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Selling to Government 101

Government departments and entities represent one of the most significant sales opportunities. In fiscal 2021, the US federal government spent about $637 billion on contracts. It’s not all going to defense either – $250 billion in contract spending came from civilian agencies. When you add in state and local government procurement spending, it’s no surprise that some businesses have dedicated government or public sector sales teams.

Step 1: Assess whether government sales fit with your sales strategy first.

If your company’s sales force is accustomed to working with small businesses, enterprises, or consumers, adjusting to government customers is a significant change. Before you invest the time and effort required to succeed in government sales, assess if this opportunity is relevant to your department with the following self-assessment questions.

  • Is your company based in the United States?

While not a formal requirement in every case, US-based companies often have an advantage in selling to the US government. There is a similar “home team” advantage for other levels of government (e.g., it’s probably easier to sell to the California government if your company has a presence in the Golden State).

  • Are you comfortable with increasing your sales cycle time in the short term?

The government procurement process is known for its relatively slow speed. It’s not uncommon for purchases to take months. In addition, there is often significant upfront work effort required to search, analyze and respond to RFPs (i.e., requests for proposals).

  • Does your company have the administrative capacity for government customers?

The number of forms, reports and other administrators involved in serving public sector buyers is considerable. Think carefully about how you will handle this burden. If this workload falls on the sales team, their productivity will fall.

At this point, it should be clear that selling to government buyers is no good quick fit for a revenue shortfall. However, a patient sales force has the potential to earn significant returns. If you’re committed to further exploring the government sales opportunity, let’s continue.

Step 2: Understand the different types of government buyers

While government buyers have some similarities in mindset and process, there are significant nuances. Let’s consider a few ways to look at potential government buyers. 

Level of government

  • The national government represents the largest sales opportunity. The federal government may be the most complex opportunity. A significant portion of federal spending on contractors goes to defense spending. 
  • State. The following US state governments have an annual budget over $100 billion: California, New York, Ohio, Virginia, Texas, Washington, Oregon, and Florida. Whether you’re concerned with infrastructure projects, education, or healthcare, the states represent a significant opportunity.
  • Local. There are tens of thousands of local government entities in the US including large cities and counties. These governments need technology, employees, training, and many other services. 

Specialized government agencies

It’s also helpful to consider if a particular government entity has specialized rules, regulations, or goals that may impact its buying process.

  • Defense. The Defense department is the largest buyer of goods and services. Despite the challenges associated with defense sales, Amazon and Google have faced struggles from their employees related to their defense work. 
  • Regulatory Agencies. The US has over 80 active nuclear power plants, and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission regulates these. Such organizations may have technical concerns regarding risk management and safety. 
  • Travel and Logistics. Whether you look at airports or ports, these heavily used facilities all need support from vendors.

Step 3: Research the sales process.

There are formal and informal strategies to prepare your sales team for the sales process. Use both of these methods to give your sales team the best advantage. 

Formal research.

Government websites offer a wealth of information to educate vendors on business opportunities and the selling process. As a starting point, visit SAM.gov. This federal website is an excellent resource – you can also sign up to receive updates.

Informal research.

Simply meeting the formal requirements is not enough to succeed. Informal research is your opportunity to use your networking skills to find out more. Set a goal to speak with 5-10 companies that are currently successfully selling to government agencies. 

Your sales team’s effort in researching how government buyers work will pay off in the next step.

Step 4: Complete the proposal 

In this step, your sales team will prepare a detailed response to the government’s requirements. Attention to detail is critically important because government procurement documents are highly detailed. When you first start government sales, it may take multiple proposals and presentations to make progress.

The insights you discover through networking will also help you to identify which opportunities are worth your time.

Step 5: Manage and grow the account

In government sales, there is considerable upfront investment in time and effort to win a contract. Once you have the account, it’s vital to look for ways to grow the account over time. Fortunately, you can use the same growth strategies that you would use for most more prominent organizations.

Here are some ways to grow a government account over time.

  • Software companies commonly use this sales strategy. You start by selling licenses to a single department. Once that department succeeds, look for ways to expand.
  • Monitor Political Priorities. Long-term success in government sales requires paying attention to politics. For example, recent legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 focuses on climate change, among other points. Acting quickly to take advantage of new programs like this is essential.
  • Become a thought leader in government. Over the long term, seek out ways to get in front of more government buyers at events. For example, look at the Illinois Digital Government Summit speakers (i.e., leaders from Amazon, Google, and government agencies). Developing speaker presentation ideas and pitching your company to event organizers is one of the best ways to leverage your current government accounts and win more business.

How To Put Your Government Sales Program On The Fast Track

Developing competence in government sales takes time. One way to achieve results faster is to bring in sales talent with a successful track record in government sales. Contact Peak Sales Recruiting today to discuss your sales growth goals. Peak’s success in helping businesses focused on the government sector includes helping GovSpend recruit four successful Account Executives.

Please visit our Blog section for further information.

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How To Manage Rapid Sales Team Expansion

Rapidly expanding a sales team is an exciting time to grow. The expansion opens new markets, allows the sales team to specialize further, and means faster top-line growth. These advantages are only possible if the risks of rapid expansion are well managed. Sales leaders can help to drive growth higher with the following support strategies.

What Got You Here Wouldn’t Get You There

The sales team management processes that worked when you only hired a handful of people simply will not work well at scale. When a sales team grows slowly, the impact of inefficient processes is harder to see. When you recruit 5, 10, or more people to the sales team in a month or quarter, it’s no longer good enough to rely on informal apprenticeship and leadership. 

To prepare your sales organization for rapid growth, use these support strategies. 

Support Strategy 1: Assess your onboarding processes

Imagine a promising salesperson asking you about their first 30 days at the company. What answer will you provide? Relying on each individual’s drive to “figure things out” is unlikely to yield predictable results. The first step to improving your onboarding process is to examine what you currently have in place and identify ways to improve it.

1) Outline your current sale onboarding process

As a sales manager or executive, take five minutes to outline your understanding of what new salespeople get at the organization. To aid the process, consider the following self-assessment questions:

  • What sales training was provided?
  • How was the salesperson introduced to other key departments in the organization (e.g., customer service, finance, and training)?
  • What goals did the organization layout for the new person to achieve in their first 30-90 days?
  • What technology was given to the new person?
  • How was the new salesperson integrated into their new sales team?

Once you have your initial answers to these questions, validate your findings by speaking with the last three salespeople you hired. Take their answers with a grain of salt if they were hired over 12 months ago because they may have forgotten what it’s like to be new at your company.

2) Improve the first 30 days of the onboarding process with a checklist

Based on what you’ve discovered in the previous step, look for quick wins to implement in teh first 30 days. In many B2B sales organizations, it can take weeks or months to close complex deals. Therefore, your newly hired salespeople may have more capacity for onboarding in their first month.

