TRANSFORM YOUR BUSINESS: FIX THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE PROBLEM

What does transformation mean to a business? I looked at dictionaries, asked Google and ChatGPT. I thought about what it means to me. Here is my idea of transformation.

It is making strategic changes. These changes improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scaling of the business.

Transformations on a sales team often involves several key areas:

1. Strategic Innovation means creating or adopting new business strategies. These strategies open up more revenue streams or impact profitability of existing ones. This could involve entering new markets. It could also involve diversifying products. Or, it could involve redefining the value proposition for customers. This is to stand out from competitors.

2. Operational Efficiency: Revamping operational processes to reduce costs, streamline workflows, and eliminate inefficiencies. This could involve adopting new tech. It could mean reorganizing teams or improving supply chains. These changes would boost productivity and cut costs.

3. Sales and Marketing Optimization: Improve sales and marketing efforts. This will greatly increase customer acquisition and retention rates. This might include adopting better sales techniques. It also means using data analytics for targeted marketing. And, it means improving customer service to raise satisfaction and loyalty.

4. Technology Integration: Using technology to improve products and services and to automate business. This can include adopting CRM systems. It can also include AI-driven analytics, cloud computing, and other digital tools. They help the business to work better and adapt to market changes quickly.

5. Talent Management and Development: Leveling up on talent means. Focusing on attracting, developing, and retaining performance talent. Talent can drive the business forward. This includes providing training and development opportunities. It also means creating a positive workplace culture. And, it means aligning incentives with business goals. This ensures everyone is working towards the same objectives.

These changes can scale a business. They make a threefold revenue increase a more doable goal. This change needs a clear vision. It needs committed leaders. And, it needs a willingness to invest in big changes. The changes can propel the business to new heights.

I could extend this list. Transformation is at end, defined by the business owner. What does he or she want? Freedom. Cashflow. A saleable business. Legacy. To help improve a community. It is personal.

Indulge me with a story. In late March I spoke to CEO of a fire and security company. Let's call her Aimee. She had a successful $25M business. I love and know this industry, but the principles I discuss here apply to most sales teams.

Aimee brought up transformation early in the conversation. Yet, struggled to define the outcomes she wanted. So, she defaulted to what she thought she needed to do. She wanted sales training to get the team to close more. That is a profitable area of my business, but it wasn't what Aimee needed.

I directed the conversation back to transformation. It turned out that she wanted to sell the business to her management team in 5 years. Aimee said she knew they could run a business, but all the pieces were not running optimal. Sales was good, but not great. Operations was excellent, but not great.

In our 90-minute Sales Velocity Consult we uncovered 3 questions she needed answers. She wanted solutions. We believed that answers would move the needle for her company. Here are the 3 questions:

1. How can we differentiate our offerings from competitors?

2. What strategies can we put in place to increase our win rate?

3. What pricing strategies should we adopt to be profitable, yet competitive?

Do these questions (or problems) sound familiar?

The answer to all 3 questions, in the simplest of terms, is to sell Value. Not trying to be trite. Here is one mindset shift for your team. If you are security products, stop selling the camera. Sell the safety of the employees. Sell the flexible design. Sell the lack of shrinkage. Sell the emotion.

Here is a golden nugget to help sell value. Especially, if you sell a product commoditized by your buyers, i.e. any company in the construction industry. This always got the attention of the buyer.

97% of what I do is the same as [your biggest competitors].

Can we talk about the 3% that makes me different?

First, notice I wrote "me". Not we. The salesperson is part of the difference. Second, your 3% better be compelling, clear and differentiate you. Not some shiny new feature. It must address the buyers fears.

Pricing.

If salespeople are trying to sell on price, margins disappear. There is no differentiation for your unique value. Sales cycles extend and win rates drop. The company sales story may be weak or non-existent.

• Can the 7 salespeople on the sales team sell value?

• Do the current sales processes and systems support a consultative (value) sales approach?

• Can sales management set the expectations, hold people accountable and avoid discounting?

The CEO and I had 2 calls in April diving deeper into the situation. Each conversation we discovered challenges in the buyers journey well before the close. The sales team pitched and chased. They didn't qualify. We estimated 40% the pipeline deals were not closeable. They were the wrong type of company. The sales team we quoting and hoping.

Remember, her self-diagnosis of Aimee's problem was sales training to close better. She had a solid sales process, but no one followed it. It was the wild west. The sales team pitched to anyone who would talk to them.

We did an MRI on the sales team. We evaluated all the salespeople, manager, role alignment, and sales processes systems. We identified what was working well, what was average, and what she must fix immediately. Growth required changes from the sales team and managers. But, now the CEO had data and can focus on the root causes of the problems she saw.

Aimee knew the work is simple, but not easy. She has a clear plan with milestones to double revenue in less than 5 years. Training the reps on closing is not part of the plan. Clear prospecting targets.  Qualifying.  Consultative Selling.  Everything in her playbook needed to be dusted off, and executed. Sales management needed to set expectations and create accountability.

Another common problem to investigate with your sales team. The Prospecting Plan and the Cookbook.

I mentioned “clear prospecting targets.  Along with the plan, you need KPIs that drive behavior and revenue. For me, I have goal to speak to 5 new business owners each month. This is the one metric makes all the others easier. 5 conversations gets me 3 meetings. 3 meetings get 2 opportunities. I close 1 of those opportunities inside of 60 days. This is the cookbook. Does your sales team know their numbers?

Getting the 5 conversations is the challenge. There is a cookbook for that too. 25 outbound activities a day. Phone calls, text messages, hand written notes, books sent, and LinkedIn direct messages. 10 of the activities must be phone calls. Does your sales team have a prospecting plan?

To be honest, sometimes on Thursday morning I am behind on the outreach by 25. A lack of discipline on my part. I must make up the 25 by Friday at 5pm. Not negotiable. Even though I block time to prospect sometimes I put myself behind the 8 ball. The difference is I made a commitment, so it must get done. Does your sales manager have this expectation with your sales team?

I share my cookbook because most business owners I speak with don't know their numbers. They don't know if their sales team has prospecting plan or cookbook. It is common, but you don't want to be common. If you need help, and if you are serious, reach out to me. Because scaling revenue is impossible without talking to enough prospects. Sales outreach, lead generation and good marketing must align.

The 3 original questions are common among mid-size companies. Training is unlikely to fix these issues without fixing the root cause. Companies spend billions on sales training without results. Training without a purpose and support after it is complete is a waste of resources. It looks like something is happening, but often without results.

Someone from the stage a few weeks ago said, "I know I could be a size six. But, they make size 8." Everyone laughed because we all have the same thoughts. Running a business and a sales team is no different.

Try watching television for 30-minutes and not see at least 2 ads from a drug company. Take a pill and fix the problem. The side effects are long and a little scary. Later, you need more pills and are ignoring the cause of the problem. Size 8 to size 6...

The pill is like sales training. A better diet, exercise and lifestyle changes is harder, but have lasting effects. And, no side effects. Better sales fundamentals reinforced daily and weekly have lasting effect. Avoiding mistakes will move the needle.

Here's an idea to help with everything discussed. Take action on something. I might be able to help.

I am giving away my book. You can get it here: Scale Your Sales: Avoid the 7 Critical Mistakes CEOs Make. The book shares solutions to the problems you may be experiencing. The book gives you free access to resources to coach you sales manager. My goal is to help 1,000 business owners grow and gain freedom. Go grab the book - it's a great deal. Grab it here.