Appraisal: Star Stone Vice President

This assessment is for the Star Stone Sales Vice President. Prior to completing this assessment, you should have handy your quarterly report (see your contract. Order your report and address each of the duties in the report). Before you can complete your report, note that you'll have to have completed quarterly inventory first, as many objectives are based on knowledge of these numbers.

Marketing

Generally, we wish to grow by increasing sales while keeping overhead and loss in check. Meeting this objective helps us to continue to offer high-quality, fairly priced products, and in turn encourage further sales. 1. Organize the sales and marketing program for Star Stone Sales. This includes creating a market strategy and market segmentation for each market segment including big box stores and nurseries. 2. Set pricing and promotions to drive maximum profitability. 3. Forecast sales monthly by product and by category on a 12-month rolling calendar basis. 4. Lead and manage the sales team to implement the sales program6. 5. Personally sell in excess of $1,000,000. 6. Set target sales and production goals annually. 7. Submit an annual budget. 8. Negotiate new distribution arrangements. 9. Manage delivery dispatch from quarries to customers and stores.

Has established an organized sales and marketing program for Star Stone Sales.

Forecast sales monthly by product and by category on a 12-month rolling calendar basis so as to schedule monthly production.

Establish goals for new distribution arrangements and negotiate these new deals.

Set, and adequately update, pricing and promotions to drive maximum profitability.

Run-rate on track for Idaho quarry to produce 25,000 tons in 2017.

Has an updated 12-month rolling forecast and realistic yet striving goals for each salesperson.

Create a comprehensive competitive marketing strategy, addressing each market segment, including big box stores and nurseries.

Track Leads and Convert to Sales

A “hot” lead responded to within an hour is 250% more likely to become a sale. Set delay-to-open and delay-to-close goals for each month. Reset goals each month. Strive for constant improvement by setting monthly goals that improve upon the previous month’s numbers. Use OpenERP for lead and customer tracking. Keep all data related to leads up-to-date, using OpenERP fully so that all sales staff can communicate effectively. Assign salespeople qualified leads (potential customer with general interest in products) or “opportunities” (potential customer with specific products in mind). Encourage your sales people to remain persistent through the process until they convert their opportunities into customers.

Tracks delay-to-open and delay-to-close numbers.

Run-rate on track to personally sell at least $1,000,000 yearly.

Has set monthly delay-to-open goals for the sales department and met goals.

Has set monthly delay-to-close goals for the sales department and met those goals.

Uses OpenERP for lead and customer tracking. Keeps all data related to leads up-to-date.

Assigns salespeople qualified leads or “opportunities” in a timely manner.

Salespeople are aware of the idea of persistency, understand their goals, and meet them.

Meetings: Conducting, Attendance, and Participating

You’re responsible for: Attending the weekly company-wide sales meeting and conducting this meeting every 1 in 6 times. Leading a weekly Star Stone sales meeting. Documenting and ensuring that staff is participating in local meetings. Documenting company-wide meetings and making use of information learned; implementing suggested changes in sales strategy. Volunteering for action items. Participating in the BIT and WIG meetings.

Attends the weekly company-wide sales meeting and conducts this meeting every 1 in 6 times.

Leads at least a weekly sales staff meeting.

Documents and ensures staff is participating in meetings.

Volunteers for action items.

Participates in the BIT and WIG meetings.

Quarterly inventories have been entered and submitted within the current evaluation period.

Has established an annual budget and expenses comply with the budget.

Maintain organized employee files and paperwork, per regulatory requirements, ready for any monthly audits.

Approve purchase orders in OpenERP with scanned receipts attached.

Submits supplier invoices correctly, with attached documentation, in a timely manner.

Registers transfer of goods paperwork in OE in a timely manner (within 24 hours).

Timesheets and payroll production sheets are submitted to accounting on time.

Has one “Project” for personal tasks and one for store that effectively keeps sales team up-to-date on tasks.

Uses Google Document and/or Knowledge articles for instructions, procedures, and processes co-workers collaborate on.

Uses Google or OE Calendar to manage appointments.

Effectively distributes time between duties of training, managing and supervising, personal selling and maximizing output.

Buying, Inventory Dollars, Pricing and Driving Profit

In addition to meeting last year's (if applicable) sales goals, you’ll need to establish fair, competitive pricing that encourages repeat customer business, word of mouth advertising, and volume sales, while maximizing profit. Make recommendations to the owners, on price adjustments that need to be made to aide in selling overstocked inventory in the quarries and to provide promotional items to drive traffic to the stores.

