Posts Tagged SALES BEST PRACTICES
Six Thoughts on How to Sales Prospect More Effectively
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on March 22, 2016
When I first started out in sales, I didn’t expect sales prospecting to be so tough. I was a bit naïve and expected more instant success. I wasn’t prepared for strong objections and rejection.
I wish someone had said to me beforehand, “Look, this is going to be hard. You’re going to get knock-backs and rejections. The win rate is going to be low at first; you’ve got to expect that.” Now, I know how tough prospecting can be. If it’s not page one of the sales manual, it should be.
Here are six thoughts on how to sales prospect more effectively.
- Set an objective. Know what you want to achieve with every call to a prospect. The goal of the first call might only be to set up a second call during which you can have a needs dialogue. Or, the goal might be to have a physical meeting. You have limited time to get your point across, so know what you want to accomplish beforehand.
- Develop a really sharp elevator pitch. Yes, you will need an elevator pitch for your first contact, so prepare a compelling statement that grabs the prospect’s attention in 30 seconds or less. These days, prospects are so bombarded by sales calls and e-mails that you have mere seconds to establish a connection and pique their interest.
- Develop a few good lines. Let’s say you’re in a sales meeting with a prospect who has just admitted that there is an incumbent provider who is performing satisfactorily. You just might open the door to some new opportunities by pulling out a few broader lines of questioning. “If you had an unlimited budget, what else would you like? What would be the dream scenario?” Sometimes, this approach can lead to a wider discussion about what’s working well and what’s not and it can also uncover new paths of possible collaboration.
- Forget the formula. Most people don’t like being sold to or feeling coerced or pushed into a corner. They want to feel like they’re having a sensible conversation with someone about something that’s quite interesting to both parties. The problem is when the conversation begins to sound more like a script. The most successful sales professionals know how to have conversations with prospects without sounding formulaic. They hit all of their marks, following their targeted questioning techniques while making it all sound natural and conversational.
- Consider marketing colleagues as allies. There used to be a distinct boundary between marketing and sales. That boundary is now more porous, if it exists at all. I’ve heard it said that business development is really that strong link between marketing and sales. As sales professionals, we need to be much more aware and savvy about effective ways to work with our marketing colleagues. Even in recent years, sales professionals might have thought that e-mail or LinkedIn campaigns were marketing tools and that, instead of electronic communication, they should “just pick up the phone and see if anybody’s interested.” Now, the capabilities and work alliances are more fluid, and sales professionals are realizing how much more effective they can be when sales and marketing work hand-in-hand.
- Do your homework. If you’ve done all the hard work to get yourself in front of a sales prospect who’s interested in what you have to say, you certainly don’t want to blow it because you’re not prepared to engage in a proper needs dialogue and to discuss the value of what you can offer. Success in prospecting only opens the door. You’ve got to draw on your selling skills in order to walk through the following phases of the sales process: developing the opportunity, developing the solution, presenting the solution, negotiating and closing, and then maintaining and expanding the relationship.
This article was originally posted to the Richardson Sales Enablement Blog by Jonathan Craig on March 1, 2016.
The Best Elevator Speech is Not a Speech
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on March 17, 2016
As the story goes from time to time you are alone in an elevator, the door opens and in walks someone you have been trying to schedule a meeting with forever. You now have an opportunity for a 2-3 minute conversation – so what is your message?
If you find yourself face-to-face in a similar situation– are you prepared for a short conversation that your “new found friend” will find compelling?
Let’s review some specific ideas to keep in mind for the proverbial two to three minute “elevator” conversation:
- Remember the purpose. An elevator speech and a sales presentation are not the same thing. In fact, they are entirely different! Sales presentations are more formal, longer and delivered after a significant amount of work understanding the challenges faced by the customer. An elevator speech is a short, casual conversation that you hope earns you the right for setting up a subsequent meeting. So, in an elevator speech, don’t simply try to tell your regular product story twice as fast.
- One size does not fit all. There is no such thing as an effective “preparation” that fits all situations. This is why sales management cannot craft some generic “elevator speech” that fits all situations. But you can get a head start – sometimes sales management or Marketing can provide core talking points or salespeople can think about a message or two they would like to share and then modify as appropriate. The flip side is also true … you can think about a few questions your customer might ask. What would you say if asked the simple question – “What’s new?” If you’ve thought through a point or two, you can then adapt the message to fit the person with whom you’re talking.
