eight areas are management, organisation, reporting and systems, recruitment and induction, training, territory allocation, pay and expenses, and evaluation. Each gets a score of one to five on a short set of questions, with a one-line reason and a note of the document that backs it.
In a family firm the owner ends up as the real sales manager, so rate the work being done rather than the designation printed on a visiting card. The sales manager and accounts person add evidence. This replaces the general feeling that sales is not working.
It follows the audit setup and feeds the gap report. Do not start fixing anything until all eight are scored, or you will repair the loudest problem and miss the weakest.
Where this sits
Topic 14 of 14 in sales management: the sales operations audit. Auditing the whole sales function.
- The topic before
- Legal and ethical issues
If you want this done for you
Nobody outside the sales team can say why deals are won or lost here.
The work
What this is actually like.
“Scores without evidence flatter everyone”
Mark each answer as shown or only claimed. A manager who says forecasts are reviewed and cannot show the last four forecasts next to actual sales gets a lower score than one who can. The gap between claimed and shown is itself a finding.
“Cross-check with the people below”
Ask two or three reps whether they know their own target, who decides their territory and how their incentive is worked out. When their answers differ from the manager's, trust the reps for how the system works and the manager for how it was meant to work.
“The system is a chat group and the accounts software”
Do not score reporting down for not owning a CRM. Score it on whether the owner can see today's numbers, whether every lead has a status, and whether the pipeline is reviewed on a set day. A shared sheet and an export from accounts can earn a respectable score.
“The weakest area is not always the cheapest to fix”
Pay structure may score lowest, but changing it touches contracts and morale. Reporting may score second lowest and be fixed in a fortnight. Rank by score first, then pick the order by effort and by what unblocks the others. The lowest score tells you where the damage is, not where to start.
What we do
What you end up with.
The documents this topic produces, what each one is for, and how you know it is finished.
The eight-area scorecard
One row per area. Columns: score from one to five, one-line reason, evidence seen, evidence missing, who was interviewed. The person running the audit fills it after each session.
Result: Finished when no score sits on an answer marked claimed only.
The question sheets
A half page of questions for each area, with the documents to ask for in advance: target sheet and last four forecasts, org chart, call report format, job descriptions and hiring records, training calendar, territory list, pay plan and expense claims, scorecards and review notes.
Result: Finished when each interviewee received their evidence request ahead of the session.
The contradictions list
Every place where a document and an answer disagree, with the area, the two versions and what each person said when asked.
Result: Finished when each contradiction has an explanation or an action beside it.
The ranked weakness list
The eight areas in order from lowest score, with the two weakest marked as priority gaps and a short note on what each depends on.
Result: Finished when the owner can say which one to start with and why.
The follow-up toolkit map
For each priority gap, the page or sheet you will use to repair it, such as a job description builder, a territory workbook or an expense policy.
Result: Finished when each priority gap has a named tool and a named owner.
Why us
Why owners pick GullySales over an agency.
Marketing and sales, as one job
Most agencies stop at the enquiry. We also fix what happens after it: the reply, the follow-up, the quote and the CRM.
The person on the first call does the work
No account managers in between. You are never handed to someone you have not met.
A baseline before anything starts
Your numbers are written down on day one, so every later report compares against something honest.
The fee in writing, split three ways
Our time, your media spend and production on separate lines. You always see what goes to us.
No guarantees we cannot keep
The term is agreed in writing and never a default twelve months. We never promise a ranking or a lead count, because nobody controls those.
One office, and we say so
Nagarbhavi, Bengaluru. We work across India by call and WhatsApp and travel when a session needs to be in person.
#257, 3rd floor, Sri Nanjundeshwara Complex, Nagarbhavi 8th Block, Outer Ring Road. How we work.
Your brief
Tell us what you need, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps about your business, what you want and who decides. Most questions are a tap, and you can skip any you would rather answer on the call.
FAQ
Questions owners ask before they call.
Not here? More answers, or ask on WhatsApp.
What does a score of one to five actually mean?
Can we score ourselves honestly?
What if the owner does everything?
Do we audit distributors and dealers too?
How often do we re-score?
How much does it cost?
How long is the contract?
How soon will we see results?
Who will actually do the work?
What do you need from us?
Where to go next
The work that carries this topic further.
The rest of the sales operations audit
Or read all of sales management.
Your next practical step
Tell us what you are trying to grow, and we will read it before we call.
Eight short steps, mostly taps. Skip anything you would rather answer on the call.