How Can You Improve Sales?
The top 5 Issues Facing VPs of Sales
Every year millions of dollars are spent investigating and pursuing ways to grow sales. Any business owner knows that sales are the life blood of the company. If there are no sales there is no company, it is that simple!
A past study of 2,663 sales organizations by Think Training, Nightingale Conant, and Trainique uncovered five areas that shed light on what separates the best from the rest.
Issue one – A poorly defined sales process. 82% of all CEO’s said their sales organization had a process that was poorly defined or a process that wasn’t being followed. A sales process is like a road map. If you pay attention it helps you determine if you are in heading in the right or wrong direction. A well defined sales process does the same thing. It should be consultative in nature, have defined steps that allow both parties to develop a better understanding of each other and a set of questions that help you qualify or disqualify.
Issue two – Lack of essential skills. 42% of CEO’s said their salespeople lacked the essential basic skills needed to do their job properly-ouch. During the 70’s and 80’s it was common for large corporations to hire new sales recruits and put them through a 12- 18 month intensive sales development program. Those days are gone, leaving a huge skills gap! Odds are if you are younger then 40 you never received the type of training you really needed.
Issue three – Failing to focus on the right kinds of activity. 90% of CEO’s said their salespeople focused on low payoff activities or called on the wrong people. It is a common mistake to confuse being busy with being productive. Top performers know what they are doing, why they are doing it and whom they are doing it with.
Issue four – Allowing “self talk” to sabotage your efforts. 86% of CEO’s said their salespeople had negative thinking or self talk that was damaging their sales efforts. There are hundreds of examples but the most obvious has to do with discounts. Over and over again I hear salespeople say they have to be the lowest price to win the business. Every study I have ever read says that there are 4 – 6 other issues ahead of price but we have been “programmed” to think price is the issue. It is critical to understand how you have been programmed and how some of thoughts are working against you!
Issue five – Sales management not developing their people enough. 67% of CEO’s said that their sales managers were not spending enough time coaching and developing their salespeople. The job of a sales manager is to coach their people just like in professional sports! Unfortunately if we don’t have a sales process, salespeople with undeveloped skills or the wrong people coaching becomes impossible.
For salespeople taking responsibility for our own professional development is the key! Have a process, hone your skills, focus on the right kinds of activity, be aware of your thoughts, get some coaching, join a sales mastermind group, or join an association dedicated to your success.
Good sales professionals realize their strengths and weaknesses and create a plan that addresses their abilities. Great sales professionals repeat this process over and over.
Email This Post
(3 votes, average: 4.67 out of 5)
Loading ...
About the Author: 
Loading ...
I don’t see the author’s name that posted this but it is right on the money.
Let me just talk about issue #4 “letting self talk sabotage…” You couldn’t be more right. Sales reps allow this to happen because they don’t fully understand what they are selling or how it relates to the competition.
One fundamental process that I always preach is that whenever possible you must USE what you sell. You have to get comfortable with it, know the ins and outs. And be able to talk about your product with confidence.
David Peterson
Editor: Corporate Sales Advice
As I speak to business leaders, I’ve discovered that it has never occurred to many of them that they have no idea what reps actually say to prospects when they’re engaged, or whether the message being delivered is even one they would agree.
If you ask reps, you find out that they spend an inordinate amount of time preparing PowerPoint presentations, no two look alike (i.e. the message content) and the vast majority struggle to articulate the business value proposition.
I think companies could boost sales confidence by giving Reps a clear and compelling message to deliver and, in particular, a business value proposition developed by Corporate that reps can speak to comfortably. This would go a long way in shortening sales cycles and attracting a healthier pipeline of interested prospects. Reps would focus on real business, close more deals with better margins … and feel good about themselves in the process, not to mention build a stronger customer base. We have the technology to bring a consistent message to market globally, and even monitor and report on customer interactions with corporate presentation content in real time. I think it’s time to think outside the box and help sales with tools that can really make a difference.
Thank you for the exact stats on these problems. It is obvious that companies are in need of improving their routines. If your company doesn’t make money the company falls apart, if the company makes money it can expand.
Not developing your sales structure is basically leaving money on the table. It is important to work on the sales process and refine the skills of every salesman in your organization.
By improving their skill and their sales ability everyone will make money. This is also make your salesmen more loyal to your company lower recruitment costs and keeping a high quality of your sales personnel.
//Daniel M. Wood
Looking To Business