- A problem-centered approach works best. Because issues and challenges have center stage in any customer’s mind, a problem-centered approach is preferred. As is always the case, the focus needs to be on the customer. When planning a meeting, organize what you know about the issues and challenges the customer may be facing.
- Share short success stories. Sometimes you have a chance encounter with a customer that you never thought you would encounter – so you have no plan for the interaction. Here, the best preparation is simply always being aware of the most current success stories your company has experienced.
Above all else – remember the best elevator speeches are not speeches at all. They are short statements that enable you to engage the customer in a conversation. In the first 30 seconds of a two-minute impromptu meeting relate your talking points to a problem that you know a similar customer would face, and then immediately ask a question to shift the conversation so the customer is doing the talking. If you can get the customer engaged, you just might end up with the customer saying – “do you have a few more minutes?”
One may think the elevator speech is such a small part of the interaction with customers that it is simply not worth focusing on. It’s true that elevator speeches don’t close sales. But they are opportunities to advance the sale – obtaining an appointment for the following week, or asking the best way to get on the customer’s calendar.
This article was originally posted to the Sales Training Connection Blog by Janet Spier on February 16, 2016.
How More Accessible Information is Forcing B2B Sales to Adapt
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on January 15, 2016
Over the past 20 years, information technology and digital channels have changed the way consumers shop for products ranging from cars to homes to electronics. Those forces are dramatically changing the way B2B companies and their customers approach buying and selling, too.
Business buyers are more connected and informed than ever before. Sellers must respond. For buyers and sellers alike, this creates complexity, anxiety, and opportunity all at the same time.
From the buyer’s perspective, information technology and digital channels provide access to information and enable self-sufficiency. When a buyer wants to learn about virtually any product or service, an internet search yields thousands (if not millions) of results, including online articles, videos, white papers, blogs, and social media posts. In addition to supplier websites that showcase specific solutions, there are likely to be online sources (ranging from the self-serving to the unbiased) to help buyers learn and compare solution alternatives. Buyers can also use self-service digital channels for new or repeat purchases and for training and support. Using information technology and digital channels, buyers can take over many steps of buying that salespeople once cherished as their source of value.
Buyers are at different levels of self-sufficiency: any single buyer can be at one level for some purchases and at a different level for others. Sometimes buyers prefer to eliminate the salesperson completely. According to one corporate technology buyer: “Our supplier’s customized self-service purchasing portal makes it easy to place reorders, track shipping, and return products hassle-free.” Other times buyers seek help from salespeople. The same corporate buyer relies on salespeople when evaluating new technologies: “It’s more efficient to work with a few trusted salespeople, compared to spending hours on my own sifting through all the information and misinformation that’s out there.”
Because of the diversity of buyer self-sufficiency, the traditional methods sellers use to customize their selling approach for customers are no longer enough. Considering factors such as customer potential and needs is still relevant. But today, customer knowledge/self-sufficiency is a growing driver of how customers want to buy. At one end of the spectrum are the “super-expert” customers, skilled in gathering information from many sources and self-sufficient in using that information to make purchase decisions. At the other end of the spectrum are the “information-seeking” customers, who want help with examining and evaluating the plethora of information. Many customers are in between these two extremes, or are at different points at different times or for different purchases.
Smart sellers match their selling approach to the customer’s level of buying knowledge and self-sufficiency. For example, when leaders at Dow Corning observed in the early 2000s that some customers wanted an easier, more affordable way to buy standard silicone products, they created Xiameter, a brand that includes thousands of less-differentiated products sold exclusively through a low-cost, no-frills, self-service online sales channel. Customers who desired a higher-touch approach could still purchase products under the Dow Corning brand name, which also includes specialty silicones backed by research and technical services.
As sellers need a more customized approach to reaching customers, they have a big arsenal of data and technology at their disposal. Systems (e.g., CRM), tools (e.g., data management, analytics), infrastructures (e.g., mobile, cloud), and information (e.g., big data) give sellers knowledge about buyers and enable sales force members to make smarter decisions. And sellers who once connected with customers primarily through personal selling can now use an array of digital communication channels to supplement or supplant face-to-face sales efforts.
