Salespeople since the world began were probably fighting off the request to do call reports or make notes about their appointments. Paperwork was and still is a feared and unwanted request. No one wants to stop to take notes about what was said or promised to customers or referral sources.

But it's not all about building relationships, gaining trust or meeting as many potential clients as possible. It's also about tracking, monitoring, planning and building a marketing strategy. In order to accomplish those goals, managers need clear, concise and meaningful sales workflow reports.

I can hear the sales representative giving the excuses now: “If I do all that paperwork, I will not be able to see as many people. I don't want to spend my evenings doing paperwork. Who's going to look at it anyway? I'll do it, but once a month should be enough. I don't want to be writing those long reports that don't mean anything to anyone.”

Here's how you can address those excuses with your sales reps:

• Paperwork does take time, but so does writing your paycheck. Management needs to know what is happening in the field as key staff people represent the company to the health care community. Everyone needs to be aware of what promises were made, with whom salespeople are meeting and what the strategy will be for keeping this customer happy.

• Paperwork/notes should be written immediately following the appointment, not at night or before you set out on your busy day. If you wait too long, you will forget the important information.

• Paperwork should be concise, with no long paragraphs. Note the contact, key topics discussed, any promises made and the next step you will be taking with this account. Make sure you note your next appointment on the report. If you are out sick or on vacation, someone else can easily pick up the sales process and keep the appointment. That's one of the goals of tracking the workflow with your accounts.

• Reports should be submitted weekly. Management needs to know what is going on with the work of some of the company's best-paid employees. If you wait more than a week, the report and paperwork can become unmanageable. Management needs to advise and help those who are having problems with certain accounts, and waiting too long to review the sales documentation makes that difficult.

While there are many recommendations to make about paperwork, these are just some issues to remember:

• Don't let the paperwork control you. Make it quick, short and informative.

• Make notes about any special requests.

• Take note of any problems the account may be having with other providers.

• Type in bold or highlight with a special marker any promises you have made.

• If using an electronic system for tracking, calls and marketing, i.e. Excel, Access, SalesPRO, etc., let people know how to access the information.

• Note any special interests the referral source may have. It will give you some topics they enjoy talking about and may be a great way to develop a relationship.

• Review documentation from several months ago to determine if any of your accounts are no longer ordering. It's possible something went wrong with the order, the delivery or with a conversation with someone in your office and the referral source has decided to take business somewhere else. If you notice you have not heard from an account in awhile, you need to call or visit quickly to determine what has gone wrong.

• Make sure managers read what salespeople are writing. If they have not looked over this documentation, they are missing valuable information. Some may need prodding about the value of documenting sales workflow.

For salespeople to be reluctant documenters of their workday is understandable. They were not hired because of how well they write.

But not having records of client interactions, customer relationships and the strategy for gaining more orders will soon become a financial loss to both sales reps — and the company.

Read more Sales Notebook columns.

Louis Feuer is president of Dynamic Seminars & Consulting Inc. and the founder and director of the DSC Teleconference Series, a teleconference training program. You can reach him through www.DynamicSeminars.com or at 954/435-8182.