This is what most do, but not what the best do. They do it differently. To discover how they do it, you will need to take a little journey with me through this book. We will look at your practices, the practices many of our clients have used successfully, and the practices that are executed well by the very best in the business. And as we do it, we will explore a transformational map that can institutionalize those practices that you most need right now.
So lets get started. To begin, see if you can find yourself anywhere in the dozen most common problem areas that sales managers face.
The Deadly Dozen: The 12 Biggest Pains Sales Managers Feel Today
When we talk to sales executives and managers at organizations and ask where they are weak, their responses generally fall into 12 categories.
1. Unclear Sales Process, No Common Language
It takes forever to discuss an account around here. It takes almost an hour just to tell the story and then Im not sure if weve covered everything or have a clear strategy. We dont know what we dont know. Theres got to be a more efficient and effective way to strategize deals on a global basis.
2. Missed ForecastsHappy Ears, Surprises
We understand that a positive mental attitude is good, but it can interfere with sound judgment. Some of our salespeople and managers are habitually overoptimistic about their chances of winning. How do we make sure that deals are being coached and evaluated by our more experienced managers?
3. Qualification, Chasing Bad Deals
We agree that theres a fine line between qualifying out and quitting. Everyone in sales knows that you dont get into a deal you dont think you can win. But who decides what is winnable? We dont have agreed-upon criteria that constitute an unworthy deal.
4. Selling Too LowWe Cant Sell to Executives
We have heeded the words of marketing and moved our offerings from products to solutions, requiring our salespeople to sell higher in the organization. The solutions have moved up to the strategic level, but many of our salespeople are still selling products and transactions too low in the organization.
5. Lack of Effective Messages, No Differentiation
Our salespeople and marketing department dont talk. In fact, most of the time, they dont even like each other. Sales reps receive tons of brochures, but have to sift through it all to find the right message. And the broader the product line, the longer it takes new salespeople and product launches to get up to speed.
6. CompetitionLost Sales Opportunities
Were getting outsold and surprised in too many deals. By the time we get to the presentation, were in reaction mode. It seems like the competition is getting in control earlier.
7. Commoditized PricingWe Need to Move Up the Value Chain
Too many of our salespeople are transactional. They dont look at the bigger picture. Their attitude is to just get the deal off the table instead of growing it into a larger solution sale.
Were not building value in our solution early in the buying cycle, and as a result, procurement is treating us like a commodity in the end. Plus, for years, we have trained our clients how to buy from us at the end of a quarter.
8. Selling to the Wrong PeoplePolitics and Relationships
My people have taken courses on pain discovery and linking solutions, but they spend too much time doing this with people who dont really have
much influence when it comes to selecting a vendor. Theyre not finding out who the real decision makers are. Weve even been blindsided by people we didnt know were involved in the decision.
9. Silo Selling, Poor Team Selling
Too often, we have multiple reps from different divisions calling on the same client. Our customers want one point of contact, but our salespeople at the local level cant see the big picture. Our divisions dont even talk among themselves, and that leads to conflicting strategies and embarrassment.
10. Account Selection/Segmentation Investment
We dont know how to decide in which accounts to invest. It doesnt make sense to cover them all equally. Which ones can we dominate? Who can we grow and who do we just maintain? Which ones can we partner with? Which ones are a waste of our time? How do we decide?
11. Poor Deal Coaching
My salespeople are not getting the strategy help they need from my front-line sales managers. Either they dont have time or dont know how to coach deals. This affects our win rate and forecast accuracy.
We promoted our best salespeople to be managers, but the skills are different, and they get no real training.
12. Poor Discipline, No Consistency
Weve tried several initiatives in sales training and CRM with moderate success, but weve had a hard time making anything really stick.
SiriusDecisions, a sales effectiveness research and consulting firm, says:
It is all too common to see senior executives look at a longer sales cycle as something that can be controlled solely by changing internal behavior; for example, teaching their salespeople to sell more aggressively.
But in a world where buyers have more power than ever before, a sales cycle doesnt elongate because a sales team forgets how to sell; it elongates because buyers have changed the way they buy, and sales and marketing together as a tandem dont adapt.