Consider the impact of information technology and digital channels from the seller’s perspective. Here are examples from several industries.
- Finding banking customers: “Social media allows us to cost-effectively reach out to more prospects and showcase our services.”
- Understanding specialty chemicals customers: “Big data and analytics help us improve customer targeting and achieve more cost-effective deployment.”
- Acquiring advertising customers: “We now have richer demographic information to help us create more powerful sales messages, resulting in more sales.”
- Serving and growing business logistics customers: “Our salespeople use a business review app to guide quarterly account reviews with major customers. By sharing data about performance and cost savings, these discussions enhance customer value and retention.”
Information technology and digital channels can help sellers become more effective and efficient, but they can also be a source of disharmony and confusion if implemented without thought. Too many sellers have wasted millions of dollars on sales technologies such as CRM systems and data warehouses that never lived up to their potential.
Success for sellers requires many sales force changes beyond information technology and digital solutions. To start, salespeople need new competencies. Customers are no longer interested in meeting with “talking brochures,” so salespeople must do more than share product information. They must adapt to each customer’s level of knowledge and self-sufficiency. They must use email, social media, webinars, video conferencing, and other tools judiciously to maximize their own productivity and make things more efficient for buyers. They must help their companies coordinate customer outreach across multiple communication channels to ensure buyers get a well-orchestrated and consistent message.
For example, in the pharmaceutical industry, gone are the days when the majority of physician education occurred through face-to-face contact between salespeople and physicians. Companies are now tracking individual physician communication preferences and are reaching out with the combination of face-to-face visits and/or digital methods (e.g., websites, email, podcasts, virtual detailing, video conferencing, mobile apps) that best meets each physician’s needs. Salespeople need competencies as orchestrators who can ensure an effective and efficient connection.
Developing new sales force competencies is just a start. Sales leaders must also reengineer their sales forces by implementing changes across the entire range of sales force decisions: roles, size and structure, hiring, training, coaching, incentive compensation, performance management, and sales support systems.
This article was originally posted to the HBR Blog by Sally Lorimer on January 6, 2016.
Three Ways to Ensure Price Isn’t the Main Criteria for Decision Making
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on July 5, 2015
Many salespeople believe that their customer base revolves around the concept of price. That is, price is the be-all and end-all of their decision-making process. Certainly, if they listen to what many of their prospects say, you can understand the reasoning.
Expressions like: “You’ll have to do something with your price before we can even consider this” or “What’s the best deal you can offer me?” or “You competitor offered 25% off list price. How far can you go?” are designed to make the sales person feel they have to concentrate on price before the sale can be advanced in any way.
Actually, you can make sure that price isn’t the main criteria for decision-making in the customer’s mind by building on these three components:
Make sure you know the value of your products and services and how they link to the customer’s business situation. This is the key to creating value and is at the heart of selling with integrity and credibility. A salesperson must understand the departments that are most affected by the solution, and the financial impact of his solution on various departments within the entire company.
Understanding the customer’s critical issues, dissatisfactions, and frustrations, plus recognizing the business opportunities that arise from them, takes research, time, commitment, and dedicated work. But it is definitely worth it.
If you’re able to find out information prior to the visit or on previous visits before you start talking about prices, then you build opportunities for you and the prospect to select other, more credible, ways of achieving their goals and objectives.
Make sure you can help the customer calculate the cost of not using your solution. Before you can offer a remedy, you must be able to firmly establish the results of not using or buying your solution. You must help the customer identify physical symptoms of his problem and show him that multiple departments are suffering. Remember, if there is no pain associated with the current situation, you’ll find it difficult to move the prospect out of their comfort zone and make the decision to change.
Pain is the most basic human motivator for change. It is the natural defense mechanism that tells people that if they don’t change and deal with a problem, they will face consequences. And of course, change itself is painful. Therefore, change will not occur until an individual or company recognizes that the pain of change is less than the pain of staying the same.
Tell the prospect the impact of your solution over those of your closest competitors. Make these figures specific. This is where you should be able to pre-empt all but the most irrational objections. If you can get the customer to recognize that your product will provide a specific financial impact, such as cutting the cost of a critical process or increasing desired revenues, they will realize that your premium pricing makes solid business sense. You get them to identify how the benefits outweigh the costs incurred, especially if they see a competitor’s offer as offering more value to you.
