Sales Result inc.

High Tech Sales Management

seattle seo — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:07:16 +0000

With the 2012 Computer Electronics Show coming to a close, we’ve decided it’s time to review some of the challenges faced by the technology industry. In terms of sales, high tech is booming. Devices of all sorts are coming to market, but only some of them are succeeding. The ones that are doing well are doing very well. The question is what divides the good from the bad – how much of it is poor marketing and sales management, and what of it is the product itself? It’s our opinion that most products can succeed – they just need the right push. Let’s look at the current state of the high tech sales industry for ideas.

Hardware Vendors

The hardware manufacturers are in a bit of a bind right now. With record setting flooding in Thailand, the price of hard disk drives has doubled and shows no signs of slowing. The increased cost for new hardware combined with an economic recession is putting vendors in difficult positions. Some of the larger companies have chosen to escape desktop manufacturing altogether – focusing instead on mobile and tablet markets. Those that remain are in good position to gain leverage on the market if they can survive the coming onslaught. Their sales teams are currently operating in overdrive to maintain customer support.

Handheld Devices and Smartphones

There’s a marketing war happening between handheld device makers. Everyone is vying for the coveted top spot, and the market isn’t all speaking the same language. Consumers are offered several competing mobile options, and no solid winner has emerged. This is the prime time for sales consulting. Any edge in this environment could be the determining factor. To market these sorts of devices, you need a concrete knowledge of three things – what your product is and how it differs from other offerings, who your target market is, and how you’re selling to them. The phone ecosystem isn’t going to go away – the other devices may prove less successful. Given the right sales strategies, though, it’s likely at least some of them will succeed.

A Time of Revolution

The high tech market is susceptible to high rates of change. Right now, a handheld device has ten times the computational power of a high end desktop from only a few years ago. The major markets have changed their approach to this somewhat. The offering of LTE – long term evolution – devices is meant to curb the need to continually market and re-market devices. They’re meant to grow along with the demands of customers, specced for something slightly beyond present demand and able to adapt in ways as yet unpredicted.

This is an incredible time for sales consultation. There are innumerable viable markets and niche audiences all begging for products to fill them. If you have one such product, we can help you firmly wedge it into place. If you have any questions about our high tech sales strategies, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

10 Indicators That Your VP of Sales Needs Sales Coaching

Eric Morse — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 19:43:01 +0000

The following ten points are all indicators that a VP of Sales or other upper-level sales management needs coaching and training. If you see one or more of these indicators, it’s time to reassess your sales management team, and determine how they can begin to meet and exceed your company’s goals.

They spend too much time selling upward, and not enough time on their people
They have no understanding of their sales funnel, and can’t predict month-to-month forecasting
They haven’t sampled the quality of work of their sales managers and individual contributors in sales or on the phone
They have no institutionalized sales and product training regime within their sales force
Their territories are misaligned and only a small percent of sales reps are effectively covering their territory
They have no sales playbook or set of rules that they follow
They have no sales process, key activities and/or defined metrics, and if they do, they haven’t followed the process, completed the activities, and/or made the numbers
Their win/loss ratio isn’t balanced: they are losing more deals than they are winning to competitors, and blaming it on the product rather than taking a look at themselves
They aren’t able to make their number quarter after quarter
They don’t have a plan for how they will make their numbers

Insanity is expecting a different result from your VP of Sales without making the necessary changes. Kick your 2012 off right by ensuring that your VP of Sales/sales management is equipped with the right mindset, sales team, and sales tools to meet their organization’s monthly, quarterly, and annual goals.

Inspiring Passion in Your Sales Team

seattle seo — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 22:03:49 +0000

A sales team that is uninspired and passionless will never perform as well as passionate leaders hope they will. Getting from one side to the other can be frustrating – figuring out ways to spread your enthusiasm to your sales department is not always a simple task. You know that the inspiration comes from above, you just don’t know how to get it to trickle down. Unfortunately, there is no out-of-the-box solution to this problem. Every sales team is different. An in-house analysis of sales and management activity is the best way to find out where communication and inspiration break down.

Organization and Priorities

When management priorities differ from those of the sales team, the path to passionate sales diverges. Both groups need to work in harmony for energy to truly pass between them. By reorganizing and shifting priorities, sales members will feel more effective in making change within your business. This democratizing may seem simple, but giving people a glimpse of the power they have to change things will manifest itself in discoveries of personal power elsewhere – even in the ability to close more sales, find more leads, and so forth.

