How to Profitably Restructure your Millennial Sales Team for Growth
Are your competitors taking market share, introducing innovative products and services, growing margins, and expanding revenues…while you’re struggling?
It is important to always ask, “What steps might I take to ensure I have the right people in the right seats on the right buses?”
Might this be the right time to restructure your sales environment to improve your sales results?
Are your salespeople struggling to exceed targets?:
- You are launching new products or targeting new markets – some of your salespeople may not have the experience or specific sales competencies required to sell your new products or cope with the new markets.
- There is a change in market conditions – this can happen during an economic upturn, or when there’s a slump in the economy. Why? Both high-growth and declining economic conditions require specific skills and competencies. If your salespeople are mismatched to the market conditions and competitive landscape, their performance will suffer.
Are you dealing with some of these frustrations?
If yes, you may need to consider restructuring your sales approach. You’ll have better results when you do it as a planned strategic move, rather than as an emergency plan when things have already started to go wrong – when the board and investors are putting extra pressure on for immediate results.
What are the first steps when you consider restructuring?
When you decide that restructuring your sales organization is needed to strengthen your ability to drive your strategic growth objectives, it can be confusing to know where to start.
In my recent Forbes article, How to Fix Disappointing Sales Results Through Restructuring, and the next three articles in this series, I focus on four areas of restructuring a sales force:
- Clarify sales strategies,
- Align sales talent to sales strategies,
- Build robust Sales DNA healthy sales mindsets, and,
- Strengthen sales management processes.
The crystal clear vision you’ll get as you take these steps will provide the clarity you need to gain the confidence to make critical, strategic and, results-producing decisions.
Sales Strategies
To get the right people in the right seats on the right busses, you need to know exactly what your sales strategies are. Otherwise, how will you be confident that you have the right BDRs and salespeople who CAN and WILL execute on your strategic growth plan?
Many leaders confess to me that it is confusing to identify all the components of a sales strategy, let alone identify the critical components. Some components are of make-or-break importance.
For example, let’s say that your strategy calls for selling a product or service at higher margins than your competitors. Of course, you have everything that’s needed to be the best solution provider for your customers. This is great – however, if you hire salespeople who don’t know how, or don’t have the mindset, to sell value, they will never get the business. You have a great strategy – they can’t implement – you’re stuck. So, it’s critical that you identify the key components of your sales strategy…then align your salespeople properly.
We have over 29 sales strategies that we have identified to take the guesswork out of making the right decisions. This is one of the first steps in our Sales Audit Process.
Once you have identified your strategies you can start the process of placing the perfect-fit salespeople to execute your strategic growth plan. We can help you develop a road-map as you evaluate each salesperson to determine:
- who can be successful in your selling environment,
- who can be trained and coached to be successful, and,
- who will only tie up your resources without a positive return if you retain them.
An objective assessment is the most effective way to learn which salespeople will generate revenue based on your strategic objectives.
“In times of change, you can only afford to retain salespeople who will successfully sell your product or service in your target market with your pricing strategy.” – Danita Bye
Are you grabbing the sales opportunities for current market conditions? If not, you may need to restructure your sales organization so that you stay ahead of the competition.
Here are the articles in this series:
Are Your Sales People Successfully Executing Your Sales Growth Strategies? Restructure Series
Does Your Sales Force Have the Right DNA to Grow Your Business? Restructure Series
How to Restructure your Sales Processes to Improve your Bottom Line Results
How to Restructure Your Business for Maximum Sales Growth
Leadership Lesson: Solidly defined sales strategies, mindsets, and sales management processes crystallize your position in the market and strengthen your emerging salespeople and BDR’s.
Leadership Question: How are you clarifying your sales strategies, aligning sales talent to your sales strategies, building healthy sales mindsets, and strengthening your sales management processes to drive sales growth?
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