When you quantify the impact of your solution, it will quickly become obvious to your customer that your solution, at your price, makes for a solid business decision. If that is clear to them, it solves the challenge of them having ‘buyer’s remorse’ and helps them persuade other decision-makers who might have a say in the final decision.
Try these three ideas out before the prospect talks specifically about price. It will build the value of choice before their mind goes to think about commoditizing your product.
This article was originally posted to the MTD Sales Training Specialists blog by Sean McPheat on February 9, 2015.
What Separates High-Performing Sales Organizations From Average and Underperforming Sales Organizations?
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on April 7, 2015
That’s what Velocify, along with Steve Martin, author of the “Heavy Hitter” series of books on enterprise selling, set out to discover. They asked 800 sales executives, managers and front-line sales reps a whole lot of questions—42 of them to be exact—to get at the answer.
The results of their study, which can be downloaded here, should be of interest to any sales leader. The report aims to show how high-performing organizations differ from average and underperforming organizations in terms of attitudes and structure.
Survey respondents were asked to compare year-over-year revenue growth for the past 2 years. Those that characterized their growth as significant were rated as high performing organizations. Those that characterized their revenue growth as flat or declining were rated as underperforming organizations (those in between were characterized as average).
The report offers up a summary of how people in each group responded to the questions. It’s interesting to note that 47% of the respondents were quota carrying salespeople. It could be enlightening to see how their responses compared to those of sales leaders.
Here are some of the key highlights from the study:
- High-performing sales organizations set higher quotas and expect fewer sales reps to meet their quota
- Mediocre sales organizations were slower to fire underperforming sales reps
- The best-performing sales teams were more likely to describe themselves as a “cohesive group”
According to the study, three key differentiators separated the great sales teams from mediocre teams according to the study.
Differentiator #1: Aggressive Goal Setting The best performing sales teams consistently set higher quotas and expected fewer sales reps to meet quota.
46 percent of respondents at high-performing organizations said that less than 60 percent of salespeople should make quota, compared to just 30 percent of respondents at average and under-performing organizations.
18 percent of high-performing sales organizations indicated that salespeople will be terminated for poor performance after one quarter compared to only 2 percent of average and 5 percent of underperforming organizations.
Differentiator #2: Team Mentality A team-oriented outlook was more prevalent among high-performing sales organizations.
High-performing sales organizations were nearly twice as likely to describe themselves as “a cohesive group of like-minded individuals” than people at lower-performing organizations, who more often described themselves as “a loose collection of individuals.”
The best teams also viewed individual talent as a lesser factor for sales success than mediocre groups, but were less likely to include below-average salespeople – exhibiting a more unified sales culture.
Differentiator #3: Process-Driven High-performing sales organizations were more likely to employ a structured sales process than others.
High-performing sales organizations were almost twice as likely as underperforming organizations to describe their sales processes as “closely monitored” or “strictly enforced or automated.”
High-performing sales organizations ranked “disciplined sales process and systems usage” as the second most important factor separating great from good sales organizations. They were also more likely to closely monitor lead follow-up than lower-performing organizations.
The report, “The Sales Organization Performance Gap,” includes analysis and survey results for 15 key questions. Here are a few (somewhat re-worded):
- What is the optimum percentage of salespeople who should make quota to validate that quotas are not set too high or too low?
- How soon is a sales person terminated for poor performance?
- In what order should the factors that separate great from average (and from underperforming) sales organizations be prioritized?
This last question uncovered an interesting result. Both the high performers and the good performers ranked “lead generation and pipeline activity” as the most important factor, above six other factors including sales leadership and sales talent.
Comparing how you would answer these questions to those of the survey respondents just might cause you to re-think the attitudes and structure of your own organization.
This article was originally posted to the Smart Selling Tools Blog by Nancy Nardin on January 28, 2015.
Words To Avoid During Your Sales Presentation
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on February 19, 2015
Needless to say, It’s essential that sales professionals are comfortable in their roles, but when comfort turns into complacency language barriers can start to appear.
In sales training what to say to customers and how to say it is covered extensively. These keystone skills are the backbone of any sales career and every good salesperson knows that they need to be constantly sharpened in order to remain effective.