Determine metrics to track profits day-to-day, based on MSHA compliance, output and sales, injuries, equipment costs, etc.

Ensures high quality production through a quality control program with inspection reporting.

Establish appropriate pricing balanced to encourage turn and maximizing profit meeting 0.125 turns per quarter.

Meets or exceeds the 20%+ gross margin goal.

Tracks current outstanding AR, sets monthly goals below 30 days, and has improved on this goal month over month.

Staffing

Staffing. Maintain proper staffing levels to maximize profits. Staffing should not be so low as to impede sales or so high as to have employees unoccupied. Excellent performance in this area means all employees appear to be busy at all times, and yet customers are getting adequate care — always greeted by at least one employee, and never leaving the store because of lack of customer service.

Employees do not complain or quit because of staffing levels.

Monitor and make shifts in quarry staffing to meet sales demand and labor budget. Coordinate with HR on number of H2B needed.

Employee hours kept within approved seasonal ranges: 30 to 40 during winter and 35 to 45 during summer.

Payroll expense is at around 10% of gross sales.

Credit Card Usage and Reimbursements

Check Credit Card Usage and Reimbursements. Your business credit card should contain only those items approved for purchase. In order to achieve sales goals, the company has available a Cell Phone Plan, a Mileage Reimbursement Plan for business use of a personal vehicle, and a Travel and Entertainment Reimbursement Plan. You as a manager are in charge of reviewing requests for these types of expense accounts for your sales employees, and making them aware of their budgets for each.

Personal business credit card contains only expenses from companies we have no credit account with.

Reviews subordinates’ expense requests, ensuring credit card used only with companies we have no account with.

Has created supplier invoices for personal expenses of all expenses with attached invoice/receipt within 7 days.

Has ensured subordinates create supplier invoices for expenses with attached invoice/receipt within 7 days.

Keeps personal expenses within approved budgets.

Reviews subordinates' expenses; ensures they do not exceed budgets.

Fleet/Equipment Maintenance

Equipment Maintenance Repair equipment in a timely manner because delays in care generally translate to greater cost. Increased costs to our overhead decrease our ability to operate profitability. Keep vehicle paperwork and registrations up-to-date and present in each vehicle. Keep fleet records up-to-date for each machine in OpenERP including an accurate description, picture, serial number, hours/miles meter, and any other relevant information (filters/belts/tires/etc). Equipment should be washed semi-annually. Keep maintenance records up-to-date in OpenERP for each machine.

Maintain inspection systems and checklists. Track asset hours. Log service, inspections, repairs in OE.

Repairs equipment in a timely manner; frequent maintenance issues are anticipated.

Vehicle paperwork and registrations are up-to-date and present in each vehicle at any given time during evaluation period.

Fleet records are consistently up-to-date for each machine in OpenERP including all required data.

Equipment is washed semi-annually.

Maintenance records are kept up-to-date in OpenERP for each machine.

Productivity

Enhance company productivity by making your subordinates aware of the communications policy and enforcing it, and delegating effectively. Generally the Communications Policy sets a standard for keeping conversations on the clock with subordinates business-oriented as much as comfortably reasonable to make the best use of time. Delegate Effectively. Manage and preserve your time. Use your time to complete higher-level tasks that generate more money for the company, while delegating those that require less skill to those at lower pay levels.

Personally follows the communications policy with regard to conversations with his/her supervisor.

Personally follows policy regarding subordinate communications.

All subordinates are aware of communications policy regarding supervisor communications and GM consistently enforces it.

Personally follows the communications policy with regard to cell phone use.

All subordinates are aware of communications policy regarding cell phone use and GM consistently enforces it.

All subordinates are aware of communications policy regarding internet use and GM consistently enforces it.

Completes higher-level tasks that generate more money for the company him/herself, while delegating those requiring less skill.

Manage delivery dispatch from quarries to customers and stores.

Create a schedule to plan and prioritize work to be done by the company’s stone quarries.

Stock-outs eliminated to decrease average order fulfillment time.

Average order lead-time is tracked and optimized.

Minimizes unemployment costs by ensuring no employees have qualified for unemployment during the quarter.

