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I recently read an article about the demise of solution selling. It described how salespeople who are following the traditional methods of selling (seeking out the pain) are losing to the new breed of “sales disruptors." These are salespeople who find solutions to business problems that prospects were not even aware they had. As a result, they create increased levels of confidence with the prospect, leaving the traditional salesperson in the dust.
The article made enough of an impression that I began to ponder the future of sales management and how traditional metrics, sales process, recruiting, training and coaching will need to adapt to the new sales landscape.
This new sales environment impacts business drivers of profitability. There is a need to increase sales velocity and drive productivity to ensure cost-of-sales levels are lowered.
How does sales leadership change to achieve greater productivity? We can look to healthcare for some help. While there are certainly inefficiencies in our healthcare system, it has embraced innovative technology to become more efficient in many areas. The use of medical protocols, the power of computers, and database management has enabled medical researchers to create personalized medical treatment plans based on variable data points.
As an example, if you are a male or female in a certain age range, of a certain nationality and with or without diabetes, different heath treatment plans/protocols for a heart problem can be personalized based on successful historical patterns. Sales leadership can incorporate this same idea to begin creating custom sales plans for differing sales situations.
CRM systems linked to business intelligence (BI) software and a variety of data points can create custom sales processes/protocols designed to expedite sales and increase sales productivity. Traditionally, sales trainers teach the sales process must be in alignment with the buying process, which true. However, the Internet has made buyers more knowledgeable; this requires altering the sales process.
How will linking CRM/BI allow sales leaders and salespeople to change the game on competition, as well as prospects? Sales management must design systems that take into consideration prospect variables or data points. While these variables may vary from industry to industry, there are fundamental data points that can be used to build a unique sales protocol. These can be captured from any CRM database or, similar to an initial consultation with a physician, a salesperson can gather the data on the initial call. These points may include:
Once these data points are captured, a strategy can be created to access the specific sales situation, validate it against a historical database, and identify a preferred pathway that includes proper sales tools, a predefined sales process and recommended sales protocols.
How does the adoption of sales protocols impact sales leadership? First in recruiting, sales management must adjust the sales candidate’s profile (more adaptable/intelligence/creative) and train salespeople to be more attuned to the prospect’s situation. Second, sales training will be more critical and intense. Leaders will have to raise the bar on skill development to ensure that salespeople can execute the various protocols. Companies are likely to create their own certification and sales training programs.
Since effective protocols may change a sales approach, the sales actions may not follow traditional sales training methodology. Sales leaders will need to accompany salespeople on onsite sales calls more often to ensure they are able to execute protocols and test the protocol against the reality of the sales environment.
Sales metrics will also become more critical and more complex. In a traditional sales organization, sales management may track four to six metrics—a combination of historical and forward-looking sales activity and pipeline values. In the new environment, sales leadership will use the same metrics, but also begin to monitor other actions based on the types of sales protocols being followed and linking them with success ratios to specific sales actions being executed.
It is one thing to invest in CRM and improve your sales process; however, it’s another to make it work. There must be a commitment from all levels of management to institutionalize the CRM system. Sales leadership must set the vision, and sales management must focus on its execution.
The first step is to ensure that there's a written sales process map, with definitions and detailed action steps for each major stage in the sale. This will help each salesperson understand what's expected at each stage and enable the CRM application to follow the map. Once the sales process is mapped into CRM, there must be continuous training for all salespeople. During the first six months as you roll out the application, sales management must train everyone to use the system identically.
Phase two is setting quarterly data-cleansing objectives. This means sales leadership defines new data entry and data collection goals such as adding one more contact name to each account or correct email addresses for all names in the database. This phase could also be used for cleansing old and non-active sales opportunities.
In summary, the “art and science” of sales management will still rely on the salesperson’s ability to create trust and confidence during the sales process, but they will be aided with a more prescriptive, proven approach to winning the sale.
Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 16 years, his consulting, advisory, and platform services have illuminated, motivated, and rejuvenated the sales efforts for partners throughout the world. His book Leading High Performance Sales Teams is a best-seller, and his fifth book, “JAMMED! for New Sales Managers" was published this summer. Ken provides keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.
To learn more about growing with sales data, visit salesforce.com, or download the free e-book.