Communication is the sales expert’s main tool. In negotiations a good communicator can make the difference between a non-sale and hearing the words “sold”. When following that age-old advice “ABC – Always Be Closing”, the only way this is possible is by being able to freely and naturally talk to clients and customers.
Becoming too comfortable can be just as much of an issue as being too uptight however, as complacent language has been found to be one of the biggest complaints among customers. Here are the most mis-used words in sales pitches which can turn-off clients in an instant.
Obviously
“Obviously” sounds vague at best and patronizing at worst. If you have to explain something, it probably wasn’t obvious to the client. Dissect your pitch and find out where your explanations could be clearer. If you are using this word just to fill up your sentences, don’t. It’s a messy way to use your speech and off-putting to customers.
No problem at all
If you find yourself using this tired old phrase fairly often, it’s probably because you feel obliged towards your customers for the job you are carrying out for them. Sales jobs can be challenging and some clients can demand more than others, but in their opinion, what you are doing for them is a part of your job so naturally, it isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a problem. Try to limit this phrase to once a conversation towards the end. Remember: The more you use it, the less genuine it sounds.
To be honest
Either you’re lying now or you were lying before. Your entire conversation should be genuine and pointing out that you’re being honest only makes you sound dishonest. Honestly.
Erm
“Erm”, “Umm” and “Ahh…” are all noises a client hates to hear. Filling up the spaces in your pitch with background thinking noises sounds unprofessional and can be very off-putting. The worst thing is the more you say it, the less you realize how prevalent it is in conversation. Practice confidence skills in telephone and one two one conversational situations and learn that short, snappy sentences and silent pauses sound so much better than a long thread of unbroken speech.
Basically
A lot of the things said in a sales pitch might be simple for the salesperson to understand, but especially in cold calling this might be the first time the customer or client has heard of anything like what you’re proposing. “Basically” is often used wrongly in place of more helpful terms like “in other words” or “to put it another way” by well-meaning sales professionals. Unfortunately the word itself can sound like quite a put-down, especially when twinned with a confident attitude and pushy manner. Your customers are not stupid, so don’t treat them as such!
All of these words and phrases can easily be substituted and omitted from sales pitches and conversations, so there really is no excuse to be breaking the rules laid out here. All salespeople should be enthusiastic about providing the best services to their clients and this relationship starts from the very first phone call.
Cut these know-it-all phrases out and see what a difference it makes to your sales figures!
Salespeople Have to Invest Their Own Money in Their Own Sales Success
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on February 13, 2015
How much are you investing in your own sales success?
Take a second and add up how much of your own money that you invested in 2014 in your own sales education. How many dollars (or Euros or whatever currency you use) of your own money did you spend to learn something new about sales that could improve your performance and enhance your sales skills? How many sales books did you purchase (and actually read?) Did you hire a sales coach? Attend a sales conference? Or take an online class to learn more about how to sell to your customers?
If the total amount that you invested in your own sales success doesn’t equal 1% of your total compensation in 2014, then you have to ask yourself a single, difficult question: ‘Am I really serious about my sales career?’
How Much Are You Prepared to Invest?
In working with thousands of salespeople over the course of my work, what I’ve witnessed is that the most successful salespeople are continually challenging themselves by expanding the boundaries of their knowledge about sales, sales skills and their customers. Through my own informal research what I have found is that the most consistently successful sales reps are those who invest their own money in their continuing sales education, with top performers routinely investing 1% or more of their total pay in self-improvement
Too many salespeople seem content to wait for their employers to provide some sales training a few times a year. They think that it is solely their employer’s responsibility to train them to master their craft. Unfortunately, that is a losing strategy. By its very nature, sales is an entrepreneurial profession. It rewards those who take risks and those who have the discipline to constantly work on self-improvement.
For example, would you invest $17.95 per month for the chance to boost your commissions by 20%? Or, to earn an additional $1,000 in 2015? Of course, you would. $17.95 to earn $1,000? It’s a no-brainer. $17.95 is nothing. It’s the price of three fancy coffees from your favorite coffee house. It’s about $.60 per day.