Improving Structure

Improving the structure of your sales system, from the opportunity development to account management, can help you place sales team members in areas they will shine in. It may be that everyone has a passion for sales negotiation and account signing – don’t ignore their desires. In some cases, individuals are best served by consistent responsibilities. In other situations, it might be of benefit to everyone to have a sort of rotating schedule. So long as each sales member knows the duties involved, this will help some people avoid burning out on a single position. Giving your sales team something to look forward to at all times will improve the work they do.

Let Them Feel Envied

Your sales team needs to know when they excel. As your competitors flounder, don’t hesitate to point out your own success. If you can look to your team and tell them, blankly, that they’re the reason the company is outperforming all others, it will cause a surge of pride. This pride contributes to a company culture that is centered on positive feedback looping. The more the company succeeds, the more pride the team will have it, thus performing even better. If your sales team is leading the market in your industry, they should know it. Even if they know it based on numbers, having some acknowledgement never hurt anyone.

If you have any questions about how to best inspire your sales team, you should contact us. We can help you rearrange your sales team and establish a company culture with strong leadership and proud employees. If you aren’t meeting the numbers you want, this can be a huge step in the right direction. Combined with sales team training and certification, you’ll be on a collision course with success.

Why Top Sales Teams Need Playbooks

Eric Morse — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 16:30:38 +0000

You wouldn’t send a football team into a game without a defined play, would you? How about a basketball team? The same standard exists for sales. If you have a leading sales team, skilled in hunting down leads, tracking them, closing deals, and maintaining client satisfaction, you probably know the importance of using a streamlined process and a consistent message for internal and external purposes. Without a step-by-step process and clearly-defined value propositions/messaging, your team (no matter how skilled) will likely falter, missing crucial steps in the sale and ultimately losing deals that could easily be won if handled correctly.

At SRi, we believe in the power of a Perfect Playbook. We define a playbook as an in-depth manual outlining each stage of the sale, and all aspects of WHAT you sell, WHO you sell to, and HOW you sell it…play-by-play.

When combined with a strong sales process, your team can use these deliverables to effectively close more sales. We suggest mapping your sales process and playbook to your CRM system of choice to easily track where each sales person is in their sales and accounts. This gives peace of mind to upper management, and also allows all members of the sales team to be on the same page with their counterparts.

In addition to being a valuable selling resource, a playbook also helps management weed out top sellers from underdogs who aren’t pulling their weight. Here’s how: Once trained on a playbook, each member of your team should be able to articulate your value proposition and business benefits through call scripts, elevator pitches, executive presentations, and more. Those who can’t do this, or those who don’t feel the need to use the playbook, are likely the team members that are keeping you from greater success and revenue.

Just like any other team, your sales force needs a playbook to understand the game, define best strategies, and develop tactics for greater success. Start outlining the best plays for your team, and let the winning begin!

Selling SaaS and Boosting Business

Eric Morse — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 17:24:19 +0000

These days, the terms SaaS (Software as a Service) and “cloud computing” are becoming extremely prevalent in the workplace. As business founders, owners, and leaders, it’s important to understand these concepts, and what they mean in today’s highly technological world.

The software application industry is undergoing a dramatic shift in the way its products are distributed and monetized in order to better meet the needs of commercial consumers. Business of all sizes are rapidly abandoning “Client Service Software” (CSS) for a SaaS-based approach. In the SaaS model, clients are paying for an on-demand software solution that is delivered through cloud computing. As a subscription service, the end user receives an extremely flexible solution without the substantial upfront costs associated with the traditional CSS model.

Although the benefits to the SaaS approach are numerous, many businesses have been slow to make the transition. In most cases, this isn’t because the SaaS model is the wrong fit, but because the sales force selling the Saas product isn’t trained and equipped to win SaaS deals. They are not fully educated on the SaaS benefits, clear answers to client and prospect objections, and best practices for implementation.

SRi believes that there are six benefits to the SaaS model, which are:

No high-priced purchase required upfront, reducing the financial stress of small to medium-sized businesses
Remote support through the providers means local IT teams are not required for installations, patching, updating, and other troubleshooting needs
Smaller-sized businesses have access to the product and their work on web-based devices (ex. laptop, iPad), enabling them to connect to their work remotely
Cross-collaboration has never been easier with product and work all stored in a shared cloud space
SaaS software can be updated automatically with a speed and consistency that is greater than a local solution
Businesses usually receive a much better value from server farms, which generally operate at a higher capacity when using the cloud methosd

As early adopters of this technology and process, SRi has a plethora of invaluable first-hand experience. Are you ready for immediate, sustainable, and measurable results when selling your SaaS product? We have the expertise to guide any sales team into a successful SaaS selling force!