There are plenty of channel sales management strategies out there, but not all of them are effective. Have you ever heard a sales manager make these statements?
“I manage with my gut.”
“Experience matters; I only hire people who have a book of business.”
“I just know when I see a good salesperson.”
Sound familiar? But here’s a reality check:
You can hire someone with a book of business, but statistics show only a small percentage of an experienced sales rep’s business comes with them when they move to a competitor. The statistic is even more dire when that rep leaves for a noncompetitor.
You may think you know a good salesperson when you see one, but hiring on instinct is fraught with peril. Same goes for managing with your gut. It may work with a limited solution variation or a small team, but it doesn’t scale.
More importantly, it isn’t the right way to build your sales capacity. In fact, without proper systems to manage salespeople’s impact you can find yourself wasting more than 40% of your sales capacity annually.
3 Strategies to Get You Started
To innovate in sales and lead the pack, you need a performance-based approach to channel sales management. Follow these three recommendations to get started:
1. Hire Using Digital Analytics
Sales success is not measured by how many cold calls a rep makes or their old book of business. Today, successful salespeople have the right digital footprint and social selling expertise. In fact, a social selling expert will perform at a much higher level than their peers.
Janet Schijns
Want to find them? In the interview, ask candidates to show you the following:
- A LinkedIn social selling score of 70-plus. This will put your candidate in the top 10% of sellers.
- 5,000-plus connections on the social platform used in your industry. Have them show you in person.
- Four or more recommendations or reviews on your social platform of choice in the past six months
- At least five videos that they recorded/created and posted in the past six months
If you need to train them, look for free training videos that will cover the basics.
2. Automate the Right Stuff
Guessing is for low-performance teams. Sales tools like Set Sail can turn your data into better sales behaviors. These tools capture the data in your CRM and email, and then evaluate all touchpoints to see how sales really happen in your firm.
Using this data, the tools automate the best micro actions to take for each sales engagement. They can even design reward programs that incentivize sellers to take those actions to move the sale along. These tools can improve sales success when used consistently.
It’s time to prioritize the science of sales over the art of the sale.
3. Master Virtual Presentations
In our new digital normal, your sales teams must create connections and sell in a remote-first world. Your reps and/or partners have to be immediately accessible and productive regardless of their remote location. It’s critical for them to collaborate effectively.
Having tools like Star2Star and Microsoft Teams is not enough. Your sales team must be trained to use these tools effectively during sales calls. Reps should be able to present a flawless two-minute introductory pitch that engages their audience. If your team is struggling with this skill, coaches can help them perfect that pitch.
Why You Can’t Afford to Wait
The pace of change in sales is accelerating. Waiting to adapt means falling behind and losing revenue.
Put these three strategies into action. As a result, you will boost productivity and position your team for long-term success. The bottom line: The game of sales has changed, and those who innovate will win. Start today.
Janet Schijns is CEO and co-founder of JS Group, a leading authority on go-to-market strategies, channel programs, and channel marketing. Reach out to JS Group to participate in its Social Selling boot camp and leads program.
Featured image: Nimra — stock.adobe.com
