You know exactly how important a strong sales department is to the success of your business. But just developing those areas isn\u2019t enough to maximize growth. If you\u2019re neglecting your sales infrastructure, it could hold you back from real growth \u2013 and put all your efforts to waste.<\/p>\n
These are the fundamentals that, if done right, will allow your business to scale and thrive for the future.<\/p>\n
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Let\u2019s start by getting detailed about what exactly your sales infrastructure consists of. If the entirety of your current sales plan entails asking your salespeople to sell as many<\/strong> products or services as possible, you don\u2019t have a sales infrastructure.<\/p>\n A sales infrastructure is the framework that supports all of your sales\u00a0efforts. Building a robust sales infrastructure ensures your company is supporting your sales and marketing people from the lead generation process right through<\/strong> to the final sale and beyond.<\/p>\n In addition, a sales infrastructure makes sure your sales process<\/a> is as consistent, frictionless, and works as efficiently as possible. And it helps your business scale \u2013 with growth now and over the years as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your sales infrastructure has four components, and each one is important to the health of your sales organization.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your sales team<\/a> is the foundation of your success. Ensuring your employees are carefully selected, thoughtfully trained, and highly motivated (we’ll talk about this below) puts you on the road to success.<\/p>\n And having the right sales staff isn\u2019t enough \u2013 you also need the right<\/strong> sales leadership<\/a> in place to motivate your teams and develop a strong strategic and collective vision for the future.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have a thoughtful and comprehensive sales strategy in place? This strategy has several elements. Goals for the sales department are important but asking them to make as many sales as possible isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n All of these components are required to align to your company\u2019s selling strategy.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Are your sales processes organized and clear to your sales team?<\/p>\n For example, do you have a <\/strong>process<\/b> in place for evaluating leads<\/strong><\/a> and converting them to opportunities and walking them down a defined path to a sale, or is your team losing leads and getting deals \u201cstuck\u201d in their pipeline that never close?<\/p>\n If your processes are in place and regularly reviewed, your sales infrastructure and process will enable a more effective sales department.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n An unglamorous but essential part of your sales infrastructure, your kpi’s, your technology and tools all play a key part in your success. If your technology is out of date or you\u2019re lacking the tools to clearly sort and track leads and sales, your team will soon fall behind.<\/p>\n In addition, regularly assessing if your technology is giving your sales team the support<\/strong> they need to do their jobs efficiently is an important step. You need the metrics, KPIs, and scorecards<\/a> to ensure your sales organization is staying on track too.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It’s critical to take the time to answer the tough questions above to assess the health of your current sales process.<\/p>\n But once you\u2019ve done that, how do you begin building a strong sales infrastructure?<\/strong><\/p>\n The goals of a strong sales infrastructure can be distilled into three areas:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you don\u2019t have regular and thoughtful processes in place to review what\u2019s working well on your sales team and what isn\u2019t, how can you improve? Without a system in place to evaluate and review progress,<\/strong> nobody will know how to proceed when it comes time to make a change.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Similar to improving things that aren\u2019t working as well as they should, it’s important to review processes and data to find out what is<\/em> actually successful.<\/p>\n Maybe one of your sales reps has a much higher close rate than the rest of their teammates \u2013 what makes their approach different? If you\u2019re holding regular reviews and check-ins, you might find something one individual or team is doing that can be applied<\/strong> to the rest of the team or department, and in the end it could raise sales across the board. Regular team meetings are a great vehicle to facilitate idea-sharing!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When your sales reps are left to their own devices without any training or regular check-ins, performance can suffer. A rep who has the potential to excel but lacks the right resources and doesn\u2019t get timely feedback will get frustrated and search for better opportunities elsewhere. And that turnover hits your bottom line, both in hiring costs and the loss of institutional knowledge.<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the biggest takeaways from learning about sales infrastructure is that there are steps needed at both the individual and organizational level.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A strong sales infrastructure starts with organizational processes and clarity. Companies that define and implement a clear sales process regularly outperform companies<\/a> that don\u2019t.<\/p>\n What to reach for is that your organization as a whole becomes clear on<\/strong>:<\/p>\n When this happens, everyone will be in a much better position. This kind of clarity provides motivation for your individual employees.<\/strong> It also serves as a framework to thoughtfully evaluate the overall health and vision of your company. And of course, it sets you up to bring in record sales.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It\u2019s no secret that employees who understand how they\u2019re contributing to the larger goals<\/strong> of their company are more motivated to succeed. That\u2019s just how human nature works.<\/p>\n But a strong sales infrastructure offers more than motivation. It also offers accountability<\/a> for sales reps and marketing personnel. Without a process for training (or coaching<\/a>) and regular feedback, team members can struggle and soon feel less a part of something greater. If they\u2019re stuck with inefficient processes \u2013 starting from scratch for each new lead, not knowing what kinds of sales prospects they should be targeting \u2013 your sales will suffer, and morale will decline.<\/p>\n By contrast, with a thoughtful sales infrastructure in place, your employees will feel supported<\/strong> and clear on their (and your) goals<\/a>. They will know what they\u2019re supposed to do, and the most effective way to accomplish each goal. And they\u2019ll get regular feedback about their achievement status.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sales infrastructure doesn\u2019t sound like the area you should be focusing on immediately as a business leader. However, lacking a well-defined one (that could be the missing piece in your business strategy) might be stunting your long-term company growth.<\/p>\n Have you noticed a slower sales closing rate than expected, or your sales force seems disorganized or demotivated? Take a look at your sales infrastructure and you might find some surprising revelations.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n You\u2019ve got a lot on your plate as a business owner. So, to expedite meeting and exceeding your sales goals, it might be time to call in reinforcements.<\/p>\n If you need an expert guide to review your sales process and infrastructure, 360 Consulting is here to help. We work with companies from small to large in all B2B industries. Schedule your free consultation here<\/a>\u00a0to find out how we help sales teams break sales records.<\/p>\n <\/p>\nThe Building Blocks of Sales Infrastructure <\/strong><\/h2>\n
People<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Strategy<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Process<\/strong><\/h3>\n
KPI’s, Technology and Tools <\/strong><\/h3>\n
The Goals of a Strong Sales Infrastructure<\/strong><\/h2>\n
1. Continuous improvement.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
2. Optimizing your processes.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
3. Reducing sales staff turnover.<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Focus on Your People and Your Organization<\/strong><\/h2>\n
For the organization<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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For your individual employees<\/strong><\/h3>\n
Supporting Your Sales and Your Strategy<\/strong><\/h2>\n
We Can Help Improve Your Sales Infrastructure<\/h2>\n