Sleepless In Sales
Sleepless in Sales
The demand exists, the product is good, and the sales team is working harder than ever. Yet you are still losing sales. Different times require different solutions, and
B2B companies need to find them.
Sleepless in Sales
1
It’s 3:15 a.m. Awake again. My brain won’t shut off. Why are sales down? Our product is competitive, clients like it, and we’ve run all of the obligatory sales improvement programs. Maybe it’s the sales team. They keep saying it’s tough to keep up with so many customized products. If they can’t master our products, how can they sell them?
Our customers expect us to be agile and flexible. They want a better sales team—salespeople who are specialists in either the industry or our product and preferably both. They want faster responses and real information, and they want it 24-7, whether by email, instant messaging, or what … Twitter? Seriously? I’ll get the team together in the morning to figure this out. Again!
Sales is a whole new animal— especially B2B—and companies worldwide know they need to radically alter the way they operate.
If you are in sales, this fictional example of a sleepless chief sales executive should hit close to home. There is a lot of late night tossing and turning thanks to more channels, regulations, complicated products, and demands from more customers. Sales is a whole new animal—especially business-to-business (B2B) sales—and companies worldwide know they need to radically alter the way they operate. We have four suggestions to do just that (see figure 1).
Figure 1
Four strategies to address the new challenges in business-to-business sales
See your customers and prospects in new ways
Rethink your go-to-market strategy
Upgrade your sales capabilities
Change the way you interact with customers
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
Sleepless in Sales
2
1. See Your Customers in New Ways
It is natural for salespeople to visit customers with whom they have had some success. It is also
useless.
The demand exists, the product is good, and the sales team is working harder than ever. Yet you are still losing sales. Different times require different solutions, and
B2B companies need to find them.
Sleepless in Sales
1
It’s 3:15 a.m. Awake again. My brain won’t shut off. Why are sales down? Our product is competitive, clients like it, and we’ve run all of the obligatory sales improvement programs. Maybe it’s the sales team. They keep saying it’s tough to keep up with so many customized products. If they can’t master our products, how can they sell them?
Our customers expect us to be agile and flexible. They want a better sales team—salespeople who are specialists in either the industry or our product and preferably both. They want faster responses and real information, and they want it 24-7, whether by email, instant messaging, or what … Twitter? Seriously? I’ll get the team together in the morning to figure this out. Again!
Sales is a whole new animal— especially B2B—and companies worldwide know they need to radically alter the way they operate.
If you are in sales, this fictional example of a sleepless chief sales executive should hit close to home. There is a lot of late night tossing and turning thanks to more channels, regulations, complicated products, and demands from more customers. Sales is a whole new animal—especially business-to-business (B2B) sales—and companies worldwide know they need to radically alter the way they operate. We have four suggestions to do just that (see figure 1).
Figure 1
Four strategies to address the new challenges in business-to-business sales
See your customers and prospects in new ways
Rethink your go-to-market strategy
Upgrade your sales capabilities
Change the way you interact with customers
Source: A.T. Kearney analysis
Sleepless in Sales
2
1. See Your Customers in New Ways
It is natural for salespeople to visit customers with whom they have had some success. It is also
useless.