Today’s sales leaders are under increasing pressure to be more effective, efficient and increase the ROI of the sales force. These leaders are reinventing the way they manage their teams. But they are not reinventing the wheel, they are using the wheels that are already rolling within their team. All sale organizations have their are top performers. They excel because they understand the complete value proposition(s) of a company’s product or service and communicate it to a buyers team in the correct format, at the appropriate time and through the correct channel. They usually, also prioritize following up and keeping the buyers team engaged throughout the sales funnel.
Progressive sales leaders are ensuring that the activities and processes of the top performers are no longer being kept a secret; they are broadcasting them throughout the sales organization. The goal is to get the bottom 80% of the sales force to act like the top 20%. Easy right…wrong! Sales organizations need better ways to preserve and leverage collective expertise. A successful sales function will transform into a continuously learning organization, that continuously improves its processes, and ROI. A company who provides its top producers the tools to easily share their know-how and measure adherence to prescribed activities will lift the performance of the entire team.
Tools and software are becoming available to make it simpler to systematically follow and automate the top sellers practices. The tools are not yet broadly used but deployment will advance quickly when the exponential improvement in conversion rates and ROI are more broadly understood. Although the term for these tools is loosely defined, I label them Sales Enablement and Automation (SEA) technology. Utilizing these tools, a sales organization can use the knowledge of its top performers and create a Company Specific Benchmark Sales Process (CSBSP) that includes measurement tools to highlight what is working and what is not. Armed with this quantitative data the sales team can intelligently and continuously improve its CSBSP driving improved ROI. The CSBSP ensures that the sales team is effective because it comprises benchmark sales processes and messaging. In addition, standardizing processes allows automation which drives significant efficiency. The SEA tools, processes, and mindset will systematically result in sales professionals having more thoughtful and extensive dialogues with prospects throughout the sales funnel and by using best practices will convert today’s prospect into a loyal customer.