5 reasons why sales effectiveness analysis should be a top priority for sales leaders

As we know, the average tenure of existing sales managers is very short. Depending on the figures, this is around 18 to 24 months. Sales VPs, sales directors and other sales managers are under pressure to deliver figures very quickly. Even if, at board level, the role of a CSO is not yet well established. CMOs, CFOs, COOs and other CTOs are legion. But sales leadership is still rarely to be found around the boardroom table. But that's another debate.

The time available to a sales leader to have an impact on his or her organisation is therefore limited. The expectations placed on this new appointment are often excessively high. When the organisation is doing well and the sales leader has left on good terms and with a good track record, the new appointee must quickly prove that he is even better than his predecessor in order to prove his worth. And when the organisation is going badly, due to a previous leadership failure, the board wants results quickly in order to put an end to a costly and potentially life-threatening situation for the organisation.

So whatever situation the new sales leader finds himself in, he or she has to deliver results. Very quickly.

But how do you decide where to put the cursor? Which short-term priorities to focus on, and which roadmap to put in place to develop revenues? When a VP Sales joins an organisation, do they have three months to analyse the systems, processes and, even more importantly, the personalities in place? Not really.

Efficiency and sales improvement analysis. What exactly is it?

Known as SEIA - an acronym for Sales Force Evaluation and Improvement Analysis - it is a scientific and objective analysis of the entire sales organisation in place. The list of elements analysed is very long. It focuses on the systems and processes in place, the alignment of strategies from leadership to teams and the sales capabilities in place (the teams). Implemented by Objective Management Group, the world leader in the sector and a Curiosity partner, OMG has worked with over 35,000 organisations worldwide and assessed over 3 million sales people. The result is assessments that are robust, detailed, fast and, above all, directly actionable. So, here are 5 of the crucial questions that a new VP Sales or CRO might typically ask when taking up the role that are answered by this approach (you can download a copy here or contact me for a copy).

Do we have the right teams and therefore the right sales capacity in place?

New sales management also means inheriting the existing sales team. A manager's ability to deliver on the expectations that the board has placed in him or her is, of course, directly correlated to the ability of the teams in place to follow the sales strategy. This new strategy may be based, for example, on more consultative selling, or on increasing the margins on products and services sold. Or by stepping up the prospecting effort. However, the team in place may not be used to these different approaches. And, more prosaically, they may not have the skills required to sell on value, to reach out to decision-makers or to step up prospecting efforts. To give just 3 examples.

So knowing which individuals in the existing teams are going to be able to deliver the sales strategy thanks to an adapted sales DNA, which ones are going to need coaching and on which aspects, or even, which individuals can't rely upon altogether , is not a luxury. It is strategic and enables the new management to align the resources in place with its new ambitions and vision.

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Examples of sales capability analysis

Is there the right team management strategy - Coaching - ?

The success of a sales team depends on a number of strategies. One of these strategies is, without doubt, the type of coaching that is put in place by team leaders or sales managers. All too often, the sales manager is still too involved in actually selling. Or he doesn't know how to coach. Or there is an asymmetry between what he/she thinks the teams think of him/her and what the teams actually think. And vice versa. Either the type of coaching in place is not the right type of coaching, or does not occur at the right frequency. Or a particular sales manager is not as effective at coaching as he or she should be, and therefore needs to have this skill reinforced. The list of errors to be corrected or possible areas for improvement on which to focus is extensive, and an SEIA enables a new sales management team to know where to place the cursor.

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Examples of analysis of sales management capabilities

What is the accountability plan for team leaders?

A robust sales culture is a culture that relies on members being accountable. Holding sales people accountable is a key element in sales management. In other words, being responsible and committed to doing the things they say they will do. This is crucial in sales management because sales people do not control the prospect's final decision (go / no-go) even if they deploy a perfect approach. They only control two things. What, i.e. what they do. And how, i.e. how they do it. Accountability means precise, mutual expectations regarding the day-to-day activities required of each salesperson. But this accountability is something that sales managers, despite the fact that it's not that difficult, dread to implement and something where they have the most room for improvement. A robust accountability enable revenue targets to be met.

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Examples of business management analysis

Can we sell in a more consultative manner?

In recent years, and particularly since the Covid crisis, selling has changed considerably. To mention just a few of the changes that have taken place: it is more difficult to reach prospects, they no longer have the time to meet with sales people, so developing a relationship is harder, sales people are invited always later in the sales cycle, selling virtually has become a fundamental expertise that few sales people have, the macro environment is such that price sensitivity is stronger, etc, etc....

Deploying a consultative sales approach makes it possible to manage these challenges, even if the concept is often misunderstood or misapplied. Developing what is known as a trusted advisor relationship is not easy. But it is extremely powerful. And consultative selling depends on particularly high-level skills when it comes to questioning, listening skills are fundamental - active listening, everyone talks about it, nobody does it or not very many people - or, last but not least, the salesperson must have the ability to concentrate on the moment to avoid jumping into the premature development of a solution. So it's not a skill that's easy to acquire. Or worse. It's not a skill that everyone can acquire.

What's more, in a new role a VP Sales typically has to increase revenues and margins. This means implementing value-based selling. And this can only be achieved through consultative selling. So whether it's the sales people or the people in charge of managing these teams (team leads, head of, etc.), it's crucial to know what skills you have in place and how to develop them.

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Examples of analyses of consultative sales skills

What is the additional revenue potential?

At the end of the day, the ultimate question that an analysis of sales efficiency and improvement can answer is how much additional revenue potential the new sales leadership can bring in and demonstrate to the board. Whether the organisation is functioning well overall - despite inevitable shortcomings - or whether it is in a difficult phase...

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Are you a sales leader in a new leadership role?

In this case, you can download some example of analysis here or get in touch to discuss if we can help.