If not, they should!
I have worked with (and for) a number of sales organizations in the past 30 years and I am struck by how few of them have taken the time and effort to define the optimum sales process steps that their most successful sales people employ and the activities within these steps that tend to make them successful in closing new business.
Think of it this way, when a new sales person joins your organization and asks the question, “What have you found works best for your current sales people?” The average sales manager would struggle to answer the question effectively. They might suggest they shadow other sales people. They might try to explain a few recent wins and what seemed to make the difference. Who knows, they may even provide a book that they have come to rely on in their sales career (i.e. Hope is Not a Strategy is one that I have come to believe in).
There is a better approach!
My partners and I at The Complex Sale have facilitated workshops we call Best Practice Sales Cycles. We encourage our clients to invite the most experienced, most successful sales people in their organization in addition to a couple of successful sales managers and perhaps even a couple of marketing people. At the risk of over-simplifying these workshops, we spend one full day extracting their experience and expertise about what they do and when they do it that increases their likelihood of success. We then document this best practice “roadmap” on a single sheet of paper (double-sided) to increase the likelihood that other sales people and managers will actually use it.
Sales reps can then be held accountable, managers can use the roadmap to coach effectively, and leadership gets better results! Once you’ve taken this step, you’ve enhanced your entire sales team’s ability to be successful. You don’t have to “hope” they find what works – you make it obvious (and expected)!
Let us know what you’ve used to replicate success in your organization!