Do you remember that public service announcement reminding parents about their responsibility to keep tabs on their children? It first appeared in the late 60's, yet, the message is just as important today. Even if your children are mature, responsible, level-headed, and perhaps straight-A students, it's still your responsibility as a parent to know where they are and what they are doing. Because, left to their own devices, even mature, responsible, level-headed, straight-A students sometimes get into trouble. Or, perhaps they are not doing anything when there are things they should be doing. (Whose turn is it to take out the trash?)

What's the point?

Salespeople, even the best of them, can be like children. They can wander off and get into trouble. Or, they can be doing nothing when there are things to be done. A public service announcement for sales managers might be: It's 10 AM. Do you know where your salespeople are?

In an ideal world, you would assign your salespeople their quotas, and they would do what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and when it needs to be done in order to meet those quotas. You might check on their progress weekly ... just to stay in the loop. But, for the most part, you would rely on their commitment, discipline, judgment, organizational skills, and selling skills to get the job done.

OK, now back to the real world. Your sales team wasn't made with a cookie cutter. Members of your team will have different degrees of commitment, discipline, good judgment, selling skill, and organizational skill. Their desire and ability to "get the job done" will vary. Left to their own devices, a few will flourish, a few will flounder, and the balance of the team will experience varying and, likely, inconsistent levels of success.

But, your salespeople aren't left to their own devices. They aren't allowed to do as they please (unless, of course, they are already working effectively and bringing in the desired results). Most of your sales team members will require your supervision, guidance, and coaching to ensure that they are focusing on the correct things at the correct times and taking the correct actions.

Require your people to develop weekly plans that describe the activities in which they will be engaged (e.g., prospecting or networking), on whom they will be calling, and the purpose and intended outcome for each activity and call. The weekly planner not only serves to provide focus for your salespeople, but it also provides you with benchmarks by which to measure their performance and judge their ability to execute.

For the "flourishers," a weekly review of their plan may be all that's necessary. For the "flounderers," a daily plan, perhaps with an hour-by-hour schedule, may be more appropriate. Make sure they are doing productive work during prime selling hours and "paper work" during off hours.

Use the weekly and daily plans to not only assess their performance, but also to identify topics for coaching sessions. Review the plans with each team member to determine:

• Did they do what they said they would do? If not, why not?

• Did they accomplish what they set out to accomplish? If not, why not?

• Was their week filled with productive activities? Too many? Too few?

• What could they have done differently to achieve a better result?

Succeeding without a plan is getting lucky. Succeeding with a plan is working smart. Don't allow your salespeople to rely on luck. Instead, help them work smart.

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