What is significant about $17.95? $17.95 is roughly the average price of a sales book purchased on Amazon. There are dozens of extremely useful books on sales published every year that offer new insights and strategies for becoming a better salesperson. Would you set aside one hour per week to read one sales book per month if you could learn new strategies and techniques that you could put to use in your selling to help you win more orders and earn more money? Of course you would. Which raises the question: why aren’t you?
Would You Sacrifice One Hour of TV Watching?
Which leads us to another important question about investing in your future: What are you prepared to sacrifice in order to succeed? Would you be willing to forego watching The Bachelor, or any other completely forgettable TV show for that matter, to give yourself an additional 60 minutes of free time each week to read a sales book (if it would increase your chances of earning more money?)
Take the first step. Turn off your TV and invest some time to explore the universe of free sales resources available for sales people that can help boost your career. Read a few sales blogs everyday, attend free sales skills webinars once per month, watch YouTube videos about sales, listen to a weekly sales podcast (there are hundreds) or download and read an eBook, about sales. Through your research identify two or three sales experts who you feel will challenge you to look at your selling from a different perspective and who will challenge you to break out of your mold and try something new. Investigate their available paid resources like sales books, online classes, mastermind groups and sales coaches.
Then commit your time and money to put some skin in the game. Start small. Buy a sales book and read it. Or download the audio version and listen to it in your car. Put your own time and money at risk and I guarantee that you’ll instantly be more committed to wringing the maximum value out of that investment. Because if you won’t invest $17.95 every month to boost your sales and your commissions, then you’re not really serious about succeeding in sales.
This article originally appeared in the Sales Fix Blog on February 9, 2015.
Companies with a Formal Sales Process Generate More Revenue
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on February 3, 2015
How well is your company managing its sales pipeline? Research conducted by Vantage Point Performance and the Sales Management Association revealed that 44% of executives think their organization is ineffective at managing theirs. (The survey included 62 B2B companies, 39% of which have revenue greater than $1 billion and 37% of which have revenue greater than $250 million.) This statistic is discouraging because there is a direct correlation between effective pipeline management and strong revenue growth.
In our survey of B2B companies, executives were asked to rate their company’s year-over-year change in revenue on a scale of 1 to 7, with 1 representing “drastically decreased revenue” and 7 representing “drastically increased revenue.” Executives were also asked to rate their company’s effectiveness in managing the sales pipeline. On average, companies that reported having ineffective pipeline management had an average growth rate of 4.6; companies with effective pipeline management had an average growth rate of 5.3, a 15% increase. Even more interestingly, companies that mastered three specific pipeline practices saw 28% higher revenue growth.
What did these top companies do to achieve such a high level of success? Here are the three best practices that these all-star sales forces have in common, as well as ways to implement them in your company.
Clearly define the sales process. Pipeline management includes how the sales pipeline is designed, how it is measured, and how it is used to drive sales rep performance. However, at its most basic level, the sales pipeline is merely a representation of a company’s sales process. We discovered that sales forces were most effective at managing their sales pipelines if they had invested time in defining a credible, formalized sales process. In fact, there was an 18% difference in revenue growth between companies that defined a formal sales process and companies that didn’t.
So what does it mean to have a formal sales process? For starters, it means having clearly defined stages and milestones that are universally understood by your salespeople. Your sales team shouldn’t have to guess where a particular deal stands or how they should be managing deals in each stage. In addition, your sales process should align with how your customers move through their buying process. Too many sales teams use generic sales processes, and consequently get generic sales performance. Invest the time in developing a unique process for your team, and make sure that they understand how to use it.
Spend at least three hours a month on pipeline management. In addition to having a solid process in place, our research revealed the importance of dedicating enough time and resources to carrying it out well. Companies in our survey that spent at least three hours per month managing each rep’s sales pipeline saw 11% greater revenue growth than those that spent fewer than three hours per month. But success doesn’t just depend on the amount of time that’s spent on pipeline management – how the time is spent is just as important.
Many sales forces believe they are spending a lot of time managing their pipelines when in reality they’re spending a lot of time creating forecasts. If your pipeline management discussions revolve around close dates, probabilities, and deal sizes, then you are forecasting. Period. If, however, you spend your time discussing the overall health of your sellers’ pipelines and how they can shepherd more deals to successful closure, then you are managing your pipeline in a productive way. The primary focus of a pipeline meeting should be to help reps develop a game plan to move deals forward, not just scrubbing CRM data and forecasting revenue.
