Top companies typically have sales reps with much higher average deal size and larger revenues per rep than the industry norm. It comes as no surprise then that these companies typically invest larger amounts in external training for their sales reps, as evidenced in this recent poll conducted by Aberdeen Group:

 

“Cutting training programs puts your sales force at an extreme disadvantage and will directly effect revenues. A recession may be the worst time to cut these programs,” commented Colleen Honan, SVP of Global Sales at OneSource.

The constantly evolving online world mandates the constant training of sales reps. Without regular training and exposure to new techniques and trends, a sales force will fall behind and the entire firm will have to bear the consequences.

“I view sales training as I would any other form of training.  If you want to get better, you need to challenge yourself and leverage the best techniques available.  As an organization we conduct internal training to continue to reinforce and enhance our team’s sales skills, but we find it very beneficial to bring in outside training consultants when we are looking to have a more impactful session and provide more than a refresher,” said James Cabral, VP of Sales North America at OneSource.

Economic Challenges No Surprise, But Lead Quality Trumps Lead Quantity

What is pressuring sales leaders, and what actions are they taking in response?

Economic challenges and the increased knowledge of the competitive landscape were the top two pressures identified in the report—by 47% and 44% of respondents, respectively.

While the economic landscape is beyond the control of sales leaders, preparing reps for successful discussions with better informed prospects is a major focus for successful executives.  According to the survey, the emphasis on effectively overcoming budget objections and addressing cost-benefit concerns is a contributor to sales effectiveness–enabling reps to focus on fit and competitive advantage.

Three in four respondents—across the board—cite improvement of lead quality in the sales pipeline as their primary strategic action in response to economic and competitive pressures. With just over half of respondents citing it, database segmentation and analysis to identify profitable customers was the second most common action item designed to increase sales effectiveness.

Sales Leaders Cite Lengthening Cycles as Key Concern More Often Than Peers

One in four (27% of survey respondents) cited lengthening sales cycles as a primary business challenge; but nearly half (46%) of “best-in-class” organizations indicated this as a top-three pressure.

Why are these top flight organizations more concerned about longer sales cycles than their peers? The data suggest that these companies are proactively identifying a major drag to revenue generation and developing strategies—including the use of sales intelligence—better preparing reps and aligning their messaging with the business challenges of their prospects. These activities reduce the “getting to know you” phase of discussions, enabling sales reps to work the opportunity more effectively at converting prospects in a compressed sales cycle.

What Common Characteristics Are Hallmarks of Top Performers?

Three common characteristics mark best-in-class performers:

• 72% currently have a process for tracking prospect engagement
• 64% have a centralized repository of marketing and product information
• 51% currently have executive-level support for the use of third-party information providers within sales

Other Performance Keys

The report identified other critical considerations in driving sales effectiveness, including: consistent, repeatable prospect management and sales processes, attention to data management issues (e.g. centralizing information, unifying customer information) and the incorporation of sales intelligence–critical company and competitive insights—as part of the sales process.

Download a full copy of the report…

*Aberdeen’s criteria for “best-in-class” included year-over-year improvements in:

• Lead conversion rates
• Percentage of reps achieving quota
• Sales cycle time
• Time spent researching relevant company/contact information