On holidays, I like to give the people I care about experiences rather than objects. That’s why, this past Christmas, I decided to set up a dog sled adventure for my family. Not only did everyone have a blast, but I also ended up giving myself a fantastic metaphor I can now use to help clients build successful sales teams. I am in no way a champion dog-sledder, and I don’t plan on racing in the Iditarod anytime soon. We were there for the ride, taking a backseat to the professionals. When I say professionals, I’m not just talking about the human musher who steers the sled. I’m talking about the dogs, too! Sure, I had assumed they were all talented animals, but I had no idea how good they were at their respective jobs. A Successful Sled Team is Like a Well-Functioning Sales Team During our journey through the snow, I couldn’t help but make the comparison in my head to a well-functioning sales team. On a successful sled team, dogs of various sizes, strengths, and experience levels are placed according to where they excel. The same should go for a sales team. Everyone has different proficiencies, and when you put them where their talents can shine the most, you can pull through to your destination even over tough wintry terrain.  Lead Dogs Set the Standards
The front line of the team is the lead dogs. They are not always the fastest or the strongest. Instead, they tend to be the most experienced and knowledgeable, having run in multiple positions on the team over the course of their careers. They know the cues, they know where they’re headed, and they know how to demonstrate that expertise to the dogs behind them. In the same way, your superstar salesperson, the one with the highest numbers, isn’t usually the best choice for a sales manager. You need someone seasoned who knows the path and how to point your people in the right direction. Point Dogs Are Adaptable The second line of dogs are the swing dogs, or point dogs, who are essential for swinging and pointing the sled where it needs to go. They follow the lead dogs, tracing their steps and using their agility to keep the sled moving. As the second line of the team, they’re also the next up in line for possible leadership. You’ve got people primed for sales leadership on your team, too. They’re full of ideas and good at inspiring the rest of the team to move forward. Encourage their growth and celebrate their skills, and they’ll be pivotal for keeping the team on track. Wheel Dogs Are Powerhouses Wheel dogs take up the back line. They’re the engines, using their strength and speed to get the sled, and the rest of the team, in motion. Their strength pushes the rest of the dogs to operate at their greatest capacity. High-grossing salespeople make ideal wheel dogs, driving the rest of the group and keeping them on their toes. Team Dogs Maintain Momentum Team dogs make up the center of the pack. They follow the first two lines to keep the sled moving, and they let themselves be pushed forward, and faster, by the wheel dogs behind them. Depending on the type of journey the sledders are taking, and depending on the dogs’ energy levels, team dogs can either be switched around on the team, or they can sit the race out. Of course, the sales team members making up the middle of the pack are essential for the organization's health. They’re there to cooperate, to push themselves and others to do their best together. Many leaders wish they could clone themselves or their highest-grossing salesperson, copying their successes in every area. That method doesn’t make for an effective sales team. The one thing sled dogs all hold in common is they know their role, and they play it to the best of their ability. The highest-performing sales teams are made up of people with different skills, tailored to their best use. The sales organizations I see with the biggest numbers, healthiest cultures, highest retention, and most positive outcomes are built like sled dog teams. Salespeople are allowed to thrive where they have natural talents and interests, whether they’re the ones developing and nurturing relationships with clients or enjoying the thrill of pursuing new business. Individuals work well independently and as key team members of a high-performing revenue engine. Put them where they belong. They’ll carry you to the finish line every time, and you’ll enjoy the ride a whole lot more. Learn More About Building a Successful Sales Team A healthy relationship between sales and marketing is vital to an organization’s success. Dive deep into this effective strategy in a new book called Sales & Marketing Alignment. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources. 
 It's no big secret in the business world that sales and marketing don't always play nice with each other. Usually, this doesn't come from a place of malice. Both teams are working hard to fulfill their roles in the organization. They may even be rooting for each other to succeed. But when barriers to communication and collaboration have been established for a long time, sales and marketing alignment is non-existent. This scenario can be difficult to overcome.
