Sales Reps following a formal sales process outperform others by 10%

All companies need established, formal processes to operate efficiently - and sales organizations are no exception. High preforming sales teams all have one thing in common; they have well-established sales processes that they adhere to fanatically.

A recent CSO Insights study on Sales Performance Optimization show that companies with a defined and dynamic sales process had a 10% advantage in reps that made quota (65% VS 55%). Proving that strong processes improve selling results.

Establishing a Sales Leadership System that covers all facets of selling activities is a must-have to survive in today's economy.

B2B selling process steps generally fall into 3 categories:

1. Prospect/client activities

2. Training activities

3. Administrative activities

Because prospect/ client activities are highly valued it makes sense to maximize as much time in that area as possible, while still allowing time for the other activities to be completed. The best way to ensure this happens is to build a Sales Leadership System (SLS) that covers the sales process end-to-end.

Establishing this system will ensure all participants know what is expected, by whom and when it is expected. The ultimate objective of this approach is to minimize the loss of client/selling time by adhering to an established routine for important, but non-client facing actives.

Sales Leadership System Objectives

• Establish selling process and cadence for all sales activities
• A bottom-up process beginning with the Sales Exec and reaching the C-Team
• Establish clear roles and responsibilities for all selling levels and sales management
• Key activities include:
  • Demand generation
  • Account planning and review
  • Sales activity planning and review
  • Opportunity management
  • Forecasting
  • Leadership review
  • Training

Create a Sales Activities Calendar

Establishing a monthly account rep/territory review that includes key sales and marketing stakeholders is a good first step for defining your Sales Leadership System. The monthly sales activity review should be focused on each rep's individual territory and/or account plans and should include key stakeholders from executive management. That allows the executive team to hear first hand the issues and challenges facing the sales and marketing team.

Sales Activity Review Focus Areas Include:

• Territory/Client industry overview
• Account analysis
• Relationship overview
• Revenue Potential
• Opportunity analysis
• Account team actions
• Activity review with other selling BU's

Companies have good intentions when starting a new planning and reporting process, but those intentions often fall prey to hectic calendars and client requirements. To prevent slippage of these critical tasks it's a good practice to establish an annual sales activities calendar at the beginning of the plan year. The calendar can be populated on every participants corporate calendar and should require senior level approval if conflicts occur. We have found prescheduling like this minimizes conflicts and reinforces the importance.

Take the time now to start build a Sales Leadership System specific to your business. If you need help or guidance in areas like KPI's or account planning processes feel free to reach out.