If you’re just joining me for this multi-part blog on how one size does not fit all with sales training and development, thanks for tuning in! This is the third post in the series.
The first post set the stage on how the April and May posts will all be about individual training plans, and how it often just doesn’t make sense to train and coach your entire sales team in the same way with the same trainings and workshops.
The second post shared a three-step process to get a better handle on your current sales team – assessment, evaluation and benchmarking, and implementation. There’s a lot there that can be discussed within your own teams, or even with me directly if you choose.
Today, let’s tackle a discussion around sales effectiveness.
Defining sales effectiveness does not to be elusive. Even if your company loosely defines, or doesn’t even talk about it.
Sales Effectiveness Definition
Sales effectiveness is basically an evaluation of what it takes to win business. What processes work. What sales tasks produce the best outcomes to gain more ideal clients in the timeframe in which you want to gain them.
Sales Effectiveness Levers
Let me start by sharing that doing a bunch of stuff for the sake of doing a bunch of stuff will not work well within most sales organizations and companies as a whole.
Instead, focus on observing, brainstorming, planning, discussing and agreeing on which key levers to pull (and in what sequence) with regard to sales effectiveness…and it could pay off in spades.
If you are trying to win more business, and want to be more effective at it, there is no one size fits all.
And depending on your team’s size and tenure, how long a typical new sale takes, your revenue targets, and many other factors, picking only one area to focus on at a time might be more than sufficient for your organization.
There are many levers. Intentionally pulling one (or a few at a time) could prove significantly beneficial to your organization.
Below is by no means a comprehensive list, but enough to really get you thinking about how broad and deep sales effectiveness discussions are. And how much they can encompass.
- Sales training
- Sales development
- Sales meetings
- 1:1 sales coaching
- Group sales coaching
- Individual training plans
- Sales leadership training
- Sales leadership development
- 1:1 sales leadership coaching
- Group sales leadership coaching
- Company leadership coaching and development
- Process improvement
- Marketing initiatives
- Sales strategy and planning
- Sales conferences
- Sales talent assessments
- Sales culture and company culture discussions
- Internal sales communication plans
- External sales and lead generation plans
Wondering if you are already making strides in this area? You probably are, and not giving yourself enough credit.
Some of the things you are doing to invest in your sales team right now might show measurable results soon, or later down the road.
Focusing on future plans, whether that’s just next quarter, next year, or the next few years, will positively impact your company’s sales effectiveness.
Stay tuned for more next week. In the meantime, feel free to reach out if you want to discuss sales effectiveness within your own organization.
Remember, you’ve got this!
(Photo credit to Jason Leung)