However, the results of sales and marketing alignment are well worth any effort expended. Sales and marketing integration supercharges the efforts that both departments put into generating and nurturing leads. Ultimately, it offers a competitive advantage to the organization as a whole. The teams that work together really do win together. An Example of How Sales and Marketing Alignment Can Pay Off How can sales and marketing integration drive results in the real world? Let's use the following scenario as just one example: Imagine that the sales and marketing teams of Company X are in a meeting. During the meeting, the sales director discloses an obstacle that has prevented several reps from closing sales. Many leads want to hear from actual customers about their experience with Company X, instead of salespeople or online content. In another organization, the sales team would just have to navigate that challenge on their own. But Company X enjoys sales and marketing alignment. Therefore, their marketing team can come up with a solution: an ambassador program that features enthusiastic customers who are willing to talk to prospects about the benefits of working with Company X. As you can tell from the foregoing example, sales and marketing alignment isn't just a corporate buzzword that gets thrown around a lot. When implemented properly, it leads to better outcomes in the real world. With that being said, the question now becomes: How can a business get the alignment process started? Here are five key steps to keep in mind: 1. Become Aware of the Problem As the old saying goes: "The first step in solving a problem is recognizing there is one." Sales and marketing leadership must internalize the fact that siloed teams result in less-than-optimal results. There must be an acknowledgment that each team, and the organization as a whole, will benefit from an integrated approach to the sales and marketing funnel. Even if your company has always done things a certain way, that doesn't necessarily mean things have always been done the best way. Strategies that heavily rely on "winging it," accidentally stumbling across workable solutions, or simply "going with the flow" without a clear plan in place are not sustainable in the long run. Do these strategies describe your company's approach to sales and marketing? Then it's time to acknowledge that change is needed. 2. Accept the Need To Shift Acknowledging a problem is one thing. Actually doing something about it is something else entirely. Sales and marketing leadership must accept the responsibility to take charge of the integration process. There should be consistent advocacy for alignment, both from management and from team members. One of the biggest pivots your business may need to make involves communication between the two departments. There should be a constant, free flow of information between the sales and marketing teams. For example: does the marketing team consult sales during the development of a new campaign? Does sales understand the unique selling proposition (USP) that marketing emphasizes for new leads? It may take some time to implement the shift toward integration fully. Strategic thinking, planning, process development and mapping, iteration and action will be required to achieve the ultimate goal of alignment. If leadership forges the path, the teams will follow. 3. Meet Buyers Where They Are on Their Buying Journey One of the main reasons for pursuing sales and marketing alignment is to facilitate each buyer's journey toward a purchase decision. It's no surprise that different buyers take different paths as they contemplate an offer. Some make decisions based on pricing, others on product quality, still others on support infrastructure. Some leads may want to "de-risk" their decisions based on direct interaction with current customers. Others may be convinced by reviewing simple case studies or product overviews. The point is, sales and marketing alignment should be designed to accommodate the unique needs of the individual buyer. Both teams should feel empowered to adjust their messaging and approach to address the prospect's concerns. 4. Support Lead Movement Through the Sales Funnel Sales and marketing integration should be focused on effectively moving a lead from one stage of the sales funnel to the next. There's no place for possessiveness or "territorial disputes" between the two departments. Teams that are in alignment with each other will understand what constitutes a marketing-qualified lead vs. a sales-qualified lead, and when and how the hand-off should take place. Leadership has to clearly define what guidelines each team should follow, without taking away the flexibility required to handle one-off cases. The more intentional a company's sales and marketing strategies are, the more rewarding the results will be for customers, teams, and the entire organization. 5. Measure Results, Iterate, and Evolve As your teams come into alignment, you should be able to measure the difference in performance compared to your previous approach. Sales and marketing key performance indicators (KPIs) are the "scorecard" that measures the success of your efforts. Regularly reviewing this scorecard can help you identify areas in which alignment is progressing well, along with areas that need continued attention. The combination of quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., hard metrics and anecdotal evidence) can help both teams see their role from a new perspective. Perhaps most importantly, seeing what they can achieve through alignment will motivate team members to stay on that path and reap even more success. In summary, sales and marketing alignment can be a powerful driver for business growth. It offers your company an edge over the competition and may contribute to innovative solutions for challenges that arise. If you implement the five steps discussed above and promote a culture of interdepartmental collaboration, you're all but guaranteed to see improved sales performance as a result. Learn More A healthy relationship between sales and marketing is vital to an organization’s success. Dive deep into this effective strategy in a new book called Sales & Marketing Alignment. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources. 
 It's an all-too-common story in today's business world: A successful company (we'll call it Company X) starts to see its influx of customers dwindle. Year after year, there's a small but significant decline in revenue. As a result, the CEO of Company X puts pressure on the sales director and CMO to turn things around. However, without a clear sales and marketing strategy in place, a ton of effort is expended without seeing a big return on investment.
