Have You Mastered Sales 1.5?

Sales 2.0 is getting tons of buzz right now in the technology market. There are lots of different definitions out there, but here's mine:

Sales 2.0 is an outcome not an event. The process requires you to transform your business from one that is focused on selling to one that is focused on letting the market buy from you.
Sales 2.0 requires a change in mindset. It requires focus on buyer personas, lead nurturing, content development, social networking strategies, web 2.0 tool, etcetera, etcetera.

Pretty head spinning, right?

So how do you begin to transform your organization?

Take baby steps: you need to master Sales 1.5 before Sales 2.0. You need a solid foundation on which to initiate real change.

We all have limited resources and an organization can only absorb so much at once. Taking a measured approach will result in better outcomes than just throwing yourself into the fray and launching new initiatives, technology or otherwise.

Here are 6 recommendations on how to make sure you have mastered Sales 1.5:

Take a look at your sales goals
Are they realistic and achievable? Are they based on real world data or were they handed to you?

Now, more than ever, numbers need to be based on real world data defined by how many buyers that fit your ideal customer profile are available in each territory. The days of vanilla quotas are dead. The days of data driven quotas have arrived.

Take a look at your compensation plans
Are they driving desired behavior? Are they based on opportunity or are they based around activity?

Revenue is always the end game but what other factors drive success in your organization - new logos, increased customer retention, new verticals or products...think about those factors and include them in your compensation plans.

Take a look at your roles & responsibilities
Is each member of your sales team held accountable for specific goals? What is Inside Sales responsible for v. the Field v. Lead Generation? What are the metrics by which Marketing is measured?

Resources are precious commodities and you can't afford to squander them. Marketing and Sales need to share a common set of definitions, metrics for measurement and goals.

Take a look at your messaging & sales tools
How do you communicate with the market? Is it all about you or is it about delivering value to your buyers?

Your sales organization must have great content to use throughout the sales process. The education of buyers can't end after they deliver a product overview and a case study.

Take a look at your talent
When was the last time you profiled your best performers? Have you evaluated your recruiting and interview processes to make sure they are effective?

The economy isn't the only reason you might not be making your number. How much of your budget do you allocate to professional development for your team?

Take a look at your systems
Do they deliver value to Sales or just require admin work from them? Is the Sales Org actively using all the tools at their disposal?

Make sure Reps are given the tools they need to better understand and serve customers & prospects. Make sure your systems highlight and deliver the right tools at the right time to move Sales opportunities forward.

Okay, do you feel good about all of the above? Great! Now you are ready to start thinking about Sales 2.0 because you have a solid foundation on which to build and initiate change (a blog topic for another day perhaps).

There's no silver bullet. There's nothing but hard work, well thought out strategies and flawless execution.

But you already knew that, right? Happy Selling!

Inside Sales Experts Blog

(Photo credit: maxbisschop)