In the first 30 days, look for ways to engage the newly hired salesperson with connections, training and your company culture. To avoid overwhelming new hires with a firehouse of information, use a limited checklist with 10 items or less. By focusing hires on the top 10 most valuable tasks, it is easier to stay focused on the top priorities.

Some potential items to include on your new hire checklist include:

  • Customer stories. Salespeople need to understand how your customers think. Equip them with case studies, testimonials, surveys and other direct feedback from your customers.
  • Sales technology setup. Make sure your salespeople have access to the critical tools they need like a phone, laptop, customer relationship management (CRM) and sales data (e.g. LinkedIn Sales Navigator).
  • Product knowledge. Salespeople also need to know your products work. If you have a large catalog of products, focus on your best selling products. For example, does the company have a library of recorded webinars or videos? If so, these resources may be helpful in supporting new salespeople. 
  • Sales Numbers. Give your new hire some guidance on what is typically involved in closing a deal. For example, let them the average sales cycle time (e.g. six weeks) so they can plan their activity accordingly.

3) Stay humble and get new hire feedback

Rapid growth tends to put pressure on systems, people, and processes. Sales onboarding is no different. Avoid assuming your sales onboarding process is flawless – everybody has blindspots. Invite new hires to give suggestions on ways to make onboarding more effective.

Support Strategy 2: Balance sales team growth across the experience spectrum

The second way to sustain rapid sales team growth is to assess growth in terms of work experience. A combination of junior sales professionals (e.g. sales development representatives) and more senior salespeople (e.g. account executives) is often desirable. 

Adding too many junior salespeople may be cost-effective. However, junior salespeople may require significantly more support to achieve their goals. The opposite is also true – a sales team that overly emphasizes highly experienced salespeople has its own challenges. Highly experienced salespeople can be more difficult to retain since they are in high demand.

There is no ideal ratio between junior salespeople and senior salespeople. Instead, it is a question of finding a balance that suits your sales goals.

Support Strategy 3: Reassessing your technology and process support

The process and technology that works with a sales team of a few people may not work when you add 10, 50 or 100 more salespeople rapidly joining the organization. To assess the quality of your sales processes and technology, use the following self-assessment questions.

  • What administrative tasks cause the most complaints?

For example, do your salespeople complain about how it takes to get quotes or proposals approved and sent? Taking too long to issue these documents may cause lost deals. Creating templates may help to speed up the process. Likewise, review the interaction of the sales team with other company departments. For example, if salespeople are spending significant time following up on service problems, this may suggest you need a better customer support model.

  • What activities keep salespeople away from interacting with customers?

When salespeople have to spend extended amounts of time finding sales data (e.g. prospect contact information), that research effort is acting as a break on productivity. Consider investigating a sales database like Zoominfo or Uplead to speed up the sales process. Alternatively, you may want to hire a sales researcher or sales development representative to support your more senior salespeople.

  • What technology does the sales team ask for?

Salespeople, especially recently joined the company, have probably seen various sales technologies that you may not have in place. They may know faster ways to make sales calls, book meetings, and more. Make it a priority to periodically ask your sales team about processes or technology that could make them more effective. Testing a few new sales technologies that improve efficiency can significantly lift sales productivity.

As a sales team scales up, inefficiencies add up. For example, insisting on paper signatures rather than e-signatures may no longer make sense today. Eliminating paper processes alone may cut days from your sales cycle.

You’re Not Alone In Growing Your Sales Team

Expanding a sales team takes a lot of time if you do it alone. Fortunately, Peak Sales Recruiting is here to help. By helping you outsource some or all of your recruiting process, we can help you add in more salespeople rapidly.

How to Sell Price Increases To Overcome Inflation

High inflation rates have been a reality for over a year. Whether you look at food, fuel, or other costs, the price of everything is going up. Central banks are doing what they can to combat the problem. In the meantime, salespeople have a unique capability to combat inflation: selling price increases.

Why Price Increases Are Powerful

Let’s imagine two companies selling similar products, like home air conditioning units. At first, they both make a gross profit of $250 per unit. When high inflation hit in 2021-22, suddenly, those profit margins shrank to $200. Higher prices for other supplies cause the shrinkage the companies have to pay for, like office goods, computers, and vehicles. One company implemented higher prices and raised its profit margin per unit sold to $275. The other company decides to do nothing hoping inflation will go away.

At the end of the year, the company that raised its prices enjoyed several benefits. First of all, they have a far better profit for the year. That means they can spend more on bonuses and improve customer service standards. If their competitor takes no action for another year, the competitive advantage will continue growing.

Why Don’t Salespeople Focus on Price Increases?

The business value of successfully raising your prices is powerful. Despite those benefits, very few salespeople are eager to pursue price increases. There are a few reasons for that. Sales incentives typically favor winning new accounts, so time spent attempting to get a price increase may feel wasted. Further, salespeople may not see the value or rationale for a price increase. When a salesperson is not sold on the purpose of price increases, they are unlikely to act.

Finally, proposing a price increase usually feels uncomfortable. This discomfort is partially irrational. Yet it is also partially grounded in risk. If you raise your prices, you might anger customers who may seek out other options. Left untreated, the unwillingness to administer moderate price increases erodes profitability over time and makes it tough to remain competitive.

Selling Price Increases Step By Step

The path to successfully selling price increases as a salesperson is fraught with dangers. Use this guidance to minimize the risks.

Step 1: Get Clarity On Pricing Decisions

Pricing decisions work a bit differently in every organization. Some salespeople, for example, have the discretion to offer discounts to retain customers or close a sale. Increasing prices may be a different matter altogether. Ask management about increasing prices significantly if your company has not updated prices in over a year.

Once you find the pricing decision maker internally at the company, ask them about pricing plans. Selling a price increase tends to be most successful when the salesperson has substantial preparation time. Proactively engaging with management early is essential. In all likelihood, you may discover that managers were already thinking about pricing changes.

Step 2: Review Your Pricing For Increase Opportunities

Assuming you have multiple products and services to sell, it is wise to customize your price increase decisions. For instance, increasing prices on a product that sells at a low volume will not help the bottom line much. In addition, consider whether contract-based pricing may constrain how and when your prices are changed.

Your mission in this step is to find two to three opportunities for price increases. Start with your products and services and then identify specific customers second.

Step 3: Get The Price Increase Quick Win

Typically increasing prices is relatively challenging, but there is one exception to this rule of thumb: new customers. Unlike your current customer base, new customers have little or no knowledge of your historical pricing. Therefore, do yourself a favor and increase prices for brand new customers first.

Implementing this step will help to support your case for other price increases – stay tuned for details in the following steps.

