I’ve carried a bag…sales transformation is not easy

As a B2B sales leader, you’re wise to avoid the trap of creating a terrific growth strategy without the sales transformation blueprint to drive it. There?s always new thinking, new tools and new messaging for you to consider and put into action.

As an interim CMO I often get called into client discussions about sales transformation. I’ve carried a bag and led sales teams, so I know that sales ‘transformation’ can be like pushing the proverbial boulder up a hill.?

But it’s relatively simple if you have a blueprint developed from an assessment.

Assessment of your current state begins with a gap analysis of these five areas:

• strategy – what’s the new play?
• messaging -? what messages will engage our prospects?
• process – when a lead is identified, what’s our process for engagement and next steps?
• leadership – what role will sales leaders play and how should they coach?
• sales development – what training will the team need?

We can help you get this done in a couple of weeks. You’ll develop momentum and engagement with our assessment, critical factors in B2B sales transformation.

Learn more about our sales transformation consulting

We partner with DSG Consulting on these projects

Conversation planning – a few simple sound bites

So how do we fix this? Create 60-second conversational sound bites that lead the prospect where you both want to go. Some simple conversation planning will go a long way to getting a prospect to commit to the next step, and then the next.

A simple framework that we use is based on the customer’s decision making process. We find that customers tend to answer three big questions:

Why change? Why now? And why us?

• For why change, what is it about the current state that’s inadequate and will no longer be sufficient to help them achieve their growth strategies?

Sound bite: Lots of our clients have found themselves in that exact same situation. Their current state was too labor intensive and managed with spreadsheets (or whatever they were doing). What have you seen about our solution that makes you think we might be a good fit?

• For why now, what kind of insights can we share that drive urgency? Is there a cost of delay that we can quantify?

Sound bite: In one case a client was spending _____ annually on that situation. With our solution they were able to cut their costs by 75% and show positive ROI in the first year. Let’s calculate an average monthly or annual cost of delay, based on an estimated cost of ______.

• And then for why us, what are those unique capabilities that we bring to the table that will help them achieve the desired state and really make that change?

Sound bite: We’re having this conversation because you think enough of us, so far, to spend this time with me. What unique capabilities do you see that we bring to the table?

Whether print or digital, make sure you can easily review your sound bites before every sales conversation. You’ll soon be in the 12% of salespeople that decision makers appreciate.

Learn more about planning sales conversations

We partner with DSG Consulting on these projects

Why vPlaybook? Time is money.

Today?s B2B sales rep spends only 32% of their time actually selling. The rest they spend on pulling together presentations, creating emails and phone messages, and staying updated on their products and competitors.

With vPlaybook you can achieve a 50% faster ramp up time with new reps, 30% increase in sales productivity and an 80% reduction in time spent answering questions by phone and email.

And accessed instantly by a happier, more productive sales team.

Learn More About vPlaybook