How to Map Sales Alignment

A Practical Summary Map of the Sales Process.

In aligning Sales Training Processes, we want to take a look at several areas that show "how" sales organizations can be operated with top efficiency. In our earlier post, Aligning the Sales Process, we discussed "Tangible Action Items". Here is what the tangible action item list looks like in detail. Tangible Action Items

1. Strong Internal and External Marketing Support
2. Sales Training Education: Product Knowledge, Industry Information, Competitive Strategy,
3. A good automated Customer Relationship Management System (CRM)
4. A defined lead generation system qualifying Inside and Outside prospect leads
5. A lead follow up system shared by Marketing and the Field Sales team
6. A sales person "scorecard" that prioritizes and measures activity performance
7. Prospecting Development outline
8. Dashboard - A dashboard to show your current position in the sales process
9. Prospect Closing Outline

Let's dissect each one of these action items as it relates to Sales Training.

• Internal Marketing has 5 main variables that impact external marketing support. When designing training programs for support personnel they should be taught the specifics and business objectives that impact: Job Satisfaction, Organizational Commitment, Trust, Loyalty and Internal Communication. Your training can overall objective will center on attracting, developing, motivating and retaining qualified employees and customers that come from sales efforts.

• Sales Training Education: 1. Product Knowledge, 2. Industry Information, 3. Competitive Strategy. Out of this trilogy comes the opportunity for the sales professional to become educated on communication skills when presenting products and services. Enthusiasm is elevated from the confidence of knowing accurate information that can solve problem for prospects. Overcoming objections can easily be done by education from facts, statistics, credibility statements, and an explanation of practical use of product and industry data. Competitive data will help the prospect become comfortable with an analysis that shows the representative has shown leverage in the cost factors of earning the business.

• According to Wikipedia.org - A reliable, automated CRM, is a broadly recognized, widely-implemented strategy for managing and nurturing a company's interactions with clients and sales prospects. It involves using technology to organize, automate, and synchronize business processes - principally sales activities, but also those for marketing, customer service and technical support. The overall goals are to find, attract, and win new clients, nurture and retain those the company already has, entice former clients back into the fold, and reduce the costs of marketing and client service. When an implementation is effective, people, processes, and technology work in synergy to increase profitability, and reduce operational costs.
• A strong, well difined Lead Generation System will help your Sales Force to access new leads for selling to new buyers. According to Businessknowhow.com, there are 5 steps you should consider when setting up a lead generation system: 1. Find out why people buy from you. 2. Create a "special report". 3. Develop a direct response advertisement 4. Set up an auto response system 5. Set up a "Follow Up" Response System.
• A Lead Follow Up System -Lead Follow-Up: According to Michael Hatch, senior vice president, marketing and sales for a2z Inc, the next time you cash your paycheck, throw 80 percent of it in the trash. Granted, it's unlikely you would ever do that. But consider this numbing statistic, as reported by Sales and Marketing Management magazine: Eighty percent of all sales leads are never followed up. Ever.

• The Scorecard - According RiverHeightsConsutlting, aA Salesperson Scorecard looks like this:Have your our calendar is filled with appointments for you as well as appointments you have set for others on your team (Specialists, Management, important suppliers).You must have a multi-step strategy with time milestones set for all of your key accounts and products on demand.

• Prospecting Development Outline - Align the prospect development functions for prospect research, and prospect management. The objective is to have a stronger campaign prospect pipeline, improved system for trackingactivities,solicitation strategies,training tools andresources thatidentify qualifiedprospects.

• Dashboards - A dashboard showing your current performance and positioning in the sales process. - We have provided a great set of excel spreadsheet visuals for you from chandoo.org.

• Prospect Closing Outline - According to SalesMark.com, Here is a good set of guideline standards.

1. Opening - a single paragraph tothank people that provided the opportunity forthe proposal. The last sentence of the paragraph should list the primary value the prospect will receive by making the proposed investment.

2. Background - Companiesdon't need you to provide them with a chronological history or a bunch of unnecessary facts. The bulk of this section should focus on selected facts concerning the specific business functions or departments that your solution will impact.

3. Current Situation - In this section you lay out the prospect's business problems and the impact of the problems.in painful detail. Your goal should be to invoke your prospect's negative emotions (fear, frustration, pain, etc.).

4. Desired Results - Your goal for this section should be to invoke your prospect's positive emotions (relief, joy, satisfaction, etc.) by helping your prospect visualize the "desired state" for their business.

5. Business Impact - Justify the acquisition. What impact will your solution have on your prospect's business? How will their operations and financial results change for the better?

6. Decision Criteria - If you don't have a comprehensive list of the criteria that your prospect will use to make their decision, you probably shouldn't be writing a proposal. List all of their decision criteria here.

7. Decision Process, Time Frame, and Budget -The purpose of including this information in the proposal is to make sure you and your prospect share the same expectations.

8. Next Steps - There should be specific next steps (and related time frames) that are expected to take place after you submit your proposal. List them here to make sure that you and your prospect are "on the same page".

9. Closing - Close with a final paragraph that summarizes why your offering is the best solution for your prospect, plus a positive statement of expectation