Customer Interactions and Sales Techniques

Lead aggressive and proactive selling efforts on your own and through your team using “Action Selling” principals. Encourage all salespeople to be “partners” or “advisers” to your customers, not “peddlers.” Orient your efforts concentrating on the project your customer wishes to complete, not focusing merely on the products you have to sell. Acknowledge / Help Every Customer. Maximize customer satisfaction and repeat business personally, and by encouraging your staff in high-quality employee-customer relations. Instruct staff that in the event of customer property damage they should ask what they can do to make them happy, rather than offering any solutions.

Observation and customer feedback show GM trains on, and associates demonstrate, a solution-oriented customer service model.

Staff found to be using "Action Selling" or other effective sales techniques.

Based on observations and customer feedback, staff acknowledge and help every customer.

Staff, in event of customer property damage, always ask (not offer) what can be done to make the customer happy.

Customer feedback is encouraged.

All staff after training period demonstrate excellent product and store knowledge in their interactions with customers.

Staff presents excellent communication skills under pressure.

Attendance

Your attendance should be carefully planned to address peak sales time; increase customer interaction and sales, as well as support and motivate your workforce. Your objectives are: An average attendance of 45 Hours per week, scheduled at relevant, strategic hours. Arrive on-time and close some percentage of the time. Maintain a 90% accurate bi-weekly personal timesheet. Leads your employees to believe you're supporting them, motivating them, and giving 110%.

Has an average attendance of 45 hours per week, scheduled at relevant, strategic times.

Anonymous feedback from subordinates says managers attendance supports and motivates them and that the manager gives 110%.

Recruiting

Base your decisions on who to hire on the largest pool of candidates you can get in as short a time-frame as feasible. Obviously, you should have help from HR in your recruiting efforts. Stay on top of the process, particularly when finding good people isn't working well, discussing options when faster recruiting is necessary, and how your process is going. Use OpenERP’s interview survey tools to aid you in keeping track of the information you learn during your interviews with candidates. Update interview surveys to help you do an even more effective job. Use skills-based pre-tests information to aid you in getting to know your candidates’ strengths and weaknesses. Do not start employees until they have successfully passed a pre-employment drug test.

Bases decisions on who to hire on the largest candidate pool possible in shortest timeframe possible.

Use OpenERP’s interview survey tools to aid you in keeping track of interview information.

Uses skills-based pre-test information to aid in evaluating your candidates’ strengths/weaknesses before interview if available.

Doesn't start employees until they have successfully passed a pre-employment drug test.

Has established (or subordinates have established) up-to-date safe practices in writing that all employee know about.

All miners up-to-date on safety training, minimum 2 are certified in CPR. Safety manual up to date.

Based on regulatory compliance and extraction efficiency, quarry profit goals have been established and met.

Interface with government regulatory agencies in compliance issues, to resolve tickets, fines, etc.

Has established goals on compliance fines, and efforts have lead to a decrease, matching the goal.

Employees have proven their understanding of safety regulations.

Employees have proven their understanding of standard operating procedures.

Has established), or subordinates have established up-to-date standard operating procedures in writing employees know about.

DOT and driver paperwork is accurate and up-to-date. Achieves at minimum national average for DOT Violations/Inspection.

Employees are encouraged to report all accidents, even small ones, and these are adequately recorded.

Accidents at 0; or if not, employees are aware of rate and goals to try and lower number.

Enforces employee attire rules for the purposes of customer experience and employee safety.

Understands DOGM, the Forest Service, MSHA, and BLM policies, submitting all required documents on time.

Discounting punctuality, employees and customers report GM models motivating behaviors employee should emulate.

Has encouraged workplace health with at least one creative initiative this quarter.

Welcome input, comments and complaints from employees, even about your own performance. Be accessible.

Non-sales employees should understand their job objectives clearly, know their goals and progress.

Completes subordinates’ appraisals and updates contracts on schedule.

Owner Input

Janet's Star Stone Sales orders are input into Open ERP well and she has made the transition very well, including devoting extra time to learn how to properly input orders and transfers. She is keeping her paperwork up-to-date. We want to see more outgoing sales efforts and feel that this is her #1 focus We want to see Janet grow Star Stone Sales by bringing other salespeople up to speed and giving them the support and training needed to succeed. We want to see Janet improve by working to train drivers of their duties and responsibilities more fully Janet's Positive attitude and extensive knowledge is a great benefit to the Salt Lake office Janet could improve by setting a good example of the proper communication practices while at work. Janet has been a positive influence in BIT meeting and the weekly Sales Calls. We recommend an increase in her base salary.

The following is input and comments from the owners.