Step 4: Create Price Increase Campaigns For Current Customers

The following approach suits companies selling high-value products to businesses or institutional customers. In this setting, a salesperson may have a book of accounts that she regularly works with. These longer-term relationships give you the understanding you need to present a price increase.

To build your price increase campaign, use the following steps:

  • Identify Wins

Start by finding wins for each customer you serve. This could be something like consistently delivering your service by the deadline. Or you might have taken extraordinary steps to meet a customer’s special requests. In each case, list the wins you’ve delivered for the customer.

  • Find and Fix Problems

Poor customer service is one of the fastest ways to fail in a price increase conversation. If a customer has pending issues or unresolved complaints, price increases may fall on deaf ears. Search your email archives, check your customer relationship management (CRM), and ask your customer service colleagues for support. Fixing problems will tip the odds of a price increase in your favor.

  • Design Your Price Increase Presentation

This step is vital if your price increases are substantial. If your prices are significantly more than inflation, creating a presentation and meeting with your customer is essential. The next part of the process explains this presentation further,

Step 5: Develop and deliver the price increase presentation

Presenting a price increase successfully requires knowledge of the account’s history and your plans. Use the following prompts to build the price increase presentation.

  • Review The Account

Set the stage by reviewing your history of performance for the customer. Leverage the wins and customer service improvements identified in previous steps here.

  • Present The Price Increase

In this stage, describe the price increase for the specific products and services that apply to the customer. In general, it is wise to give 30 days or more notice to the customer before the price increase takes effect.

  • State The Reasons For The Price Change

In this section, briefly explain the rationale for the price increase. You can reference the high level of customer service, planned improvements you will be offering (e.g., a new feature that will be released soon), and macroeconomic factors (e.g., cost of labor and supplies increasing).

The customer may want to negotiate the price increase, especially if it is significant. For larger accounts, considering a negotiated increase – like 7% instead of the 11% you planned – may be worthwhile. You may accept a minor increase but mention that prices will be reviewed again in 12 months because all of your new customers are already paying the higher price.

The Fastest Path To Price Increase Profitability

Increasing prices for current customers is possible, but many people find it challenging to do. The best way to grow your business with higher prices is to focus on new customers. Peak can help you find successful salespeople to join your organization. Just imagine you added two-star salespeople in the next 90 days, and they added a dozen accounts at your newly increased prices. That bottom line improvement could change everything for your company!

Contact Peak today to discuss your sales talent needs today – it’s one of the fastest ways to beat inflation!

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What Is RPO? Everything You Need To Know in 5 Minutes

What Is RPO? 

RPO means Recruitment process outsourcing. It is a newer way for companies to access talent quickly by developing a long-term relationship with a specialized recruiting firm. To help you understand if RPO is right for your company, keep reading to learn more. 

The best way to explain RPO is to contrast it with the conventional way of working with a recruitment service provider. For instance, a company’s Vice President of Sales leaves the organization for another opportunity at a different company. This development triggers hiring a new VP of Sales to keep the sales team focused. In this case, the company may reach out to Peak to support filling that position. Once the recruiting process is complete, the company and Peak go their separate ways.

In comparison, RPO is different in a few ways. First, recruitment process outsourcing is usually structured as an ongoing service relationship with multi-year agreements. Second, the scope of the relationship is often deeper. The recruiting provider offers more than identifying and qualifying potential job candidates (though that capability remains front and center). In the next section, we’ll cover why more companies are switching to RPO.

Why Are Companies Switching to RPO?

Unlike traditional recruiting, RPO is a long-term outsourcing relationship. There are several key benefits to adopting RPO.

Hire High-Quality Talent Faster 

In today’s job market, unemployment has reached record lows: 3.7% as of August 2022. 

Some industries are even lower: 3.2% in the information industry and 3.5% in business and professional services. This very low level of unemployment means employers are pursuing new methods to access talent.

The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) reports that some companies are reducing their background check processes in 2022 to access more talent.

In these conditions, the best job candidates have multiple options. A disorganized or long-drawn-out hiring process can cost you the best talent. With recruitment process outsourcing in place, you will have the edge over your competitors in hiring great talent.

Reduce Time Spent On Recruiting 

Your managers and executives have multiple challenging responsibilities to fulfill each month. For example, we often hear that sales managers rarely have enough time to thoroughly coach their current employees as much as they would like. Given these limitations, it is unwise to waste management time meeting with poor fit job candidates. As an RPO firm discovers your preferences and optimizes its processes over time, companies get even better candidates.

Improved Company Reputation And Candidate Experience

Putting candidates thoroughly through a poorly thought out recruiting experience can hurt your company’s reputation. That reputational hit means disgruntled candidates may discourage others from working with you. This type of negative word of mouth can make hiring much more challenging. By adding RPO support to your organization, every hiring process quietly improves your company’s reputation. 

Gain Advanced Job Market Insights

The job market is constantly changing. A few short years ago, working remotely was relatively uncommon. Today, significant flexibility has become a standard expectation for many professionals. By working with an RPO firm, your company gains up-to-minute insights about what candidates want. That feedback is invaluable in fine-tuning your compensation programs, employer brand, and other aspects of your talent management program.

Accelerate Your Key Human Resources Initiatives 

Human resources professionals face growing demands on their limited time and resources today. For example, many HR professionals leads or provide critical support to their company’s diversity and inclusion (DEI) efforts. In addition, HR is also asked to lead employee engagement efforts and lead training programs. With all of these responsibilities in mind, HR needs a helping hand. When the human resources department is augmented through RPO, it frees up capacity to work on other initiatives.

Who Is Sales RPO For?

At Peak Sales Team RPO Search, we live and breathe sales. If you are looking to grow a sales team, we can help. Some of the industries we have deep expertise in include:

  • B2B Software
  • Software As A Service (SaaS)
  • Professional Services
  • Industrial and Manufacturing
  • CleanTech, FinTech and Clean Tech

In terms of sales positions, Peak helps companies recruit across the sales spectrum starting with junior roles like sales development representatives (SDRs) all the way to sales executives.

What Is The RPO Process?

To customize the RPO process for your needs, we follow a four step methodology every time.

1. Understand Client Objectives

The entire process starts with asking the right questions about what YOU want. For example, some of the questions we typically ask include:

  • What does your sales organization look like today? Where do you want to grow?
  • What worked well in past hiring efforts? What’s not working effectively?
  • What major company projects or initiatives are underway that require new sales talent?

2. Ideal Profiling

The next step of the process is to build a profile of the ideal sales candidates you are looking for. This process weaves together a focus on traditional sales skills and culture fit. A top performer who clashes with your company culture wouldn’t stay long and we aim for long term placements. 

