Sales management · The sales operations audit
Agree what you will look at before you start asking questions.
A sales operations audit setup is the first meeting that fixes what is being audited, who will be interviewed, which records exist, and what the sales team looks like today. This page covers the context questions, the evidence request and the consent notes, ending with a session plan the owner signs.
Scope, fee, reporting and term are agreed in writing after we have read your brief and spoken to you.
In one paragraph
A sales operations audit setup is the first meeting that fixes what is being audited, who will be interviewed, which records exist, and what the sales team looks like today. This page covers the context questions, the evidence request and the consent notes, ending with a session plan the owner signs.
An owner in Ludhiana says sales are flat and cannot tell why. The orders sit in a WhatsApp group, the targets are on a sheet last edited in April, and the revenue is in the accounts software. Three places, three versions, and no one has ever put them side by side.
The setup session fixes that before any scoring. In about an hour you write down what is sold, to whom, through which channels, the revenue band, the team, the growth target, and which records exist to prove any of it. You also agree who will be interviewed and in what format: one long sitting or four short ones.
The owner and the sales manager take part, and the accounts person brings the revenue figures. If the owner is the sales manager, say so on the sheet and score the role rather than the title. This replaces the vague chat that ends with advice nobody can check.
It is the first step of the audit run in this section. The eight area scoring comes next, and the gap report closes it. Run it yourself, or have a sales adviser run it; the discipline is the same.
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.
“Revenue must reconcile before anything else”
Ask the accounts person for revenue for the last full financial year, April to March, and compare it with what the owner says from memory. If the two differ, find out why first. Every later conclusion about growth depends on a figure both sides accept.
“Screenshots are valid evidence”
Do not wait for a perfect CRM export. Targets in a WhatsApp message and orders in a spreadsheet are fine if you can see them. The rule is that a claim without a document is marked claimed, and a claim with one is marked evidenced.
“Staff pay and personal data need a consent line”
An audit will touch salaries, incentive payouts and customer details. Agree in writing what may be noted, and keep names and personal figures out of the final report unless the owner decides they belong. The people being audited should know that before the first question.
“Interview formats change the answers”
One two-hour sitting tires everyone, and the last areas get thin answers. Four sessions of thirty minutes each, one per part, keep people sharp but leave gaps in which the owner can quietly tidy the story. Choose with your eyes open, and write the choice on the session plan.
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 context sheet
A form that records the product or service sold, the buyers, the sales channels, the revenue band for the last financial year, the customer count, the average deal size, how long a sale takes, the size and roles of the team, and the growth goal. Owner and sales manager fill it together.
Result: Finished when the revenue on the sheet matches the accounts for the same year.
The session plan
Which eight areas are being audited, who is interviewed for each, the format, the dates and the room. Signed off by the owner.
Result: Finished when every interviewee has a date in their diary.
The consent and confidentiality note
Half a page on what may be recorded, who will see the report and what stays out of it. Read aloud at the start of the first session.
Result: Finished when the owner has initialled it and each interviewee has been told.
The evidence checklist
Org chart, target sheet, job descriptions, pay plan or offer letters, expense policy, call reports, pipeline format, training calendar, territory list. Each line shows received, partly received or not available.
Result: Finished when three-quarters of the lines are received before scoring begins.
The claimed-or-evidenced log
A running column on every answer: evidenced, claimed only, or contradicted. The person running the audit fills it as the interview goes.
Result: Finished when you can count how many answers rest on a document.
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.
Can the owner run this on their own team?
What if we have no records at all?
Do we need to interview the reps?
How big should the team be before an audit makes sense?
Which financial year do we use?
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.