Make sure the sales team has a travel budget. “Face-to-face will always have more intimacy. Customers will always tend to cut it short when you are on the phone.”
Channel sales aren’t a free lunch. “Although a way to cost-effectively expand coverage, organizations should not underestimate the resources required to manage indirect sales resources. Once the decision is made to leverage these kinds of relationships, the selling organization will often need to support its partners with product knowledge training, marketing materials, industry information, and even sales or management skills training. Furthermore, these relationships frequently require a sales resource to manage them.”
Sales teams are constantly evolving. “What was consistent was that almost every organization we talked to was in the midst of restructuring their sales force and, furthermore, the constant changes in customer expectations, solution sets, and channel strategies render it very unlikely that any sales force deployment strategy could be considered permanent.”
Vertical sales strategy is best. “Deploying sales resources against specific customer segments that exhibit common characteristics can be useful in creating specialization within the sales force and supporting organizational initiatives around customer centricity. Vertical strategy offers many advantages by being able to link solutions to specific business issues that will resonate with members of an industry and give organizations an advantage over generalist competitors. Sales resources deployed against vertical structures are usually deeply embedded in the industry having worked in it prior.”
AE’s and SDR’s are becoming common. “Some organizations are returning to a method of deploying sales resources based on their activity or role in the sales cycle. The most common method is called “hunters/farmers.” From the human capital perspective, it requires a detailed skills assessment and the creation of job profiles, as well as revising performance management and other systems.”
Again selling a solution is far more effective. “The language the salesperson uses to provide information to the customer should be benefit-orientated — not feature-orientated — and linked to these needs. It’s the difference between a digital camera “with 3 megapixels and 3x2 optical zoom” and one that “will allow you to take high-resolution pictures of your upcoming cruise vacation.” Both are accurate statements but the latter helps the buyer see how the product will help meet needs.”
Customer Success is critical and valuable. “According to the study, customers said they would pay more if they could get excellent after-sales service, and they placed premium value on service and product reputation. In fact, service was the most important factor they valued from their vendor organization.”
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