3. Targeted Search

Our sales recruiters are constantly meeting with sales professionals, managers and executives in multiple industries. That means we know far more about candidate capabilities than anyone could discover from browsing LinkedIn and other websites. The targeted search approach means companies only have interviews with the the best of the best.

4. Scientific Testing

While instinct and experience have significant value, our process is also balanced by using scientific methods. We verify the candidates background (including their sales achievements), use role playing and behavior interviewing techniques. All of these techniques give a deeper view in how a candidate approaches sales.

After going through these steps, we build a customized RPO offering tailored to your needs. It may include a targeted focus (e.g. recruiting for junior sales reps, sales talent for a specific office etc) or broader support. 

How To Learn More About Applying RPO In Your Organization?

Adding recruitment process outsourcing to your company means faster access to talent and ultimately more revenue.

Contact us today to find out how RPO can help your sales team grow.

How To Align Your Sales Organization And Sales Strategy

If prospecting, pricing, and training aren’t holding your sales organization back from success, you might be putting a break on revenue growth. As a sales leader, you must direct the sales strategy. That includes making thoughtful decisions about the sales organization structure. 

Four Signs That Your Sales Organization Needs An Update

Changing your company’s sales organizational structure is disruptive. It can temporarily reduce performance. Before embarking on this change, consider whether it is the right move. If you see the following signs, an organizational change may be needed.

  • Significant Changes To Products and Services

If your company has recently added several new offerings, your old way of selling may need an update. Asking salespeople to become knowledgeable on various products is challenging, especially when those products are highly customizable. As you add new products, it becomes more difficult for your salespeople to stay up to date and sell everything effectively.

  • Significant Pricing Changes

Annual price changes are not a concern here. Instead, the question is whether the organization has developed more significant percentage increases in prices, new bundles, or the elimination of older price offerings. For example, an organization might have developed custom price quotes for enterprise customers while smaller customers pay a standard price. If this indicator is present with the next item in the list, it may be vital to reassess the organizational structure.

  • Major Change In Target Market

Changing your target market or distribution model may require a new sales approach. For example, a successful marketing program may significantly increase the quantity and quality of inbound leads. In that case, assigning dedicated sales reps to handle those leads may be worthwhile. Further, pursuing a new target market in another country or seeking institutional (e.g., government or university) customers may need a different approach.

  • Declining Employee Satisfaction

Many factors contribute to a fall in employee satisfaction. For instance, your sales staff may want to avoid long commutes and switch to emphasizing remote work. Another factor might be a perceived lack of career advancement opportunities in the sales organization. An updated sales organization structure may help to address some of these challenges. In addition, boredom may strike some of your employees if they feel there is little or no innovation in the department.

After reviewing the state of your sales organization, you’ve decided that it is time to update your sales team. Use this five-step process to approach the question of updating your sales organizational structure for strategic growth.

Aligning Your Sales Organization And Sales Strategy

Step 1: Review Your Sales Strategy

Resist the urge to start by tinkering with your sales organizational chart. Instead, the first step should focus on your sales strategy. Take a close look at your strategy with the following questions.

  • What type of customer do we want more of?
  • What are the critical steps in our sales cycle?
  • Are we on track to meet the organization’s revenue goals annually or quarterly?
  • Are salespeople receiving good coaching and support to continue growing?
  • Do we have the proper training and technology to support the team?
  • Is the sales team effective at talent management? Are there opportunities for both newer and experienced salespeople to thrive?

In addition to hitting this year’s revenue target, consider if you have the right capabilities to hit next year’s growth goals. For instance, your strategy may include expanding to take on government customers with complex procurement processes. In that situation, ask if your current sales team is equipped to execute the company’s strategy to sell to state and federal government customers.

Step 2: Is the current organizational structure helping or hurting?

The next phase of the process will require some deep thought. You must reflect on what your salespeople tell you in meetings and their behavior. Evaluate whether the team has the capacity and skills to execute your sales strategy.  

In a minor sales team of 10 people or less, the best way to gather information is to set up 1-on-1 meetings with each of your salespeople. Before the meeting, send a summary of the organization’s sales strategy. In the meeting, ask each person for their perspective on what is needed to deliver the strategy. 

In a larger sales organization, gather information by using a combination of employee surveys and meetings with sales managers.

After you receive the responses, look for themes in the responses. For example, if many employees complain about non-sales administration tasks, you may want to add a sales administrative assistant.

Step 3: Develop your ideal sales structure

Now that you have a renewed understanding of your sales strategy and input from the team, it is time to develop your ideal sales organization chart. Don’t let practical considerations stop you from dreaming big! For example, if you want to support each account executive with a sales development representative (SDR), note that on the chart. Note that factor if you see value in segmenting your sales team between small businesses and enterprises.

After you finish the ideal sales structure of job titles and reporting lines, it is time to look closely at your current sales talent.

Step 4: Examine Sales Staff Performance Vs. The Strategy and Organization Chart

This step will call on your judgment and understanding of each person on the sales team. In essence, ask what roles each person should play in the new sales organization you are developing. 

As you go through the process, start with your top sales performers. Retaining these salespeople should be a top priority. How can you offer growth in responsibilities and compensation to your senior staff? Some companies recognize their top performers by giving their sales titles (e.g., enterprise account executive) that carry higher quotas, more complex deals, and higher compensation.

After evaluating your top performers, assigning the rest of your staff to new roles in the organization chart should be easier. If some people in the sales team don’t have an apparent new home in the new organization chart, you have some decisions to make. For example, an outstanding salesperson supporting current customers may perform better in a customer service role. Alternatively, if you see no way to enhance their performance, it may be time to part ways with some salespeople.

Step 5: Launch the new organization structure for sales

By this step, you are ready to announce the sales organization structure. Employees likely know that change is coming because you have already signaled your intentions through meetings and surveys. Factoring employee input into the new organizational structure will help to retain many of your best and brightest salespeople.

As you prepare to announce the new sales organization, remember that this is a sales task. If your sales staff do not see the value in the new way of doing business, they may start heading for the exits and leave the company. Take the time to meet with staff individually and introduce their new responsibilities.

What If You Have Gaps In Your Sales Organization Chart?

Bringing a new sales organization chart to life often takes new employees. Reach out to Peak Sales Executive Search today to discuss your sales talent needs. We’ve helped companies find sales managers, sales vice presidents, and many other roles. 

Are Your Sales Teams Positioned For High Growth?

As a sales leader, significant responsibility rests on your shoulders. You’re accountable for the sales team’s results. It’s also your responsibility to grow, develop and improve the sales department over time with influential professionals, technology and processes. 

Why Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) Is Critical For Sales

Constantly looking for new sales professionals for sales operations, sales reps, and business development to join your organization is a necessity for a straightforward reason. The highest performing sales professionals in your team have no shortage of opportunities. They have recruiters contacting them regularly. Also, they may aim to move up to a management role. 