All the while, Company X is still offering superior products compared to its competitors. Also, it's still providing exceptional customer service to existing clients. So what's the core issue that led to such a problematic situation? In many cases, it's a failure to take into account three key sales and marketing lessons, namely:
Let's dig into each one of these sales and marketing lessons. We'll examine how taking leadership of each one can positively impact your business in ways both big and small. Lesson #1: Sales and Marketing Teams Must Adapt Change can be difficult for anyone. That includes marketers and salespeople, especially if they've been used to doing things a certain way for several years. For instance: your marketing team may be used to throwing money at Google Ads every month or uploading two unconnected social media posts a day. However, even when the results no longer justify the process, they're reluctant to change the process. Or maybe your sales team is getting a bunch of leads that want some more info on your product, but aren't quite ready to sign on the dotted line. Instead of gently probing to see what those prospects really need and why they're considering your business in the first place, your team members' first instinct is to tell them, "Call me when you're ready to buy." Obviously, there are some key opportunities in these and other scenarios that need to be addressed. But any solution is going to require adaptation. Your marketers may need to shift their perspective to building a fan base rather than distributing ads. Similarly, your sales reps may need to lean into lead nurturing instead of just taking down orders. The reality is the sales and marketing of yesteryear cannot effectively compete within the hyper-strategic, systematized digital age in which we live. Companies must be willing to adapt. Or they must accept the fact that they'll eventually become irrelevant. On the other hand, if you become a change agent for your teams in terms of strategy or process, then they will almost certainly be able to perform at a higher level than before. Lesson #2: Sales and Marketing Are Experiencing Disruption Two major changes have taken place in the world of sales and marketing recently. Let's briefly discuss each of them: 1. Buyers will research you before you ever speak with them. Today's online buyers really have an embarrassment of riches in terms of the information that's available to them. They can easily visit your website and your social media profiles. However, they can just as easily see those of your top competitors. And they may stumble across your competition before even thinking about initiating contact with one of your team members. Of course, the digital world is also saturated with spam, clickbait, scams, and automatic opt-ins. And buyers have become ever more discerning in terms of avoiding online dangers and annoyances. So, the task that's laid before your marketing team is to make your company as attractive as possible to prospects. At the same time, you must distance yourself from both legitimate competitors and scammers. 2. Competition has intensified, and adding value is mandatory. Once you've effectively set up your company's digital presence to be found by interested prospects, the next big step is to add value to their customer journey. The specific value you're adding (whether it's a downloadable white paper, an online quote estimator, or even a free consultation) will obviously depend on the nature of your business. The point is it's essential to offer value to your leads from the very beginning of their entry into your funnel. And you must continue to do so as you guide them through each stage of their journey. You can be sure that your competition will seek to add value to the consumer base. However, if you do the work, you'll be able to add more value and win more attention. Lesson #3: Sales and Marketing Need Each Other (and Effective Leadership) It's easy for sales and marketing to play the "blame game" with each other when things aren't going right — and especially if a "silo mentality" has crept into the company culture. However, whether your goal is to right the ship or to increase already healthy revenues, it's vital that sales and marketing coordinate their efforts around a unified strategy. In this regard, two elements are indispensable: 1. Good Communication Leaders have to ensure that there's a constant, open dialogue between sales and marketing. It may take regular interdepartmental meetings to get everyone on the same page (and keep them there). But it's well worth the effort. 2. Clearly Defined Roles Some of the greatest friction that occurs between sales and marketing is in that transitional phase of the customer journey, when a marketing-qualified lead transforms into a sales-qualified lead. The good news is you can greatly reduce (or possibly even eliminate) that friction by developing and then communicating clearly defined roles for each team. In general, your marketing team should be tasked with providing clear info to prospects, explaining the values and benefits of your product/service, and then outlining their next steps for working with sales. Once the lead has been handed off to sales, they should be able to answer questions, respond to concerns, and provide instructions on how the customer can get started. By working together in this way, with the help of active, unifying leadership, your sales and marketing teams can become a solid "one-two punch" for achieving your goals. If you and your team take these three key sales and marketing lessons to heart, then you'll be in a much better position to reverse the trend of declining sales. Or, if your sales are already robust, you'll be able to improve them even further. And if you're willing to do the hard work, you'll almost certainly see a major ROI for your trouble. Learn More A healthy relationship between sales and marketing is vital to an organization’s success. Dive deep into this effective strategy in a new book called Sales & Marketing Alignment. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources.  If you want your company to experience significant and sustainable revenue growth, it's vital that you have three pillars of sales success in place: strategy, process, and people. Why is each of these elements so essential to a well-oiled sales machine? Well, consider this:
