Here are four ways I believe businesses might unleash their sales growth in 2017:

1. Develop a dynamic sales process

Imagine your salespeople being able to outperform your competitors in revenue generation by 18 per cent. What about your salespeople being among the elite 60-72 per cent salespeople who always achieve their sales target?  What difference would it make to your current sales organization’s sales performance if you were able to achieve a win rate of 60 per cent? Well these are findings from recent studies conducted by Vantage Point Performance and Sales Management Association, and CSO Insights respectively.  The findings conclude that sales organizations which have a dynamic or formal sales process generate more revenue, a high percentage their salespeople meet targets, and achieve excellent win rates compared to their rivals who use a random or informal sales process.

Based on the research findings about the importance of a sales process in generating predictable revenue, sales organizations who currently use a random or informal sales process should invest time and resources in developing a formal or a dynamic one.  For those who currently have a formal sales process should explore ways of moving to a dynamic sales process, and for those who already have a dynamic sales process, identify and improve areas which are limiting your opportunities to maximise sales revenues.

2. Ideal customer profile

This is about developing an effective customer strategy.  It is about carefully segmenting your market.  At the core of the need to develop an ideal customer profile is the saying: “You can’t be all things to all people.”  Successful sales organisations have figured it out and are clear about their target customers.  On the contrary, those who don’t seem to be closing the sales and not achieving targets may have a vague understanding of their customer target.

To understand what constitutes their “ideal customer” characteristics, sales organisations would need to conduct in-depth statistical analysis of its selling activities and customers.  Conduct win/loss analysis as well on your most recent customers to provide you with the insight necessary to help craft the ideal profile.  For example, according to an article in the Harvard Business Review, “The New Science of Sales Force Productivity” GE Commercial Finance was able to increase their sales by 300per cent  just by identifying six additional “ideal customer” characteristics resulting in 10,000 new prospects just by doing same.

3. Competitor knowledge

Unless you are a monopoly in the market, your salespeople will have to deal with and acquire the skills to compete against competitors.  In our current competitive market where in some industries such as radio, non-banking financial services and banks where you find more than 50 rivals, your sales organisations should ensure that their salespeople know about the strategies, benefits, value proposition, price, capabilities of sales team as well as all other variables.  The lack of competitor knowledge has resulted in customers “playing” competing sales people against each other.  Little competitive knowledge on your two or three top competitors will make you vulnerable to manipulation by knowledgeable customers.

For 2017, spend time and resources to know who is in your competitive space.  Have a clear understanding as to how they are perceived in the marketplace in comparison with you.  Apply the knowledge of your competitors to your advantage by differentiating and innovating your sales organisation in the market place.

4. Sales coaching

In my work, I meet sales managers who spend majority of their time selling.  I call them “glorified salespeople.”  In some cases they are compelled to get into the trenches themselves to ensure that sales targets are achieved, whereas in other cases the business owners expect the sales manager to sell.  I recently spoke with a frustrated sales manager who apart from her responsibility to lead the sales team, has also been given a sales target to achieve.  

Effectively, she competes with her salespeople for accounts.  Now here’s my question: “when was the last time a player/coach (a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties) won a very competitive league title like the English Premier League?” That was Kenny Dalglish with Liverpool in the mid 1980s – i.e. 31 years ago.  Look around you today, there are elite football coaches whose main goal is to coach their teams to success.

So why should you free your sales managers to coach and instead of selling?  Well, because several research findings have confirmed its importance.  

According a study conducted by CEB a global best practice insights and technology company, that provides products and services to businesses worldwide, sales people who receive as little as three hours of coaching per month, perform 15 per cent to 17 per cent better, than their peers.  It even gets better when you consider the findings by Objective Management Group which says that salespeople that are coached on a daily basis go one better than other salespeople by 30 per cent; and the final findings from CSO Insights study which shows that salespeople who receive “deal coaching” see a 52 per cent win rate compared to a win rate of 43 per cent by their counterparts who received poor coaching.  

Your agenda for 2017 should include dedicating more time to coach your salespeople to succeed in the market place.

Conclusion

The coming year 2017 offer tremendous opportunities for sales organisations to unleash their sales potential.  A review and clear definition of their ideal customer profile and sales processes, the ability to understand competitors and an investment in sales coaching are likely to accelerate their sales performance.