Regularly dedicating time to recruiting new sales talent is challenging. Most of our clients tell us that other urgent priorities keep them from focusing on recruiting. For example, you might need to step in to help a junior sales rep close a complex deal, approve a pricing change or support a company-wide project. These activities mean that recruiting activities are often pushed to the side.

With recruitment process outsourcing (RPO), your sales department leadership permanently shifts to growth. Every quarter, you will meet with new sales talent that meets your organization’s needs. That means growth and recovering from turnover will become far more straightforward. To ensure that growth unfolds smoothly, follow the steps below. 

Step 1: Review The Sales Strategy

The sales strategy should be your North Star in terms of developing the sales organization. Reviewing the sales strategy is especially important if you are newer to your sales leadership role. In addition, deeply understanding the sales strategy is essential because you will constantly need to reinforce and guide your sales staff to meet the strategy.

Review the following aspects of your sales strategy so that you can easily explain it to your sales colleagues.

  • What is the organization’s ideal customer profile? While there is some flexibility in the ideal customer profile, it is important to keep your organization’s capabilities in mind. For example, your organization may want to focus on domestic customers rather than multinational companies.
  • What are the typical sales steps of your sales process?
  • What are the most critical sales technologies, templates, and resources each person has?
  • What are sales training resources available to employees? 

Once you have confirmed your understanding of the sales strategy, take a thoughtful look at the sales organization structure.

Step 2: Evaluate the sales organizational structure

The next step is to evaluate the sales organizational structure. There are a few common situations that may hold your company back from realizing its goals. To measure your sales organizational structure for effectiveness, explore these questions with your sales management peers.

  • Is the sales team focused on achieving our sales strategy?
  • Do we have enough qualified sales people to reach our goals?
  • Do we have the infrastructure in place to support the sales team in terms of people and processes?
  • What is the turnover trend in the sales team?

As you explore these questions, look beyond the wins or losses achieved by any one individual. It’s still possible for heroic efforts to deliver success despite the system. However, our objective is to develop an organizational structure and culture that supports success.

Step 3: What would your ideal sales structure look like?

For example, your sales strategy may have gradually shifted to emphasize winning enterprise accounts at large companies. Successfully earning that business takes a different set of capabilities. You may need sales engineers to explain technical capabilities in detail. In addition, you may need to engage with procurement departments.

In this situation, a sales department made up of generalist sales representatives may have limited effectiveness. To lift win rates further, consider retooling the sales team to include specialist roles like business development and sales engineers. 

While specialized sales roles add a great deal of value, they are not right for every situation. For instance, a small company or a startup may only need two salespeople at the beginning. After a year or two of growth, it may be time to reevaluate that small team and see if it still makes sense.

Step 4: Review The Performance of The Sales Team 

The next part of the process is to evaluate the performance of your current sales team. For example, you may find some salespeople are excellent at account management while others are excellent at prospecting. In that case, reorganizing the sales team into sales and account managers may be a worthwhile step.

In addition to moving people to new roles, it is important to have some difficult conversations. For example, underperforming salespeople may need to be put on a performance improvement plan. If those plans are unsuccessful, it may be time to ask that employee to leave the sales team.

Step 5: Plan the launch of the new sales team organization

Launching your new sales organization is the final part of the process. Take your time to communicate the change carefully so that salespeople and customers have time to adjust to the change. Keep these tips in mind as you plan the change.

  • Focus on the sales strategy

Organization changes tend to cause fear, uncertainty and doubt. Reinforce that the organization structure is changing in order to meet the company’s sales strategy.

  • Make Time For Your People.

When a new sales organization is announced, it is natural to see some changes. Some salespeople will be happy with the change while others may decide to leave. As a sales leader, make more time for 1 on 1 meetings and other avenues to connect with your staff.

  • Get Your Recruiting Process Outsourcing (RPO) Provider Ready

Implementing a new sales organization is a journey. You will almost certainly need more sales talent to reach your goals. You may create new sales positions you have never had before and bring in new sales managers. Recruiting process outsourcing (RPO) is an excellent way to support your growth.

The 12 Best Sales Books For New Salespeople

As a new salesperson, you have the opportunity to thrive in one of the world’s most rewarding professions. Finding success in sales takes focus, discipline, and the right knowledge. Read one book a month for the next year, and you’ll be equipped with the critical knowledge and strategies required to succeed.

Books On Sales Fundamentals

These first few books give you a crash course experience in sales. Each book offers a different perspective on sales and illustrates those principles with various stories and research. Exposing yourself to various sales techniques and ideas is one of the best ways to discover new perspectives. 

1. SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham

Spin Selling - Neil Rackham book cover

SPIN Selling is one of the most famous research-driven sales books ever published. The author studied many successful salespeople to identify the specific techniques and methods. The book’s methodology is particularly well suited to B2B sales and those who like a process-driven approach to selling. 

2. To Sell Is Human by Dan Pink 

To Sell is Human - Dan Pink

In contrast to Rackham’s approach, Dan Pink’s best-selling sales book differs. Pink argues that almost all jobs involve selling in some form. The book offers fresh air to people with an unfounded negative perception of the sales profession. In addition, Pink offers several interesting sales techniques drawn from history, science, and theatre to help connect with buyers. 

3. Sell It Like Serhant: How to Sell More, Earn More, and Become the Ultimate Sales Machine by Ryan Serhant

Ryan Serhant is best known as one of the most famous real estate brokers in New York City. He started his real estate selling career in 2008, right after the financial crisis. While Serhant’s book and stories focus on real estate sales, the principles apply to other types of sales. If you are looking for an accessible and entertaining introduction to sales, Sell It Like Serhant is a great pick.

4. The Ultimate Sales Machine: Turbocharge Your Business with Relentless Focus on 12 Key Strategies by Chet Holmes

If you aim to get promoted in your sales career, Holmes’s book is a must-read. He covers fundamentals like time management and sales techniques. He also covers ways to manage employees. The book is famous for the value of pig-headed discipline and determination in sales. 

Books To Develop Specific Sales Skills 

The first set of books serves as your general foundation for learning about sales. This book set goes deeper by covering some of the most critical selling skills. While reading these books is no replacement for practice, they can considerably speed up your learning process.

5. Fanatical Prospecting by Jeb Blount

Prospecting is the starting point of every sale. Yet many newer salespeople struggle to pick up the phone and send emails or other messages to people they don’t know. Blount offers practical tips, advice, and inspiration to help you start making sales calls, week in and week out. In particular, the book is excellent at providing direction for phone prospecting.

If you (or your sales manager!) expect you to make cold calls to get sales opportunities, “Fanatical Prospecting” is your guide. 