However, when all three components are functioning at a high level and working well with each other, you're bound to see more wins than ever before. Sales Success Starts With Strategy You can think of strategy as an understanding of your mission or goal, along with the ability to select a path that will help you achieve it. In terms of sales success, strategy is a well-thought-out plan put into action. Many business leaders either have an inconsistent, "winging-it" approach to strategy or no strategy at all. For instance, some marketing and sales managers believe that staying busy is the same as being strategic. As a result, their focus is on running more ads and uploading more social media posts, whether those actions contribute to an overarching plan or not. Other managers are scared to "rock the boat." So they stick with the strategy they inherited from their predecessor, who inherited it from the manager before him, who inherited... well, you get the idea. Still others (and this is especially common among small business owners) have no grand plan at all. They constantly run around "putting out fires" rather than thinking about the bigger picture. The Basis for an Effective Strategy The truth is, if you want to drive business growth, it's absolutely imperative that you have a sound strategy in place as your foundation. And your strategy should be constructed as a mixture of at least two major materials:
Once you have those key ingredients on hand, you can add other things to the mix: intentionality, creativity, logic, and action-oriented thinking. You can develop clearly defined goals to reach within the next three months, six months, year, or beyond. You can start thinking about the processes that need to be set up to achieve those goals and the people that will be the best fit for each process. Again, it all starts with strategy! Process is Transportation for Your Strategy If strategy is like the roadmap that helps you plan out the best route from point A to point B, process is the vehicle that actually carries you there. Processes are the specific tactics that make your vision a reality. And they are most effective when they're replicable, scalable, and flexible enough to evolve when necessary. Process is also about working the margins to gain any edge on the competition, no matter how slight. Well-built processes may not guarantee your sales team a win in any given interaction, but they'll certainly increase your odds of gaining a win. Think of a baseball pitcher who has to employ the same mechanics repeatedly to hit his spots and get the outs. Similarly, your sales team will be more consistent and effective when they follow well-defined workflows day in and day out. What are some particular areas in which process can drive strategic alignment? For one, think about the sales and marketing funnel. Focusing on process can help you map out your strategy to get customers from point A (the top of the funnel) to point B (the bottom). Develop specific processes as answers to the following questions:
In addition, it's always a good idea to consider where automation can fit into your processes. Which parts of the funnel need to be handled by a human team member? Which parts can be "outsourced" to a program or algorithm? The bottom line is that processes can truly help your team members to "work smarter, not harder." Get the Right People in the Right Roles You can automate some of your processes. However, you can't automate the people on your team. You can't just fill key roles with warm bodies and expect that all your work with strategy and process will pay off. The simple truth is that not everyone is well-suited for the same roles in your organization. Not every star sales closer is cut out to be a sales manager. And not every sales manager is necessarily a star closer. It's important to understand both the strengths and the weaknesses that each individual on your team brings to the table — and then play to those strengths rather than attempt to shore up the weaknesses. Never mistakenly think that marketing and sales require interchangeable skills. It "takes a village" (i.e., aligned sales and marketing teams) to stay competitive in today's business world. However, the village only functions properly when each member is in the right role. Apart from getting the right people in the right seats, it's also important to actively promote alignment between teams. One key way to accomplish this is through regular integrated meetings. Granted, you don't need to have every team member from sales and marketing attend every meeting planned throughout the course of a week, but it is a good idea to have regular check-ins between sales and marketing leaders, along with key representatives that can provide helpful input when decisions need to be made. At the end of the day, investing in these three pillars — strategy, process, and people — will help your company to enjoy sustainable sales success and your team to yield improved sales performance. Now that is a foundation worth building! Learn More About Sales Success A healthy relationship between sales and marketing is vital to an organization’s success. Dive deep into this effective strategy in a new book called Sales & Marketing Alignment. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources.
