Cowboys may have tamed the Wild West but in today's economy the "shoot, ready, aim" approach of many B2B sales leaders is hurting their firms' ability to for sales success in an increasingly competitive marketplace.

A few years ago most sales leaders could rely on their Rolodex and few rounds of golf to ensure they had a pipeline adequate to make the sales number, but the selling landscape has changed forever and many sales leaders are unwilling or incapable of adapting.

CSO's who consistently achieve their sales plan understand that several key functions must be precisely orchestrated to give their sales teams an efficient sales process and steady stream of qualified leads.

What Today's Successful Sales Model Includes

• Up to 60% of the buying process occurs before a sales person engages with a prospects, best of breed sales leaders understand the critical role marketing plays in identifying the perfect sales prospect and the messaging/ content needed to effectively engage and nurture future clients.
• High performing organization have close alignment with their marketing counterparts and provide a constant stream of feedback to ensure messaging is adjusted based on changing market conditions.
• They also make sure that the leads provided by marketing are followed up on immediately and if a lead is not fully qualified it returned to marketing for further nurturing.

Where Laggard Sales Leaders Often Fall Behind

A vital area that many laggard sales leaders shoot at and miss is sales pipeline forecasting. Constantly missing sales forecasts is an indication that a sales leader does not have their finger on the pulse of their sales team. Remember, nothing causes a leadership team to lose confidence in their sales staff like constantly missing forecasts!

One of the main causes of missed forecasts are sales pipelines that are bloated with poorly qualified deals. Opportunities that have aged well past the average sales cycle usually become a "no decision". As we are entering a new plan year it's not too late to sweep these dead deals out of the pipeline. It may be painful now but at least you will have a better handle on where you really stand and give yourself a fighting chance for the rest of the year.

For tools to help you calibrate your sales pipeline to your revenue goal try our Do I Have Enough Sales Pipeline Calculator and Sales Revenue Forecasting template. Also consider a Sales Optimization Review if you're ready to really take charge of your sales future.