Train sales managers on pipeline management. Our research also revealed that 61% of executives admit their sales managers have not been adequately trained in pipeline management strategies and techniques. This begs the question, “How can we expect our sales managers to do something well when we haven’t prepared them to do it?” Companies that had trained their sales managers to manage their pipelines saw their revenue grow 9% faster than those that didn’t. But not just any training will do. Sales managers need targeted training to address specific pipeline management challenges.
Most pipeline training that sales managers receive is limited to how they log in to their CRM tool and generate reports. What they really need is training in how to make better pipeline management decisions. For instance, sales managers need to know how to determine the ideal pipeline size for each rep. They need to know at what point in the sales process their actions have the biggest impact. And they need to know how to structure pipeline meetings so they enable coaching rather than inspection. Even these few skills can have a significant impact on sales force performance.
Ultimately, pipeline management is a critical activity for all sales forces, and better pipeline management can make a huge difference in sales performance. Our research shows that there are no secrets to realizing this increased performance — you must define your sales process, commit to good pipeline management, and enable your managers to carry it out. If you integrate these best practices into your sales force, you can expect to nail your forecasts, hit your quotas, and see your sales reps succeed beyond what you thought possible.
This article was originally posted to the HBR Blog by Jason Jordan and Robert Kelly on January 21, 2015.
B2B Companies Expand Inside Sales Teams For Efficient, Relevant Lead Follow-Up
Posted by Rick Pranitis in GENERAL DISCUSSION on January 26, 2015
Over the past few years, many B2B organizations have been growing their inside sales teams, spurred by the better conversion rates and lower costs compared to a traditional sales team.
The most recent Inside Sales Market Size Study, conducted by InsideSales.com, revealed that inside sales is growing 7.5%, compared to field sales at only 0.5%. In addition, more than half of B2B sales reps (53%) sell remotely. Based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the number of U.S. non-retail inside sales positions is projected to increase by more than 40,000 per year through 2020.
Inside salespeople are also more likely to meet their quota. The InsideSales.com study revealed that 85% of inside sales people make quota, compared to field sales, where 81% achieved sales goals.
While at one time inside sales was viewed as a more junior role, inside sales reps are now becoming “executive, fluent and able to have those top-level conversations,” said Mari Anne Vanella, Founder and CEO of The Vanella Group, a firm specializing in B2B telesales and lead generation services.
“Today, the inside sales rep has a much more sophisticated skill set and the technology needed to manage relationships remotely,” Vanella said. “While there used to be a clear demarcation between inside sales and outside sales, I prefer to think of it as all just sales.”
In addition, buyers have become more comfortable with communicating through online channels such as email, social media, screen sharing and Skype. “Internet technologies are pervasive, and buyers of all ages and industries are becoming more comfortable with them at every stage of the business cycle, including in B2B sales,” said Jeff Kalter, CEO of 3D2B, a global B2B telemarketing firm.
“Customers have become used to researching products and solutions themselves,” Kalter added. “Many are also comfortable communicating with salespersons via email, social media, and conference calls. Some customers even prefer these over phone or in-person meetings.”
Inside Sales Positioned For Quick Response
While driving more sales at lower costs is key, the fast-paced nature of B2B sales is also fueling the move toward an inside sales model, experts note. In its 2014 Lead Response Report, InsideSales.com noted that if a company attempts phone contact within five minutes after lead submission, the odds that the lead is contacted are 100 times greater than if it is contacted 30 minutes after submission.
“It is often the inside sales team that is best positioned to respond to those leads in the most timely manner,” said Ken Krogue, President and Co-Founder of InsideSales.com.
Kristina McMillan, Director of Sales Development at Five9, a provider of cloud contact center software, added: “The inside sales team has the productivity tools for scoring and follow up, so they can access information and respond more quickly in many cases than the field sales reps, who are often traveling and in meetings.”
Another inside sales trend that is sparking performance is the use of gamification, McMillan said. “When everyone can see how the leaders are doing in terms of responding to leads, it lifts the whole team.”
A more data-driven approach to the entire customer lifecycle is also helping to improve the productivity of the inside sales team.