 Business is good. Accounts keep coming in. Our team doesn't have any drama, and everyone works together well. The only problem is... I feel like opportunities are being missed because of my lack of organization. How do I get my sales team organized? Can you relate to the above thoughts? Many SMB owners who run successful companies have to face the "organization dilemma" at some point in their journey. Maybe it was easy to handle the day-to-day of sales when you were just starting out — but now you have an entire sales team to manage, and dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of accounts to maintain. Are you giving your reps the direction they need to succeed? Are you giving them guidelines and boundaries that will keep them focused? Has your sales process been broken up into defined stages or steps? Your business may be doing great. With a more organized approach in place, it could do even better. So we go back to the original question: Where should you start? Here are three practical tips that can help you keep your sales team organized, focused, and effective: 1. Get Intentional The first thing you need to realize as an owner is that unless your company has a designated sales leader... you are the sales leader. You're the one your reps will look to for clarity, structure, and support. You're the one who can either empower your team to exceed expectations... or hinder them from reaching their full potential. Bottom line? It starts and ends with you. And that's why it's so crucial to get intentional with your sales process. Being intentional means starting with the end in mind. In other words, you need to develop a clear "game plan" for your sales team. What exactly is their role in the overall process? For example:
It's important to define your main objectives, and then work out the details that go into each one. This is where the concept of "co-creation" can really generate a positive impact on your process. Communicate with your sales team. Lay out your vision for them to see, and then work with them on how best to make the vision a reality. If you can come out of those meetings with a process your team can get behind 100%, it's a win-win, hands down. 2. Ensure You Have the Right Tech Stack Let's say you've already defined your primary objectives, and have given structure to the overall sales process. All the documentation is set, and your team is onboard with your game plan. Now the challenge is to make sure that your tech stack supports your vision. The size, scope, and nature of your business should inform the kind of tech stack you have — as should the makeup of your sales team, and your recently defined goals. Companies in the SMB space often use CRM platforms like Salesforce, HubSpot, or Pipedrive (to name a few). The exact features and subscription plan(s) you'll need will depend on the intricacy of your sales process. Just as an example, imagine that you want your sales team to manage automated drip campaigns as part of their lead nurturing duties. You'd need to make sure that your CRM system offers email templates, the ability to set up automated email sequences, and a way to effectively segment prospects according to shared characteristics like funnel stage, company size, geographical location, and so on. Along with a robust CRM platform that meets all of your sales team's needs, you also want strong reporting built into the process. KPIs and other metrics can provide you with a helpful "snapshot" of your sales process' current status. Reports can also help you to identify bottlenecks in the pipeline, and even determine which reps could use some extra training. 3. Work, Review, Discuss, Iterate Okay, you have your process in place. You have the right tech stack to support your goals. What's the next step? Simple: it's time to work the plan. Working the plan is often that secret ingredient that separates a good sales team from a great one. Just stop for a moment and think about all the ways that a cohesive plan will enhance the effectiveness of your reps:
Of course, as you and your team work the plan, you'll inevitably identify opportunities for growth. So make sure to periodically examine the data you receive. Hold intentional meetings where you ask your reps for their feedback, and then discuss possible solutions. Don't be afraid to iterate your sales process — the next version may be at least a little better than the current one! True, it will take time and effort to develop and implement a more organized approach. But if you follow the three tips discussed above, your team will be more scalable, more focused, and ultimately more successful. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources. This book was a great collaboration with my friend Thomas Young. Together we spent about a year and half brainstorming, collaborating, bringing thoughts together, and capturing best practices related to sales and marketing. I invite you to download the book and give it a read if you are looking for ways to align your sales and marketing organization. And please reach out if you'd like to learn more or just have a conversation. Thank you - Karl Becker  Break down silos, get unstuck and succeed as a team! A practical sales and marketing management guide for small to medium enterprises.
In an evolving business world, previous sales and marketing practices no longer produce the outcomes they once did. The traditional model of siloed sales and marketing departments don’t either. Companies who can’t keep up risk falling behind. In Sales and Marketing Alignment, Karl Becker and Thomas Young draw on over fifty years of combined experience to help companies unite their teams to drive results. With a series of actionable steps, you will learn to bring strategies, processes and people together to multiply your marketing reach and maximize your sales.  Not too long ago, I was having a conversation with one of my clients about the classes his daughter should take in college. She had just graduated from high school, and the client had just come from her graduation ceremony earlier in the week.
