ESSENTIALS OF AN EFFECTIVE SALES MANUAL

A thorough and well-designed sales manual is an important resource for sales team’s success. It is through sales manual that sales associates get a big part of their training, reliable information structure necessary to ensure reliable performance. Some of the essentials of a sales manual are

1. Eye Catching Format: as no one is going to read the entire manual, it is important that the required information is presented and eye-catching manner. There should a proper table of contents, clear headings for each section and subsections, index and glossary terms. Use of diagrams, tables and illustrations be made to summarize complex information.

2. Concise length: the length of the document will vary depending upon the target audience and the nature and number of product options.

3. Pronunciation: a new salesperson might be unfamiliar with the buzz words of the specific industry. Pronunciation must be called out wherever necessary and in glossary terms.

4. Well marked customer sections: salespeople will often copy parts of the sales manual and handover it to customers. Sections of the manual must be clearly identified.

5. Consistent updates: a sales guide out of date is useless. An updated sales manual keeps the salesperson informed about the developments within the company and new competitive announcements.