“Technologically, things have gotten more advanced in terms of identifying hot leads throughout the customer lifecycle,” said Mick Hollison, CMO for InsideSales.com. “Predictive analytics and Big Data are having tremendous impact on helping the inside sales team work smarter and be more productive.”
Analytics have provided B2B organizations with the ability to standardize activities across the entire sales team. “It makes a great deal of difference when you can figure out what works and know the amount of sales that are likely to be generated by that effort,” said Peter Fuller, CMO of Salesvue, a provider of sales automation software. “When you know things such as how many attempts it takes to turn a lead into an opportunity and how many opportunities it takes to reach your goal of closed deals, it helps the entire sales organization, including inside sales. “
Corporate structure and training can also impact productivity of the inside sales team. Some B2B companies have inside sales fall under the sales team, while others are more aligned with marketing operations.
According to the Sales Development Rep 2014 Metrics and Compensation Report from The Bridge Group, Inc., 73% of groups with the sales development role report to sales. “We recommend that this team report to whomever has the bandwidth, passion and capacity to lead it,” said Trish Bertuzzi, President and Chief Strategist of the inside sales consulting and implementation firm.
Whatever department inside sales falls under, there should be a strong relationship with marketing and the same commitment to training as with the traditional sales team, Bertuzzi noted.
“Marketing is particularly focused on the top of the funnel, so it is critical that the sales reps who are making the initial contact with a lead be aligned with marketing even if they don’t report to them,” Bertuzzi said. “They need to be able to articulate the company’s message, and that is the responsibility of marketing.”
This article originally appeared in the Demand Gen Report by Kim Ann ZImmermann on January 14, 2015.
Think You’re Losing a Sale? Ask Yourself These Five Questions:
Posted by Rick Pranitis in SALES BEST PRACTICES on January 30, 2014
It happens to every sales person at least once. You feel like you’re right on the verge of making the big sale when suddenly the customer starts reacting in a certain way and you know you’re losing the sale. When this happens to you, you need to sit back and take a good long look at the whole process. Identify where things might have gone wrong and why you found yourself losing a sale. Here are five questions you need to ask yourself.
1. Were you totally prepared? Sometimes it’s hard to know at exactly what point you’re losing a sale. You need to go back to the very beginning and determine whether you were adequately prepared. Ask yourself if you were completely sure of the client’s needs. Did you find out exactly what the client was looking for? Did you have the necessary information to develop a presentation or proposal which demonstrated to the client you completely understood their needs? Was your product knowledge sufficient to begin with? Losing a sale can happen at the very beginning of the process and you need to look back to your very first encounter to determine where things may have gone wrong.
2. How did your initial contact go? You can find yourself losing a sale from the very first contact. Try to think what was said at your very first meeting. Did you miss some important information? Losing a sale at the initial contact is more likely due to something you said or did the customer didn’t like. You may still be asked to make a presentation, and even submit a proposal. But it’s hard to get past a bad first impression. Think about everything from your original greeting to how the client reacted to you. When losing a sale, think about whether something felt wrong from the very beginning.
3. Was your proposal right? If you did learn the needs of the client, did you present your proposal in such a way it was clear you understood what they wanted? Losing a sale in this part of the process can be fairly common. Perhaps your presentation was too generic and, while it may have covered all of the basics of what you have to offer, it may not have been specific enough to the client’s actual needs. What was your impression of feedback or body language of the client during your presentation? When making a presentation, it can sometimes be obvious you’re losing a sale. In addition to product information, you’re also projecting a personal and a company image. Think back to every part of your presentation from how you were dressed to how you responded to questions.
4. Why do you think the client said no? Again, look back at the entire process. Did the client ask questions? If so, did you answer appropriately? If the customer went with another company, look at the company and see what the differences were between your product and theirs. You can also ask yourself about other companies who may not have gotten as far as you did before losing a sale. Looking at those companies can show you where you were stronger and where you may need to focus more in the future.
5. Now what? It is often hard to accept losing a sale. And it is certainly appropriate to ask the client why they said no. In fact, the only way you can work on avoiding losing a sale in the future is to find out why you lost this one. Most clients will give you some idea as to why they went with someone else. Use this information to improve or correct any areas where you were lacking.
It’s tough losing a sale, but it happens to everyone. The key to future success is to learn from the loss by reviewing what went wrong and making appropriate changes for the future.
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