Selling is a Team Sport
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A few weeks ago, I jumped into the compensation discussion with a post about commissions. My opinion is that heavily and solely incentivizing a sales professional for their selling results might not be the most effective compensation model. There are aspects of the sales process that involve the expertise, support, and follow-through of others in bringing new business and retaining existing business. Providing a large portion of the rewards to the sales professional for these results diminishes the significant and valued contributions of others in supporting these outcomes.
The purpose of this post is to offer a follow-up to the commission conversation. And, provide a little more perspective into what is rapidly becoming the organizational and process trend for most businesses.
While there are still businesses where the sales person is solely responsible for finding, identifying, qualifying, positioning, closing and supporting a client, that model is likely the exception, not the rule. In today’s business environment marketing, telemarketing, inside sales, account management, professional resources, etc. are all actively involved in the process of attracting, closing, retaining, and expanding client relationships. Today’s sales professionals cannot and do not engage in the sales process alone. They are completely dependent upon the support and expertise of others. The compensation model and the organizational model is outdated, to the point of broken, if the sales person is viewed as solely or primarily responsible for growing or increasing revenues.
Clearly the sales process is touched and supported by many aspects of an organization. Understanding the sales process, leveraging the necessary expertise at the ideal time in the process, and creating, implementing a strategy that positions the value of the team –knowledge, experience, commitment — in relationship to the client is where business opportunities turn into revenue.
Sales is not the simple, single act of one person simply selling, it is a comprehensive, organizational commitment to:
1. Relationship building: Connecting into existing at future client organizations at multiple, valued levels throughout the organization.
2. Leveraged expertise: Introducing subject matter experts to the clients, as needed, to fulfill needs, meet expectations, and solve problems.
3. Delivering solutions: Providing answers and solutions to the challenges presented and being proactively engaged in adding value and expertise to the relationship in an ongoing fashion.
4. Great customer experience: From the beginning of the sales process through to the maintenance of an ongoing relationship delivering a consistently positive and unified commitment to delighting and engaging the customer.
It is the effective management of both behavioral and strategic components that drives growth. These components cannot and do not simply exist completely in the functional arena of the sales department. These outcomes are dependent upon the coordinated cross-functional expertise and support of the entire organization. The process of executing a selling strategy involves and requires the engagement of more than a sales team or an individual sales professional.
When defining the process and structure for your sales activities, one can look at the sales professional as the quarterback responsible for coordinating and directing a comprehensive, strategic team effort. However, the sales person is not the only person involved in the process, the primary resource for success, or the person who deserves the most accolades for success in the growth process.
Sales is a team sport and the organizations that builds strong, collaborative, strategically organized teams committed to the growth initiative will win more often than those who work in their functional, old school silos.
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Successful Product Positioning Behaviors
By · Comments“Put yourself in a position to give your clients opportunities to say ‘yes’ rather than reasons to say ‘no.” – Chris Still
How many times have you been in that sales call where the sales professional started talking about all the wonderful aspects of the product they wanted to talk with you about? And, in the course of this conversation, they are sharing all the really cool features and benefits of which — they are hoping — you will find one feature that is of interest to you.
Effective sales behaviors and great selling outcomes are not dependent upon your ability to sell, position, or extol the wonderful products you are offering. In reality, your ability to make your product compelling is the effectiveness with which you concisely focus a particular benefit of the product on a very specific customer driven problem and solution.
Effective product positioning is a process of knowledge, learning, discovery, and application. Unfortunately, too many selling professionals are overly enthusiastic about their product knowledge (as if that is the most important component of the sales process–it is not). As a result, they find themselves sharing information that is of little interest or value to anyone but you and leads your prospect to say “no” more than “yes” in the sales discourse.
When it comes to presenting product and creating a “yes” environment the following process results in a more productive outcome:
- Knowledge: Product knowledge can be a good thing. It is a necessary tool. However, product knowledge is less dependent upon “what it is” and “what it does” than on what type of problems the product provides solutions to.
- Learning: From the knowledge perspective, your product knowledge skills are dependent upon how well you know how to listen for and learn to solve problems with your product. When you understand what problems your product solves and know how to listen for customer cues regarding specific problems or issues, you are on your way to creating a “yes” environment.
- Discovery: This is the most important piece. You have nothing to solve for unless you discover an opportunity, issue, or challenge. Discovery requires your ears are open, that you ask great leading questions, and your customer is talking about their interests, habits, behaviors, and challenges. Simply hearing for an opportunity to offer a solution is not enough, you must also understand the challenge in the priority of context – importance, motivation, concern. Your product knowledge skill is demonstrated by your ability to effectively facilitate discovery through this open-ended dialogue.
- Application: The final step in the process is applying a feature of your product as a very viable option. The challenge is to avoid advocating your product as a solution; but, presenting it as an option and how it can potentially resolve or address the problem.
Products are what our client ultimately receives. Products are what we provide them when they purchase from us. However, the key to an efficient sales outcome is not found in all the wonderful aspects of your products; but, it is completely dependent upon how effectively you create an environment that connects a customer defined need to a product driven solution. Avoid creating an environment of disinterest by reciting all the wonderful features of your product and concentrate on facilitating a receptive, interested one through your ability to go engage in a discovery process that enables you to focus your conversation on what the client wants, not all you know about the product.
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