Pipeline management 2 – The lure of sales technology
This is a rant for the Sales Managers out there. OK, it is for the Directors, the VP’s, the CEO’s, and yeah you the sales rep too. So often we miss the point sales technology and the empowerment it provides. Sure sales tools help us manage our selling activities, but sales technology, even the latest sales 2.0 systems hardly help us manage the most important part of our pipeline.
Right now, the avid readers out there are wondering if this is the same blog they normally read. No, I have not allowed a ghost writer to take over, and this is not demonic possession. As much as I love sales 2.0 tools, using sales technology to become more effective, and embedding all of it in your sales process, I still refuse to believe that the B2B sales process is something you can completely automate. So calm yourselves and let me continue.
See the most important part of pipeline management is communication between human beings. All you instant messengers and email mad people, you are not truly communicating. Yes, language is being used, and questions and answers are flowing from those “tubes” called the internet. What is missing is the nuance of vocal and visual conversation that enhances understanding. See, not all behavior is from what is said, but how it is said. I do not know about you, but personally, I have had many a miscommunication on instant messenger. I cannot tell you how many times an email I sent in haste was ill received. Now if these tools of communication cannot be managed as a pure replacement to phone and face to face communication, what on earth makes you think that CRM and SFA, and demand management, and lead research can ever replace the human aspect of a sales process?
While sales tools can enhance the process, the answer to what makes for best practices in revenue generation is a talented sales profession who knows how to listen and communicate. This is the essential ingredient in any sales process. Without the skills to ascertain who is who and what is what, you cannot manage a pipeline. Without the persona to get people to listen and believe in you, you will not succeed in sales.
This entry was posted on Thursday, June 4th, 2009 at 9:53 pm and is filed under Pipeline. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
June 5th, 2009 at 8:46 am
Ok, They’ve given salespeople more tools to use. (Sales 2.0, CRM, Sales Mangement Systems etc.) But if it was about using the latest online tools, bells and whistles, then salespeople that use saleforce.com would be the top producers. In my experience, salespeople are rarely savvy in using software or SaS (Software as a Service).
I think it’s first about the sales skill set of the salesperson. And how can you expect different results in the long run if your sales people keep using the same skill set?
Today there is greater effort to maximize sales, increase revenue and protect margins. The ten calls that once generated two customers have increased to twenty. Farmers must now become hunters.
When business or the economy is slow, sales management needs to focus on gaining a higher percentage of revenue from the existing opportunities. This takes a planned and precise approach to selling; an approach that must be customized for the organization and adopted by the entire sales force. New sales skills sets must be learned and reinforced, otherwise salespeople fall back on unproductive or destructive sales behavior even though they might have fancy CRM tools at their disposal.
For example, most salespeople do not follow a selling procedure that as a first step, establishes a Commitment Objective for every sales call. This is the number one mistake that all salespeople make. In fact, our research shows that salespeople will never reach their performance potential without a well-defined sales-call procedure they can follow and learn from. “Winging it” on sales calls has grim consequences – lost sales, extended sell cycles, margin erosion and no clear path to improvement. Bottom line: An increase in sales can be mediocre at best without following a proven sales procedure. Performance improves by as much as 50% when salespeople have a consistent game plan for their sales calls and know how and when to use the selling skills that matter.
Research proves that improvements in learning only five critical selling skills translate directly into greater sales performance. These skills can be taught and improvements in them can be measured. They are:
* Managing the Buyer/Seller Relationship
* Sales Call Planning
* Questioning Skills
* Presentation Skills
* Gaining Commitment
June 30th, 2009 at 3:52 am
I totally agree that sales rates are first and foremost about skills of salas people and good management. A clear sales procedure and good organization are a key to success. I’d be grateful if you could provide us with some more tipps on improving sales skills. Thanks for the informative summary.