6. Cold Email Manifesto by Alex Berman and Robert Indries

Does making fifty, a hundred, or even more daily sales calls make you uncomfortable? In that case, all hope is not lost – there are other ways to set up sales meetings. This short book, published in 2022, reveals the specific techniques for sending cold emails and setting meetings for B2B sales. The authors run a marketing agency, X27, that sells lead generation services based on sending cold emails. 

7. Objections: The Ultimate Guide for Mastering The Art and Science of Getting Past No by Jeb Blount

The last two books will help you get in front of potential customers. As the conversation progresses, you will face objections like “your price is too high!” This book will help develop answers to common objections in sales. In particular, the book provides excellent guidance in understanding the different types of objections: prospecting objections, red herrings, micro-commitments objections, and buying commitment objectives. This book is an excellent intermediate read to lift your close sales rates over time.

8. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie

Do you ever wish everyday conversation came with a manual? Carnegie’s classic book has been in print for decades for a good reason. It gives you proven strategies to start and develop relationships. Don’t let the book’s older language or examples put you off. The principles in this book have stood the test of time. For example, Carnegie explains how to become a better listener, which is essential to developing customer connections.

Strategy & Personal Productivity Books

This final book recommendations section moves beyond core sales and gives you a broader perspective. The strategy books will help you to understand executives and your role in the company. The personal productivity books will equip you with the techniques to ensure you get the most out of your work time.

9. Traction: Get a Grip on Your Business by Gino Wickman 

As a salesperson, you may not see or understand every aspect of a business. To better understand how all of the parts of a business work together, read Traction. This book defined the “Entrepreneurial Operating System” (i.e., EOS). It breaks down the business into six essential components: vision, data, process, traction, issues, and people.

Understanding the EOS framework can help you sell better as a salesperson. For example, look for ways to connect your solution to data, processes, and issues. By showing that your solution can improve several aspects of a business, you’re more likely to gain a hearing. 

Tip:

Reading “Traction” is an excellent fit for salespeople who want a broad perspective and aspire to management. 

What if the company leadership perspective isn’t a good fit for you? In that case, look at the author’s book aimed at individual employees instead: What the Heck Is EOS?: A Complete Guide for Employees in Companies Running on EOS by Gino Wickman. 

10. 3HAG WAY: The Strategic Execution System that ensures your strategy is not a Wild-Ass-Guess! by Shannon Byrne Susko  

Many salespeople are tightly focused on short-term goals like meeting their quarterly or annual sales goals. To get a broader perspective, read the “3HAG Way.” This book is all about setting achievable ambitious three-year goals. For example, your company might have a three-year goal to own a specific market segment. This short book is worth your time because it will broaden your perspective. You will also have better conversations with company leaders already thinking about next year.

11. Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen

If there were a superior productivity and personal organization book, it would be Getting Things Done. If you struggle to stay organized with your sales tasks like follow-up, developing proposals, and projects, this book can help you. You will get busier over time as you implement the insights from other books in this post. Use Getting Things Done to make you don’t lose track of anything. 

12. Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

Distractions are all around us. The temptation to squander our time on social media, conversation, and other activities is ever-present. Newport’s book is the antidote. He argues that pursuing deep work – intense focus on your most challenging tasks – for just a few hours per day can change everything. Newport is an author and professor, so it will take some creativity to adapt the principles to sales. For example, your deep work might consist of prospecting, sales appointments, and proposals. Use 

Developing Sales Talent Through Books And Training Takes Time: Need A Faster Solution?

Investing the time to read even just a dozen books can have a life-changing effect on a salesperson. However, it can take several quarters or even longer read and fully apply all of the insights in these books. What if you need to raise sales productivity more quickly? Reach out to Peak Sales today to explore how to recruit high-performing salespeople. We have proven methods to identify successful, highly developed, and flourishing sales professionals. Why not let us bring them to your organization?

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Kyle Fletcher

 
 
 

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Selling During A Recession: What You Need To Know

Rising interest rates, the highest inflation rate in decades, and war in Europe… 

These are just some signs that a recession may be on the horizon. Despite these worrying developments, selling during a recession is possible. Use these strategies to position yourself to succeed in the next recession.

Step 1: Change your relationship with the business news

The first step to selling successfully in a recession is to change how you view the news. Start by understanding the impact of the negativity bias on media outlets. 

Ever come across the news saying: “if it bleeds, it leads”? The phrase, which first appeared in print in 1989, describes a tendency in journalism to focus on the violent, depressing and negative. If you’ve ever wondered why the media focuses on crime, war, and other negative reasons, negativity bias is a crucial reason.

The negativity bias is the human tendency to scan the environment for threats regularly. In an evolutionary sense, this predisposition served us well in the past. Yet, the negative emphasis of much news reporting is unhelpful to sales professionals. 

Think about how you feel when you read articles about unemployment, people struggling to pay their bills, and shortages. You probably start to feel worried about your future. At best, spending a lot of time-consuming negative news coverage distracts you from your work. At worst? Consuming significant amounts of negative news coverage will leave you feeling sad, discouraged, or stressed out.

The solution is to change your approach to consuming the news. Specifically, we recommend going on a low-news diet. In a recessionary environment, the quantity of negative economic news is likely to skyrocket. However, very little of this information is actionable. By only consuming news information directly relevant to your sales goals, you’ll save time and minimize the chance of distraction.

Action Step: Set up Google Alerts for your top 10 current customers and 10 target accounts. 

By focusing your news consumption on specific companies relevant to your sales goals, you will free up time and free up energy. To set up your Google News alerts, you will get information about companies and people that matter to your sales work. 

Advanced Tip: Break Your Morning News Habit

Some of you may have the habit of starting your work day by reading the news. In that case, it will take more effort to change your habits. Instead, shift your focus to reading a good sales or business book. We’ve published a guide to our favorite sales and business books here.

Step 2: Deepen relationships with customer relationships

The first step was about changing unhelpful habits. This step focuses your attention on how you deal with customers. Most salespeople are trained and incentivized to focus on landing new accounts. Let the sales commission compensation program and management direction guide your emphasis is perfectly natural.

In an economic downturn, your customers will likely be affected in various ways. Some will be directly hit by declining revenue, supply chain problems, and worse. Other customers may suffer indirectly – like experiencing feelings of fear, doubt, and uncertainty. Sometimes, your customers may be under pressure to cut costs like doing business with your company!

To protect your company’s current and prospects, now is the time to deepen your relationships with customers. At a minimum, set aside a few hours each week over the next quarter to reinforce your key relationships. 

Action Steps

Use these tips to deepen your customer relationships:

1) Check-in with customer service for any open issues with your customers.