As we were talking about her electives, the client remarked that if he had the chance to go through college all over again, he would have taken Spanish and classes on cultures and religions. That remark really piqued my interest, so I asked him why he said that. He replied that over the years he's discovered how important it is to understand others. Find out where they are coming from. This is especially important as a business owner, and someone who directly communicates with leads and clients on a daily basis. Put another way: it's vital to make a connection, and really understand people. Thinking back on his remarks, I couldn't help but frame his insight in the context of sales. If it's important for business owners in general to understand their customers, how much more critical is it for salespeople who may interact with scores of prospects every day? Help Your Lead Experience Value The fact is, successful sales is all about helping the lead experience value from your product or service. But they can’t experience value if you don't understand where they're coming from. What problems are they trying to solve? And (perhaps most importantly) why do they want to choose your solution? The reality is, they want to improve. They need to see how your solution helps them do that. Sales requires a high level of empathy and understanding. When combined with adequate research, it can often result in a win, meaning that the salesperson is right for the lead and right for your business. With that in mind, I thought of four key questions that you could ask yourself when evaluating how well you're able to understand your clients: 1. "Do I intentionally take the time to go deeper?" Understanding doesn't happen by chance. There has to be a certain level of intentionality in place for someone to achieve a deep comprehension of what drives another person. You'd probably agree with this quote: "No one listens anymore; they just wait their turn to speak." I know I've seen the truth of that statement from my years of experience in the consulting sector. It's a trend that's become more and more pronounced over the years. But it's one you have to combat if you want to gain valuable insight into a client's thoughts and feelings. I like this question because it's a good starting point for some self-reflection. If we don't go into an intake meeting or even a coaching session with the resolve to truly listen and learn, then our relationships could easily stagnate. 2. "Do I ask more questions than I make statements?" Question #1 is largely about our mindset. This question provides us with a barometer with which to measure our success at proactively working to understand others: namely, our speech. It's often been said that the reason we have two ears and one mouth is because we should do twice as much listening as speaking. How are you measuring up in that regard? Granted, talking about ourselves, our company, and our solutions is often our "comfort zone" when meeting with clients. The problem is that such an approach isn't really focused on the customer's needs -- it's focused on what we think the customer needs. In contrast, asking a lot of meaningful questions is the key to understanding what the client wants, needs, and expects from the relationship. 3. "Am I inviting?" This is a big one. Having the right mindset and asking the right questions are both helpful tools in terms of understanding your clients... but what about literally inviting them to share their perspectives? When you sincerely invite someone to explain where they're coming from, your desire to understand them is no longer implied but is apparent to everyone. In the sales context, here are some examples of invitations that you can (and that I highly recommend you do) extend to your clients:
The point is, you want to really be curious (without being meddlesome) about what makes the client tick. It doesn't matter whether you are on a phone call, a Zoom call, at a conference, a networking event, a trade show booth, or in a face-to-face meeting. Stay in the present. Be mindful of what is actually being said, rather than mentally moving on to the next point you want to make. When you invite the client to share their perspective, be sincere about it. As a salesperson, it's true that you typically have your own agenda, and you have "boxes" on your list that must be checked off. However, you'll get a lot further with your clients if you set aside the agenda, put down the to-do list, and immerse yourself in their viewpoint for a while. 4. "Do I practice being present with the people I interact with?" Finally, it's good to periodically take stock of your mindset and performance during interactions with clients (and with everyone else, for that matter). Are you listening to respond, or listening to understand? Do you focus on furthering your own argument, or on discerning why the other person is reasoning as they are? Are your interactions just items on your checklist, or are they opportunities for discovery and even joy? In summary, it's true that sales is often a "bottom-line business." The attitude is: either you hit your quota or you don't. But what a lot of salespeople seem to miss is the value of understanding in achieving those tangible goals. When you come into a meeting with an open mind, ask more questions than you make statements, literally invite the other person to share their perspective, and stay within the moment, then you're much more likely to win over the business and the hearts of your leads and clients. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources. Karl Becker joined us for the 25th episode of Sales Gambit. Karl is a sales performance consultant, sales coach, author, and speaker who is working on a mission to improve sales organizations. In today’s episode of Sales Gambit, we are joined by Karl Becker. Karl has over 20 years of experience in the selling industry and runs a sales training firm of his own. He excels at selling high-value solutions to defined target audiences through an innovative and process-based sales methodology. He works with the vision of helping the sales team improve their sales performance.
