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eSalesTrack Services- Training - Josh Brodbeck
eSalesTrack Consulting Solutions
eSalesTrack partners with one of the most highly regarded sales consultants in the country...
JOSH BRODBECK
Join us for part of an exclusive interview we had with Josh Brodbeck about some basic principles of a good sales strategy.
Question 1.
Why is a sales process
important?
Brodbeck: There are
several reasons why a
consistent sales process
is important, ranging
from the obvious to the
counter-intuitive. That
said, the top three
reasons for having a
consistent sales process
in any sales
organization in any
industry are as follows:
-
To ensure a seamless
connection to the
corporate values and
objectives. Whether
conscious or intuitive,
written or just “known,”
every healthy sales
organization has a core
set of values and
objectives by which it
operates. The only true
way to ensure that a
sales organization’s
objectives translate
into actual sales
activity is to develop a
consistent sales process
-- used by all sales
personnel and reinforced
by all sales management
-- that is in full
support of the sales
objectives. When a sales
process has been
successfully implemented
in a sales organization,
a particular “way” that
sales force operates
will emerge that can set
it apart from its
competitors and
contribute to the
overall corporate
identity.
-
Tracking and
forecasting. Sales
tracking and forecasting
is considered an art
more than it is a
science; but it doesn’t
have to be this way. If
a consistent and
universal sales process
is in place, it is
quickly possible to
accurately track sales
activity and make highly
accurate sales volume
predictions.
-
Diagnosis and
retooling. In sales
organizations that do
not have a dedicated
sales process and
methodology (which,
unfortunately, includes
most sales
organizations), the only
way to know if there is
a problem is by looking
to the ultimate outcome
– sales volume. But
simply knowing that
sales volume is down
doesn’t tell management
where the problem is and
how to fix it. Building
a sales force around a
consistent sales process
gives sales leadership
multiple indicators that
can aid in knowing where
a problem exists and how
to fix it – BEFORE sales
volume declines.
Question 2.
How does this help an
organization reach its
overall objectives?
Brodbeck: Beyond meeting
sales objectives (which
was addressed above), a
common complaint among
senior management teams
is that the mission and
objectives of their
company somehow get lost
in the exercise of
selling their product or
service to the
marketplace.
To put it more bluntly,
senior teams often feel
that in order to get
their product or service
in the hands of
customers, the sales
force must be allowed to
function with its own
set of rules that can
sometimes be counter to
the values that the rest
of the company is built
upon. This is a valid
and real concern, and
the cause is almost
always the same – sales
leadership was never
directed to build a
sales infrastructure
(sales funnel, sales
process, sales
practices, sales
compensation, etc.) that
is consistent with and
directly in support of
the culture and values
of the company as a
whole. Too many
management and/or
ownership teams have
convinced themselves
that in order to succeed
financially, the sales
force must be allowed to
operate in a way that is
counter to the
principles to which the
rest of the company is
held accountable.
So, having a sales
infrastructure in place
(that includes a
disciplined sales
process) that is built
with the company’s
operating values and
principles in mind, but
also with sales
objectives that will
support an
organization’s plans for
growth, ensures that the
sales function operates
in a manner that is
consistent with the rest
of the company while
still meeting financial
objectives.
Question 3.
What can looking closely
at an internal sales
process teach management
about an organization’s
sales structure and
effectiveness?
Brodbeck: In a word:
everything. Poor
performing sales
organizations that
bother to document their
internal sales process
(understanding that most
poor performers don’t),
however dysfunctional
that process may be, can
quickly determine where
a bottle-neck is and
make adjustments
quickly. Or at the very
least, documenting an
ineffective sales
process quickly
demonstrates the need
for an entirely new
process. The point is
that breaking down the
steps of a sale into a
quantifiable,
chronological process
takes the “mystery” out
of a sales problem and
allows sales leaders to
approach sales
challenges in a
scientific manner.
Question 4.
If you had to create a
generic list of sales
stages that could fit
most companies, what
would that look like?
Brodbeck: All successful
sales organizations have
a sales process that is
unique to that
organization and is
determined by factors
that are also unique to
that organization –
product, industry,
culture, leadership
dynamic, values, etc.
But all good sales
processes have the same
four general stages:
-
Customer
Identification: Many
sales are lost before
the rep even picks up
the phone. Having a
clear customer profile
for sales reps to pursue
and a fool-proof process
for them to follow that
allows for quick and
easy identification of
your targeted customer
is often the difference
between success and
failure of an entire
company.
-
Education: Once a
profiled customer is
identified and
contacted, two-way
education between the
vendor and the customer
will always happen in
some form. A smooth
give-and-take of
customer needs and
vendor capabilities
yields the most
profitable
relationships; and
ensuring this happens
with each sales lies
with a disciplined sales
process.
-
Construction: This is
the stage where the
actual transaction is
assembled – what is
being provided, for how
much, and for how long.
Most transactions that
fall apart at this stage
do so because the sales
rep did not fully
complete educating the
customer, or
him/herself, about the
needs vs. capabilities
of the potential
relationship. A strict
sales process prevents
overly zealous sales
reps from rushing the
education stage and
losing the transaction
during construction; or
at the very least it can
identify for a sales
manager exactly where
the problem lies.
-
“Deal to Delivery”
Gap: For a few vendors,
this time gap can be
instantaneous – i.e.
when the customer drives
the new car off of the
lot. But for most, there
is a gap between the
time a sales agreement
is forged and when the
actual service or
product is delivered.
This gap of time is the
most delicate period in
the entire relationship
between any vendor and
customer. The reason for
this is that customers
believe that the
transaction isn’t truly
official until the
actual product/service
is delivered, and sales
reps believe that the
transaction became
official when the
agreement was made. The
most successful sales
organizations recognize
this disconnect and
actually build steps
into their sales process
that ensures that
customers do not get
abandoned by sales reps
until well after the
product/service has been
delivered.
Question 5.
How do we know these
models work? How do
companies inherit or
implement these sales
strategies?
Brodbeck: The reason why
we know that these kind
of sales methodologies
work is actually simpler
than one might think:
The highest performing
companies in any given
industry always have the
most successful sales
efforts. The correlation
is truly that clear. We
have all heard of
dynamite sales
organizations that are
supporting mediocre/poor
products or services.
-
But have you ever heard
of a dynamite product or
service that can support
an abysmal sales force?
-
So the question isn’t as
much why, but rather,
how. How do the best
companies build their
sales effort around
their product/service as
well as their culture
and values?
-
How do they
plan and track sales
progress?
-
How do they
quickly diagnose and fix
sales problems?
The best
companies, no matter how
varied and diverse, all
do it the same way –
through disciplined
sales doctrine that is
practiced and reinforced
at all levels and at all
times in the sales
organization, no
exceptions.
Click to download a
white paper on this
discussion.
Ready to hear more?:
Hear more of what Josh
Brodbeck has to say
about sales strategies
or to hear more about
what he can do for your
sales organization,
simply contact us by
completing this
quick
contact form and a
representative will be
in touch with you right
away.
Click to download a white
paper on this discussion.
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