Nobody likes to feel ignored or unimportant! Yet, that is the exact feeling your customers are likely to experience when their requests and complaints go unanswered. Start by checking internally with your customer service colleagues about your top customers. If there are open issues, do what you can to escalate these issues and get them solved.

2) Reach out to customers to find out what’s new

Over the last few years, many people have changed jobs and found new opportunities. Avoid assuming that the data you have in your CRM from 2020 or 2019 is still current. On your next call with customers, find out about your customer’s work context. Do they have a new boss? Has there been a reorganization? Are there new executives? New policies that might affect purchases?

3) Express your gratitude to customers

There is a new generation of scientific research exploring the power of gratitude. Researchers at Berkeley found that gratitude exercises – including writing letters of thanks – can improve mental health and help people avoid toxic thoughts. In that spirit, set yourself a goal to write thank you notes to your top 10 or 20 customers. To really stand out, consider sending a card in the mail. Few people send cards so it is a great way to stand out and be remembered.

Step 3: Evolve your sales techniques for the downturn

The final strategy is to evolve your selling techniques to respond to downturn scenarios. The specific implementation of this strategy will vary depending on what you sell and your customers. The following principles will help you to get started in fine tuning your approach.

Action Steps

1) Spend more effort understanding your customer’s worries and concerns

Understanding your customer is a longstanding principle. The change here is one of emphasis. In an economic downturn, potential customers may be preoccupied with negative news. For example, they may have seen a colleague at their organization lose their job due to layoffs. Taking the time to understand these concerns in greater depth before making a pitch is an effective way to show you care.

2) Look for recession-friendly benefits in what you sell

Even in a recession, the economy keeps running! Even during the depths of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, trillions of dollars of purchases were made in the United States. With that in mind, remind yourself that there are still plenty of sales to be made. One way to unlock more potential sales lies in finding recession friendly benefits like cost savings and risk reduction.

For inspiration, read through your company’s case studies and talk to your own past customers about what they liked most about your product.

3) Raise your sales activity levels

In tough times, sales cycles tend to get longer. For example, a B2B sale may now require multiple people to approve it, including executives. Given these kinds of changes, it is vital to double down on what you can control as a salesperson: your daily activity. Set yourself a goal to increase your sales activity (e.g. cold calls, referral requests, cold emails) by at least 5% to keep your pipeline healthy.

Economic Downturns: A Great Opportunity To Find New Sales Talent

Mass layoffs have already hit multiple firms in the technology industry. While those job losses are tragic, there is an upside. Recruiting new sales people to join your organization now is easier. Work with Peak to discover how we can help your organization get salespeople with a proven track record today.

Visit our blog section for more Insights!

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Ryan Thornton

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It’s a Candidate’s Market, Are You Ready To Compete?

It happened – The Great Resignation gave rise to a market where there are now two sales positions open for every one qualified candidate.  Many employers are scrambling to retain their employees, others are pulling out all the stops to attract new candidates. 

Across sectors of the economy, the job market now favors employees and potential candidates. This change is leading some employers to adopt unconventional tactics. The food industry is particularly aggressive: A McDonald’s in Florida is paying applicants $50 to show up for job interviews.

Professional employers are also adopting new ways to appeal to employees. For example, San Francisco advertising agency Traction has closed its office and switched to a fully remote model. Other companies are experimenting with the hybrid model like Microsoft, which has proposed a combination of remote and in-office work.

Macroeconomic factors will only tell you so much. It is vital to diagnose your sales department’s retention & attraction situation to know whether you are ready to compete with these uncontrollable market factors.

Step 1: Understand Your Current Talent Situation

Employee Turnover Statistics. Track how your department’s turnover rate has trended since 2018. An increase in turnover can signal discontent. A very low turnover rate is a great selling point to potential candidates. 

Evidence of Career Progression. Ask yourself how many people in your department have been promoted over the last 18 months. A lack of promotion opportunities will discourage the most ambitious professionals.

Flexibility. Expecting all employees to work in the office building 9-5 Monday to Friday no longer makes sense. According to a FlexJobs survey, 96% of workers desire some remote work (either full time remote or a hybrid arrangement).

Step 2: Improve Retention & Attraction By Removing Pain Points

Based on what you learn from the previous step, there are a few different ways to boost retention and attraction by reducing problems.

Improve Technology. Did your employees complain about manual processes or repetitive tasks? For example, your employees might struggle with video calls. Equipping staff with lights and better headsets might be the best solution. Offering candidates an ‘onboarding’ bonus to get them set up for success in their home office.  

Improve Access To Leadership & Management. Waiting to hear back from managers is frustrating for employees. Ambitious candidates want to know they can ensure facetime with leadership to grow their careers.  Encourage your managers and leaders to experiment with scheduling regular “office hours” where staff can drop in to get answers to their questions.

Step 3: Improve Retention and Attraction With Recognition And Listening

There are two kinds of incentives that sales talent should consider: financial and non-financial incentives. Sometimes you may have limited ability to boost pay and benefits. In that case, use non-financial incentives to boost retention.

Offer Project Opportunities. Look for ways to give your employees more growth opportunities by participating in cross-company projects.

Encourage Networking. You can reward top-performing professionals by opening your network to them. You can also offer supplements to reduce the cost of participating in conferences.  

Step 4: Assess Your Compensation Package

The compensation package you offer is the final element to consider to boost retention and attraction.

Take Inflation Seriously. Increased inflation translates into a pay cut for employees as their dollars can no longer buy as much food, transportation, and other goods.  

Benchmark Your Salaries. Check your salary levels and see if they remain competitive with the rest of your industry. You can ask a recruiting expert like Peak Sales RPO Search for advice. If your salaries are below the median for the industry, retention and recruitment will be more difficult.

Augment Your Recruiting Strategy

Aiming for 100% talent retention is not a realistic goal. Assuming your turnover rate is reasonably close to industry averages, you can turn your attention to improving retention.

Working with an experienced recruiting firm like Peak Sales Recruiting  is essential. Rather than hoping your job posting happens to gain attention online, we can help you gain access to more high-quality candidates, including those not actively looking for a new position.

Click here to contact Peak Sales Recruiting today.

Please read our other insights.

Motivate Your New Sales Team: Checklist

Keeping morale up and revenue flowing is harder during challenging times. As the world works toward finding its footing again, here are ways to help keep your new sales team focused, productive and happy:

Stick to the Basics

Whether you’re in an industry that has blown up or one that’s been blown away in the past few years, remember that people in sales are motivated primarily by money, with conquering challenges and helping customers solve problems also playing a role. Whatever window dressing you want to put around it, great salespeople are hunters. That doesn’t mean you ignore other motivators, like the others on this list. Just don’t forget the basics. Revenue fluctuations also mean changes in compensation for commissioned sales, and that matters. 

