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Article
Quarterly
Sales Upgrade
a 90-Day Strategy
We still maintain that you can conduct an effective 90-day salesperson or sales team upgrade without a lot of money, fanfare or wholesale change-out. It's done through 4 core areas of focus:
- Territory Scrutiny
- Target Shooting
- Message Crafting
- Activity Analysis
We get many requests from many executives and sales leaders seeking help in improving sales revenues through sales training and consulting. They say "Our team needs more sales discipline" or "Our team needs more qualified sales opportunities" or "Our team needs to improve customer questioning skills" or "Our sales pitch is inconsistent."
Of course, these are all legitimate concerns and competency areas that can be improved, however it's not telling the whole story. An honest assessment of one's territory opportunity set and priorities, focused customer targeting, up-level-ing of all occassion sales messaging, and obsessing with (quick) daily and weekly feedback analysis are the keys to sales upgrading.
It's a new year. Q1 is here - how's your team going to perform in Q2? |
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Hooray for 100%'ers!
While some criticize and only pool people into categories of 1% and 99%, we herald the achievers - the 100%'ers.
Congrats to all 2011 sales winners who attained 100% of plan. We know these sales producers (studs & studdettes) worked hard to meet and exceed quotas and goals assigned in the midst of obstacles, difficulties and a host of customer and market challenges.
100%'ers and all those who work hard in producing and selling goods and services make the nation and world economy work. We could only hope that all people would have the heart, determination and work ethic of all those who achieve the Sales 100% Club. |
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Contact Us
650-279-3467
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New Year Selling
We wrote a couple of months ago about the end of the "Solution Selling" era. This month we'll address the rebirth of sales enablement across progressive selling organizations. A new day (year) is upon us as enlightened companies, consultants and sales trainers develop and implement sticky, adaptable and scalable selling systems that help organizations run like fine-tuned, ultimate sales-driven machines.
The next wave available to companies is an explosion of sales effectiveness and new efficiencies. Prepare for a 10-year run of sales team upgrades and resets.
This new era of sales enablement is already underway in many companies like Citrix, Fujitsu, Adobe, Boeing and VMware, to name a few, that are investing in re-optimized sales tools and practices for their modern updated sales teams.
There are 4 components* to a revamped sales enablement program:
- Strategy (where to go)
- Messaging (what to say)
- Process (what to do)
- Leadership (how to coach)
* DSG Consulting, an MXL Partners affiliate partner firm.
The redevelopment and integration of each of these component areas into carefully tailored sales 2.0 manual and automated playbooks is opening up an exciting new frontier in a land filled with opportunity. We'll break down each component in this SalesNote.
Are you "revamping" enablement of your sales organization?_____________________________________________________ |
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Sales Strategy - (where to go)
Good sales strategies arise out of effective assessment of existing field and leadership practices, targeting, messaging, customer engagement models, processes and tools. All in light of the right strategic growth opportunities.
When driving a strategy change, key questions involve the 'what' and the 'how'.
WHAT: What are we selling? What segments should we prioritize? What sales channels? What sales organization structure? What coverage model?
HOW: How will the strategy be deployed? How will we enable our channels to implement the strategy? What playbooks, content and tools will be required? How will the necessary skills be developed? What metrics will be measured and how will those metrics be measured?
Answer these questions and you're on your way. Sales Strategy Playbooks then make the complex simple. An effective Playbook will be specific to your products and services, competition, selling environment, and market space.
Do you have a clear Sales Strategy? Read more... |
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Sales Messaging - (what to say)
Linking your sales strategy and the sales message your sales team and channels actually conveys to the marketplace, at street-level, takes some work.
'Sales Ready' Playbooks specifically outline who to target in the organization, what to know about those individuals, which stories to tell, the best questions to ask, and how to consultatively lead a dialogue with specific customer audiences.
Sales Messaging Playbooks provide practical content and tools for leading compelling customer conversations. Tools may include a whiteboard 'chalk talk' for leading early stage, discovery conversations. Instead of delivering the message through PowerPoint slides and talking about products, the sale rep is trained to consultatively lead a dialogue on a whiteboard, flip chart, napkin, or web meeting screen. Customizable 'talk tracks' are great tools.
Online or manual Playbooks can significantly reinforce corporate, industry and solution messaging, as well as partner, competitive, and specific customer messaging.
Is your team equipped and trained with an effective and adaptive sales messaging framework? Read more...
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Sales Process - (what to do)
Many salespeople resist "process" discussion. Doesn't mean they don't need help and a method. What customer/prospect-facing people actually do, start to finish, left to right, individually and as a team, is critical to an organization's sales success.
Effective Process Playbooks integrate steps, roles, best practices, tools and methodology into a practical guide for executing your strategy. Playbooks are specific to your business strategy, market space, and selling environment. There is no one-size-fits all sales process for managing opportunities, developing existing accounts, leveraging Partners, or capitalizing on inside sales efficiencies.
All great teams train and equip. We work with teams to find a way to make it customized, simple, flexible, logical, affordable and real. The results when clarified, instructed and implemented are profound.
Do you have an executable selling process? Read more... |
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Sales Leadership - (how to coach)
Practical guidance in sales management is important for organizations now filled with young and upcoming management ranks. We produce Leadership Playbooks for effective coaching at each level of the sales management team. Tailored Playbooks are specific to your strategy and processes. Your field managers now get a field manual providing a roadmap for how to think and operate more strategically as a coach, leader and motivator.
No matter your investment in a packaged sales methodology, tools or training program, we will leverage "your way" and build a Sales Leadership System on the current processes and foundations.
We ensure each Leadership Playbook is practical and valuable by creating a cadence of review meetings, coaching guides, manager dashboard and tools in collaboration with your best sales managers and across the organization.
Do you have a Sales Leadership System? Read more... |
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Quotation about Sales Success
"Try not to become a man of success but a man of value." - Albert Einstein
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