What does the sales organization of the future look like? It’s a really intriguing question and it should definitely get your mind buzzing. Remember, the world has arrived at the biggest inflection point since the industrial revolution. What used to work just a few years ago, will not work as well today, until it won’t work at all anymore.
Successful sales organizations will look something like this.
- They will have a well defined sales process, everything will be mapped out
- They will have a sales force that has bad ass sales skills
- Each stage of the sales cycle will have a well defined goal and purpose
- Absolutely nothing will be left to chance, everything will be done to ensure a win
- The sales reps will only work sales ready leads, see you later cold calls
- Everything will be measured, tracked in a CRM, and be looked at daily
- The marketing and sales organizations will fuel each other seamlessly
- Prospects will actually want to talk to you when you call them
- Every single stage of the sales process will have a best practices sales script
- Team selling will be a part of the culture, why go it alone if you don’t need to
- Sales management will use your CRM data to help you get better, it will be a science
- You will make your number and if you don’t you will find out why with your CRM data
- You will cut your losses early and know what a unqualified customer looks like
- You will have a webinar or demo that you can send “on the fence” prospects to
- The majority of your time will be spent of revenue producing activities
- Your sales training will actually be helpful and focus on your sales process stages
- Everyone in your sales organizations will know the soundbites that influence decisions
- All the top objections will be mapped out, understood, and best practices scripts will be known
- You will enjoy selling, working damn hard, and guiding deals to close
Do you share some of these sales best practices?
If your sales organization does not share many of the qualities above, it should be a real big cause for concern. It will become increasingly harder to sell into your marketplace and eventually you will be swinging at every ugly pitch instead of knowing what the good pitch looks like.
Now it’s your turn.
Did I miss anything here? Please share your comments.
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We have been seeing this coming for about a year now – people not wanting to talk to you if they don't know you, no one wants to give you the name of the person you need to contact, and every other form of blocking the sales call. We have been using marketing and our website and a blog and Social Media. All having an impact, but working separately. Then I read the Inbound Marketing book. What an eye opener! We are totally revamping our sales process and moving to the Inbound Marketing model. You are right about moving away from what used to work a few years ago, it's getting to be a shorter time period than a year – more like months. We are calling it a Marketing Revolution and we are getting ready to sign on with Hubspot. It's amazingly unbelieveable technology!
Chad,
Your description of the successful sales organization is right on the money. I've been preaching a similar sermon for years. I'd just change one thing: Successful sales organizations ALREADY look like this; and add one thing: Dedication to the methodical, relentless continuous improvement of sales process, best practices, tools and skills is fundamentally essential.
Great post. Prompted me to post myself http://bit.ly/9o1uzE