In a new year and a new decade, it’s the right time to reset and refocus to maximize growth. Growth can be financial, or any positive change in the areas an organization deems important. There are many strategies and tools to generate results, and there are thousands of books written on the subject. However, there’s one very important component that should be incorporated into any growth plan: transparency.

Ashley McCune is the president of Facilisgroup and a 16-year veteran of the promotional products industry.

In this article, we’re referring to internal transparency as it relates to sales growth. It means a level of transparency that allows for all involved to define the goal and see the data, progress and results. This allows for accountability, holding each responsible for their role in achieving those results. While you can have transparency without accountability, the opposite isn’t true.

Transparency is one of the principles upon which Facilisgroup was founded: the ability for everyone involved in promotional products distribution to have a clear view of business performance and results. We know the tools available for our customers offer transparency, which has led to growth for those who leverage it appropriately. This also allows our partners to develop a culture of accountability.

With the right tools, sales leaders can quickly view a snapshot of all activity, including growth exceeding expectations and concerns that could become huge issues. Individuals responsible for driving such growth have a clear view of their own performance, which allows each to appropriately manage their book of business. This transparency creates the opportunity for the right conversations to happen at the right time to celebrate wins and course-correct issues to a better path for success.

Any organization can develop a culture of transparency by following these guidelines:

Define the Right Metrics
Legendary business expert Peter Drucker is credited with saying “what gets measured gets managed.” It’s an excellent rule to follow when considering the right metrics. While booked and invoiced sales are critically important, it’s equally important to view overall gross margin, active prospects and clients in the pipeline, sales rep activity, job tracking and customer satisfaction. In addition, all organizations should have a clear view of their accounts receivable, including the average payment cycle.

Build Insightful Reports
Data is only as good as the insight it provides. Thus, the reports should include enough data to allow sales leaders and reps to get a good view of the activity. This will facilitate the conversations that will advance efforts already in a positive trajectory, and redirect areas that might be falling behind.

For example, a report that measures a sales rep’s performance should include booked and submitted sales, total number of jobs and gross margin.

Also consider a productivity report that presents the sales activities a sales rep has produced to deliver the results. Depending on your sales process, this should include total number of new prospects and new clients added, and total number of calls, appointments and proposals.

With both reports in hand, a sales leader and sales rep can have a candid conversation about a rep’s activity and performance. Rooted in the numbers, it can result in an action plan to ensure the rep is on track to hit his or her goals.

The same methodology can be applied to a distributor’s financial health. Developing the right reports to provide transparency with your finance team is imperative. For example, a routine review of your billing activities can uncover if your current payment cycle is acceptable, or if there’s an issue with billing completed jobs in a timely fashion. A consistent and proactive view of key A/R metrics can drastically improve your cash flow.

Review & Repeat
Transparency is most effective when practiced consistently. The frequency depends on what’s being tracked, but best practice suggests that performance between sales leaders and their reports should be reviewed weekly, while a review of financial metrics such as payment cycle can be monthly. The key is to develop a frequency that allows for realistic insights to be developed and can uncover any pending issues that would derail success.

The addition of transparency through data that allows for accountability should be a key component of any business strategy. Not only does it provide an understanding of how performance is impacting overall success, but studies have shown that employees value transparency in their interactions with management. It’s the right time to make transparency an essential part of your business.