Right Size Your Team

Writing in the Harvard Business Review, Andris Zoltner said, “Sales force downsizing is an obvious consequence for industries badly hurt by the pandemic, such as travel and transportation. But other industries are downsizing field sales forces as well. [As sales] shifts to digital and virtual channels, downsizing the field sales force is likely. [While] many sales organizations face the trauma of downsizing, there are upsizing opportunities for industries such as cloud services.” 

Change can be very disruptive to a sales team, but the pandemic created an opening as everyone from top management to junior sales people became more open to change, especially change perceived as necessary to survival.

If your industry is going to shrink permanently or if buyers are likely to continue buying virtually or online, consider reducing the size of your team. That can boost morale and motivation in several ways. If there are 10 Easter eggs hidden in the yard and 10 hunters, each of the hunters can find an egg. But if there are now only five Easter eggs, half of the hunters will not succeed. Redistributing the remaining eggs (and the associated commissions) to fewer salespeople may make sense. Redistributing remaining targets (and associated commissions) to fewer salespeople may make sense. 

On the other hand, if your industry is growing, adding to the team can prevent burnout and keep competitors from stealing customers who aren’t getting enough service from your overburdened team. Adding another plate at the table is rarely popular with salespeople who think that all commissions should be their commissions, so be sure to soften the blow with some temporary perks or cash to encourage good behavior, such as having veterans coach the newcomers.

Gamification

The thrill of the chase and competitiveness are both essential parts of the sales personality. This is doubly true of younger people who grew up playing video games. The adrenaline rush of “leveling up” is what keeps gamers performing otherwise pointless actions over and over for hours.

Sales contests are a tried and true way to get sales teams to work on an important goal. However, they tend to be binary — one person wins and everyone else loses. Those who don’t think they’re going to win may not participate, decreasing the contest’s value to the organization. 

Gamification applies the principles that make video games work to business tasks, including sales. It’s been used successfully by companies as diverse as FedEx, Nike and GE. A Salesforce survey found that 71% of companies reported sales performance gains of 11%-50% from adding gamification for their sales teams. The ability to earn a badge, peer recognition and ultimately a valuable reward can be a powerful motivator. The daily “mini-rewards” earned along the way keep contestants in the game. Just don’t make the rules overly complex and make sure everyone can win a little. 

Super Solvers

Salespeople feel energized and valuable when they’re solving problems for customers. Buyers act differently depending on what they’re buying: Things that can be bought without spending a lot of time analyzing how they’ll work for the buyer are increasingly being sold online. The remaining products and services require purposeful interaction between buyer and seller, requiring a consultative approach. If you have team members who aren’t consultative sellers, moving them in that direction can help boost their morale and performance. Have them brush up on listening to their clients instead of talking, asking open-ended questions and overcoming objections. Have a veteran who’s good at it mentor them. Make a game of it for both of them. 

Tool Up

Sales teams feel empowered when the organization gives them great tools to work with. Great sales content is one of the best. Your organization should be creating content for both internal and external consumption, things that help the sales team target, convince and close prospects and things aimed at moving prospects through the sales funnel. These can be delivered through your website or shared/emailed. Study your competitors. What kinds of content are they distributing to prospects? Do you have equivalent or better in your arsenal? Product overviews, pricing tables, case studies, customer testimonials and industry analyses can keep prospects engaged. Don’t forget video content: Almost three-quarters of consumers, 72%, prefer video to text for receiving branded marketing information, according to a Hubspot research study.

The content needs to be well organized in a library, clearly divided between internal and external communications and easy to find, review and deploy in an instant. 

The Fierce Urgency of Now

Especially when market activity slows down, it’s tempting for the team to gear down a bit: Nothing’s happening anyway, so why bust it? Great salespeople have urgency; they need to be moving and doing. And you need them to be moving and doing, too: Shake every bush for sales that might be out there you didn’t know about, take market share from competitors whose own sales teams are idling, find new pools of potential clients, refine their pitch and approach. Reward them for trying and attach rewards to actions beneficial to the organization that are unlikely to generate commissions. 

The More You Know

The best salespeople are experts on the product, its uses and the industry they work in. Trade conferences are increasingly held online, so gather that information and give your team the time to watch some presentations — in a group chat if possible. Have your product development folks and engineers attend group teleconferences where your team can ask questions they’ve gotten from clients. The more engaged the team is with the product and answering questions from prospects, the more sales they’ll make. More knowledge also gives them confidence in their pitch, in what they’re selling. Few organizations do this effectively and all it costs is a few hours of time. 

Upset Equals Reset

If your industry got hammered by the pandemic, this is a time of great opportunity. What happens when something — like a pandemic — kicks over the apple cart? There are apples all over the road, meaning old relationships may have less influence on buyers. This is the time to gain market share, if you have the product, the story and the follow through to do it. Convince your sales team to look for those loose apples. Point out where competitors are losing ground, and where they can surge. 

Become a Digital Diva

The shoe leather method of sales is on the losing side of history. The impact of the personal sales call — especially for complex, high-value, high-impact products — is undeniable. However, the amount of business being done via teleconference is exploding. Buyers are liking not having to schedule in-person meets for long pitches. Your job as a sales leader is not to try to hold back that tide, your job is to learn as much as you can about digital sales tools and help your team learn how to use them effectively. That will make them feel like they’re in control, and that confidence will inspire them to succeed despite the challenges. Bring in a trainer if possible, someone who’s an expert in using technology to sell, and retain a consultant who’s readily available to help your team members work through technical problems. 

Lead From the Front

You can’t ask your team to stay engaged and up if you don’t exhibit those traits yourself. After allowing himself to be surprised by the Hittites at the battle of Kadesh, Pharoah Ramses II personally led a counterattack, rallying what remained of his army and saving them from a complete rout. The power of personal example is one lesson we can learn from Ramses II, but there’s another, equally important one: Ramses should not have allowed himself to be surprised. Your sales team will be more motivated if they see that you have a well-thought-out plan to boost their success and are taking decisive actions. Go on sales calls with both your strongest and weakest performers. Listen to their clients and observe how your salesperson reacts. They’re more likely to listen to your coaching if you “know what we’re up against out there.”  Where is your industry headed? How are your competitors positioning themselves? What is your organization doing about changes on the horizon? As a sales manager, it’s your job to drive those issues up the chain and communicate clearly what’s being done about them to your troops. 

Even — and especially — when times are tough, good sales leaders keep their teams focused and effective. There are many resources to help you implement these suggestions. Feel the fierce urgency of now and start moving. Your troops will follow.

Working with an experienced recruiting firm like Peak Sales Recruiting is essential. Rather than hoping your job posting happens to gain attention online, we can help you gain access to more high-quality candidates, including those not actively looking for a new position.

Click here to contact Peak Sales Team RPO Search today.

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