Today, Karl joined us to talk about “How to Improve your Sales Team’s Performance?” We discuss:
 It's been said that "the most reliable way to predict the future is to create it." We could apply that to countless aspects of life. But let's focus on improving sales performance for the moment with a vital sales success tip. Wouldn't it be nice if you could not only visualize the ideal outcome for an upcoming sales meeting, client call, or coaching session, but actually work backwards to trace the steps needed to make that outcome a reality?
Well, the good news is: You can. And all it takes is a relatively straightforward exercise we call the "look back." What Is the "Look Back" Exercise? The "look back" exercise has been called different things by people in different fields. For instance, in chess it's known as "retrograde analysis." Others refer to it as "inversion," or "backtracing." Whatever you want to call it, the point of the exercise is, first of all, to see yourself in the future. Visualize yourself in the event or experience that you are planning. Then, work backwards from that future point to make sure the "current" you positions yourself for success when the time arrives. "Look back" exercises enable participants to clearly identify what they need to do in the present to prepare for future wins. As an added bonus, you can do your "look back" with your sales team, or by yourself! In fact, it may be helpful to train your team on the basics of this exercise. Try it during your next sales meeting! Then, encourage each one to use it as a self-coaching tool. Why Is It important? The "look back" exercise is a critical sales success tip because it helps you connect the present with the future in a coherent, intentional way. It can remind you that a successful outcome several weeks down the road is really the result of progressive, deliberate actions taken today, tomorrow, and each day thereafter. Put another way, a "look back" session helps you to develop a workable game plan for creating the future you want. How Does It Work? In the context of sales, a "look back" exercise can be used in several ways. Again, it is inseparably connected with visualization. You're seeing the best version of your future self in that meeting, in that coaching session, or on that sales call. So the two big questions that you must answer within an effective "look back" exercise are:
As you can tell, "look back" exercises can get very deep, very fast. In the sales industry, here are two common real-world scenarios in which a "look back" may prove extremely beneficial: 1. Sales managers preparing for team meetings. If you're a sales manager preparing for an upcoming team meeting, there are a ton of different factors to consider during your "look back" session besides the basic meeting agenda. For one thing, you want to give attention to how your team members perceive you. Do you want to be seen as a coach? Are you someone who is really understanding and approachable? What outcomes would you like to see? Upon reflection, you may see the need to spend more time with certain team members in the present, so as to get them in the right mindset when the meeting day arrives. 2. Sales reps preparing for client meetings. Conducting a personal "look back" exercise can be a great preparation tool for any sales rep with a big client meeting on the horizon. Think about the kind of experience you want the client to enjoy. Do you want to position yourself as a fun, engaging guide who's ready to contribute to the client's success? Will you be able to back up your proposed solutions with hard data? What would success look like for the client? Now is the best time to anticipate questions and concerns that may come up during the conference. As a result, you can outline effective ways to address each one. And if you find yourself hitting a wall, it may be a good idea to bounce your ideas off your coach. You could even do a "practice run" ahead of time. Who Should Use "Look Back" Exercises? The short answer? Anyone who wants to be a change agent and create high-impact meetings. Of course, in the sales world this definitely includes team managers who want to achieve optimal outcomes from their meetings. It also includes customer-facing reps who want to take advantage of each interaction with prospects to help them progress through the sales funnel. "Look back" exercises can be performed on an individual basis, or as a group. In either scenario, they are great ways to create intentionality by focusing on the desired outcome, and then mapping back to the present to start taking the required steps. It can be all too easy to go through professional life hopeful of positive outcomes. However, we're often unsure of how to influence them. "Look back" exercises are invaluable because they cut through much of the uncertainty. Use a "look back" in preparation for your next meeting. As a result, you're proactively thinking about what you can do in the present moment to make the future moment a success. In other words: You're doing more than just predicting the future. You're creating it. And when it comes to improving sales performance, either individually or as a team, it's hard to top that! If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources. Here's a quick video of our recent two day conference designed to empower managers to be the best they can be. The conference, Leadership Brilliance, is held three times a year in Colorado. Click here if you'd like to learn more or register for the next conference.
 One of the biggest challenges that a business organization may face is finding an effective way to achieve marketing and sales alignment. Obviously, both departments are important to the company's overall success. In fact, you could think of them as the two wings of a bird. Without either one functioning properly, there's no way your organization will be able to "fly," much less soar.
