By: Kristin Anderson, Sales Assessment SME, Baker Communications
I met with a sales leader recently, whose B2B sales team includes about fifty sales professionals who serve in various capacities around the country. Business is good, and he is hoping to double his sales force this year.
As we talked through what that looked like, and discussed some of his challenges, he confessed, “Kristin…as a sales organization, we just aren’t that mature.” He sighed. “We just… aren’t there yet.”
He seemed a bit despondent and I could sense that he was realizing that their lack of maturity as a sales organization is going to be a problem. Their lack of maturity is going to make it challenging to scale and grow. As I drove back to the office, I was inspired to write this article. In this piece, I describe the three things that world-class sales organizations do differently.
As a first step and before you can think about growing your sales organization, make sure there are no existing obstacles that will cause you problems in the future.
After all, you don’t want to replicate any behaviors or processes that aren’t working. First, make a list of any problems you may be experiencing. Are these problems the result of a systemic- or process-driven issue?
Ask yourself these questions:
Are your sales trending up or down?
If down, then what’s at the root of the downward trend? Could it be related to lack of consultative selling or an ability to properly qualify opportunities? Are your salespeople spending too much time on unqualified prospects? Are your sales managers coaching their reps consistently and effectively?
Do you have sufficient pipeline to hit your sales targets?
If not, why? Do you have the right ‘hunters’ on the team? Are there underlying weaknesses preventing your hunters from hunting? Are your managers holding their teams accountable for prospecting consistently?
Is your monthly forecast accurate?
If not, does your team follow a milestone-centric sales process? Perhaps deals that your team is expecting to close – but aren’t closing – are not at the right stage in the sales process. Are your managers holding consistent pipeline update meetings?
Is your sales cycle the right length or is it trending longer?
If longer, perhaps your team is not effectively utilizing CRM to manage their pipeline and follow up on opportunities. Perhaps your salesforce is subconsciously accepting put-offs and stalls instead of using them as an opportunity to build trust with your prospects.
Are your margins decreasing?
This could be a sign that your team is selling on price – not value.
If you are having any of these problems, then you should spend some time getting to the root of the issues before you attempt to build your world-class sales organization. Apply the “five why” method to drill down and uncover underlying issues. Another great way to uncover what’s happening under the hood of your sales organization is to conduct a Sales Effectiveness & Improvement Analysis. The results will provide you insights into all the problems mentioned above. Feel free to email me directly (kanderson@bcicorp.com). I am happy to provide information on how Baker Communications can help you conduct this type of analysis.
