Context   (Selling a Product or Service)

Fierce competition! Transition in sales talent pool! Changing dynamics of the market! - The so-called tainted truth of business may really give tough times for sales leaders. Yet, preparedness and predictability become very significant for sales leaders to run the show for the organization. Preparedness and predictability are definitely two different sides of the same coin and typically the result of running a well-disciplined sales organization. The definition of “disciplined sales organization” does not only include the people but the overall process that enables a smooth sales transaction. The fundamental principle such as skill set development, sales process improvement, and effective internal coordination will gradually help sales leaders to equip both predictability and preparedness. There has been an increasing trend in technology adoption by sales leaders across the three driving factors. Referring back to a few of the reports on sales force effectiveness to substantiate the fact that, companies will demand a lot of technology intervention to full fill the above said 3 determining factors. However, sales leaders may not afford to take their hands off from the same by introducing technology.

Here are a few questions they may have to ask themselves to ensure a scalable sales organization irrespective of implementing robust technology to run their sales engine.

Is every member of the sales organization aligned to the larger goal of the team?

A perfect team is mostly aligned with the larger goal of the organization and the sales leader ensures to inculcate that sense into every member in his / her organization. Now Imagine a large team spread across the country – Its only technology that can help efficiently connect with every member of the sales organization for training. However, knowing how aligned are the team members would require direct communication and constant effort from the leadership team.

What is the next level of perfection?

Perfection could just be a fancy word if one is not worried about scalability in business. It becomes more critical especially when one needs to drive the sales process and internal coordination. For eg. With mobile-based reporting and cloud based storage, business is more progressing towards real-time reporting and more validated data. However, the conscious effort to report well on time and sensing reality is only possible with an eye looking for detail.

In one of the training program that I had attended to learn the traits of a typical salesperson, I noticed that most salesperson is a perfect influencer. Sales professionals/leaders are expected to be a great perfectionist to ensure sales processes are tightly managed. The irony of the matter is Influencer character by nature keeps their perfection quotient a bit lower than the others. Many of us would have noticed ourselves being a bit relaxed about the adherence to sales reporting, or in spending time with the finance / legal teams at the 11th hour for approvals. If you have ever wondered why! - Do not worry, you are just being normal J

The point is sales leaders may have to be constantly looking for details and strive for perfection throughout their sales processes and hence drive performance.

Do I spend quality time with my partners?

To have sales channel partners as part of your go-to-market strategy is undoubtedly a great way to increase sales volume. The effort that goes into developing an ambitious channel partner is at any time worth an investment. While a structured growth plan will allow brands to widen their reach by signing up new partners, constant relationship building with existing partners is very essential. I have had clients investing big money to create partner portals, running constant communication programs through email, and even helping them with mobile based data to support the sales process. However, a quick call from the sales leader to any random partner to say a Hi will mean a lot to that relationship. It’s just the same as any great leader would do to their colleagues/team members.

Cheers.