The issue is that these two teams are often at loggerheads with each other. Marketing is upset that sales isn't sticking to their message. Sales is upset that marketing isn't giving them properly qualified leads. And so on and so on. You get the idea. Marketing and sales alignment is non-existent. Even when the two departments are at peace with each other, there may still be a lack of alignment between them. Strategies and objectives may differ. And there may be a deeply ingrained "silo mentality" within both teams. With all that in mind, how do you achieve marketing and sales alignment? How about this proposal: why not have someone oversee both marketing and sales on a macroscopic level? This person could bring everything together by developing and implementing a unified strategy. Their role defines primary revenue goals and KPIs, and ensures that both teams are in lockstep with the plan. Let's discuss how marketing and sales perform different functions within an organization. And we'll address why appointing a leader to head up both departments may be a winning play. The Role of Marketing Go back to the traditional paradigm of the "sales funnel." Marketing definitely owns the top of that funnel, and at least some of the middle. Of course, your marketing team's first goal is to generate favorable exposure for your brand. This typically involves all the high-level tactics and acronyms that are so popular today (SEO, PPC, SEM, and so forth). However, marketers are also interested in educating and conditioning prospects before handing them over to sales. Think of it this way. If you're walking into a meeting with a prospect you've never met, and know nothing about, how comfortable would you feel? But what if a colleague prepped you for the meeting? They might describe what the prospect is like. They may tell you what they're interested in, what pain points they're dealing with, and the solutions they're considering? You'd feel a lot more confident going into the meeting, right? In the same way, marketing's role is to educate prospects before they're introduced to sales. Marketers should give prospects an idea of what they can expect throughout the sales process. How does the company's product or service can address their pain points? Of course, a well-aligned marketing department will also give the sales team the info they need to successfully close the deal. The Role of Sales Once the MQL has turned into an SQL, it's time for the sales team to take over. Their job is to interact with the qualified lead, answer questions in detail, and help the prospect make a well-informed decision as to whether your product or service is right for them. They may have a stake in the middle-of-funnel "evaluation" stage. And they definitely own the bottom-of-funnel "decision" stage of the buyer's journey. In some cases, your sales reps may also serve as account managers, especially if your customers have a long lifetime value (LTV). Regardless, your sales team is focused on forging strong, ongoing relationships with clients, and proposing in-depth solutions for each one's particular needs. Of course, they also want to close the sale in a way that's mutually beneficial for both parties. If you frame the roles of these two departments in baseball terms, marketing is like your starting pitcher. And your sales team is your closer. The problem arises when they're both trying to be on the mound at the same time. And this is where having both departments answer to one person starts making a lot of sense. Where the VP of Revenue Fits Into the Picture t's true that marketing and sales usually operate independently of one another. However, there are a ton of areas in which their activities could overlap. For instance, what conditions determine when a lead transitions from marketing-qualified to sales-qualified? How in-depth should a marketer go into a product's features before introducing a sales rep to the prospect? Who should determine the company's UVP (unique value proposition) for a major service offering? Without a centralized authority figure in place, it can be extremely difficult for both departments to get on the same page. In contrast, appointing someone to whom both the director of marketing and the director of sales must report to -- the title could be VP of Revenue or Director of Revenue, just as a couple of suggestions -- can be a huge help in building an integrated team. We include "revenue" in the proposed title because the point of this position would really be to avoid trapped revenue in the funnel. When you have marketing and sales alignment in terms of strategies, tactics, reporting, accountability, and assigned tasks, the ultimate effect is a smooth experience for the customer. There won't be any more friction points that send a lead flying out of the funnel, or messaging inconsistencies that lead to "closed lost" situations. Instead, your company will become a lean, mean, revenue-generating engine. Final Thoughts on Marketing and Sales Alignment To sum up: marketing and sales each have distinct roles within the overall sales process. There may be challenges to alignment. However, appointing someone who's responsible for both departments is one excellent option for getting (and keeping) everyone on the same page. Whatever you call the person (Director of Revenue, VP of Revenue, or just Director of Marketing & Sales), you can expect them to look at revenue holistically. In addition, they can make sure that the entire buyer's journey is a smooth progression through the sales funnel, and work with directors and team leaders to address any bottlenecks they identify. If you're looking for ways to improve your organization's sales performance, and alignment between marketing and sales is a key issue that needs to be addressed, seriously consider implementing this solution. You may find it's the best way to integrate both teams into a unified whole. If you'd like more insights on how you can improve your sales leadership, contact us. Or sign up for our newsletter for more valuable resources. |
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