Do you believe that hiring more salespeople will fix the gaps you have in your sales organization? In this video, Mark Allen Roberts helps you consider if you need more salespeople or just the right people in the right roles.
In this interview, Pat Altvater, founder of the Elite Expert Network and Soar to Success magazine, interviews Mark Allen Roberts to discover his thoughts about the effect of the pandemic on sales and his prediction of what things will be like in the future for sales reps. Tune in for his insights
In the complex and often unpredictable sales landscape, differentiating between a realistic sales pipeline and an elusive pipedream is essential. Understanding these contrasting concepts and mastering their nuances can enable sales professionals to maximize productivity, streamline strategies, and enhance results. This comprehensive article dissects these concepts, explain their implications, and illuminate the road toward more productive and strategic sales ventures.
Understanding the Sales Pipeline and Pipedream
The Sales Pipeline: An Operational Lifeline
The sales pipeline is a vital strategic tool, functioning as a visual snapshot of where prospects are in the sales process. It serves as the backbone of sales operations, offering a comprehensive view of pending sales and facilitating reliable revenue forecasts based on the likelihood of deal closures. A robust, well-maintained pipeline is the cornerstone of predictable and stable revenue.
The Pipedream: A Mirage in the Sales Desert
In contrast, a pipedream in sales signifies a deal that, despite its enticing allure, is unlikely to come to fruition. It often stems from overly optimistic assumptions and can lead sales professionals into the trap of investing resources into opportunities that offer little to no return. Sales leaders mistakenly share the information in their sales pipeline with their CFO, and that data is used for the senior leaders and shareholders. If your team has a pipedream and not a sales pipeline, it is just a matter of time for you to feel significant friction as we close 2023.
Delineating the Difference
The distinction between a sales pipeline and a pipedream hinge on the principles of reality and feasibility. While a sales pipeline represents tangible progress of leads through the sales cycle, a pipedream rests on fragile hope for sales prospects that may never materialize. Unfortunately, more than 50% of salespeople are not trained in selling skills. As a result, they are often overly optimistic and need help distinguishing between genuine buyer interest and put-offs.
The Impact of Supply Chain Constraints on Sales
Supply chain constraints have provoked a unique response from buyers. Anticipating shortages and delays, many have begun to over-order, hoping to ensure their required quota is met. Though born out of necessity, such practices can lead to inflated sales pipeline figures.
This inflation of sales orders can distort the perception of a company’s sales potential, creating a mirage of a booming business that, upon closer examination, is based on uncertain and potentially unfulfillable orders.
The Shift to Smaller and Less Frequent Orders
As the dust settles, a new trend is taking shape – smaller and less frequent orders are becoming the norm. Though this shift could be construed as an economic warning sign, it’s not necessarily indicative of a recession on the horizon.
Instead, this trend reflects strategic inventory management practices spearheaded by CFOs. As businesses work through excess stock, order frequency has decreased, leading many optimistic sales pipelines to morph into doubtful pipedreams.
Sales Pipelines vs. Pipedreams: Unmasking the Current Realities
The Balloon of False Hope
In the present climate of excess inventory and dampened demand, many once-promising sales pipelines are inflating into balloons of false hope. The perceived sales potential from extra orders may be merely pipedreams as demand dwindles.
The Imperative of Pipeline Auditing
Considering these revelations, the importance of auditing sales pipelines has never been more pronounced. Companies must meticulously qualify each order to discern opportunities from pipedreams and update their forecasts.
I have all my clients auditing their pipelines now, and one client discovered approximately $2 million in products they planned to ship in 2023 would not send. The impact of such a large order and profits from that order trickling to our bottom line is enormous. This team felt they had plenty of orders and an operations plan to deliver the revenue and make their sales plan promised to their investors. Luckily, we have several months to implement a revenue acquisition plan with current, inactive, and targeted new customers. The sales motions this account must accomplish now are much different than their plans just 30 days ago.
Identifying a Pipedream: The BANT Method
The BANT method – a well-regarded acronym for Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline – is an incredibly effective qualifying strategy employed by sales professionals worldwide. It’s longevity and widespread adoption is a testament to its effectiveness, aiding sellers in evaluating the potential of prospects quickly and comprehensively. Using this method, sales representatives can efficiently gauge a prospect’s financial capacity, role within their organization, business needs, and the expected timeframe for implementation.
The BANT methodology is easy to remember but requires a nuanced understanding to apply effectively. Here’s how you can leverage each criterion:
Budget
Understanding a prospect’s budget enables sales professionals to gauge if a candidate can afford the solution. The probability of converting that lead into a sale is low if the funding is insufficient. Probing questions like “Have you allocated a budget for this purchase?” can help ascertain this.
Authority
Does the prospect hold the decision-making power? If not, sales representatives must navigate their way to the key decision-makers. Without their buy-in, the deal is unlikely to materialize. You might ask, “Who else, apart from you, will be involved in making the final decision?”
Need
The most critical component of the BANT method is identifying the need. The offered product or service must fulfill an immediate requirement or solve a problem for the prospect. Sales reps should delve into the prospect’s business pain points and demonstrate how their offering addresses those issues.
Timeline
A prospect may have the budget, authority, and need for your product. Still, if they’re not planning to implement a solution shortly, it could signify a low-priority project that gets delayed or shelved. Establishing the prospect’s expected timeline can help manage expectations and sales forecasts.
Using BANT to Spot Pipedreams
Using the BANT method, recognizing a pipedream from a viable lead is significantly easier. If a prospect cannot satisfactorily respond to the BANT questions, the chances are that the information is a pipedream. The candidate might have expressed interest, but the lead will likely prove fruitless without the budget, decision-making authority, a clear need, or a feasible timeline. Redirecting resources away from these unlikely prospects to more viable leads can optimize productivity and increase sales.
The Bigger Picture: BANT and Sales Strategy
Understanding the implications of the BANT method is critical. It’s not just about distinguishing a promising lead from a pipedream; it’s about formulating effective sales strategies. By focusing on tips that meet the BANT criteria, sales representatives can concentrate their efforts on the most lucrative prospects, leading to improved conversion rates and increased sales..
Remember, the BANT method is about more than disqualifying leads hastily. It’s a strategic tool to understand where a prospect is in their buying journey and how your offering aligns with their needs. It facilitates a deeper understanding of your prospects, leading to more meaningful conversations, better customer relationships, and improved sales outcomes.
Conclusion
In the challenging sales arena, distinguishing between a healthy sales pipeline and an elusive pipedream is crucial. This discernment enables sales professionals to identify and qualify viable opportunities and avoid the pitfalls of unfruitful pursuits. Implementing systematic pipeline audits using the BANT method can ensure sales efforts are well-targeted and effective, steering your sales team clear from pipedreams and toward the promise of tangible, achievable sales.
Do you have a sales pipeline or a sales pipedream?
Do your salespeople understand the difference between buying signals and put-offs?
Do your sales leaders understand how to coach salespeople and help them move sales through their pipeline?
We suggest every sales team conduct a pipeline audit immediately. In this uncertain and volatile economic time, sales teams must know the sales they can count on in their pipelines and the new sales they will need by year-end to achieve the goal. We must avoid discovering mis November; we have a pipedream and not a pipeline. Teams must adapt now. Adapting often includes sales training in skills like discovery, qualifying opportunities and handling objections.
Let’s schedule a call if you would value help to audit your sales pipeline or to improve your sales teams’ effectiveness.
If you just discovered a shortfall in your sales plan and need to adjust your plan, we can help.
Developing a strategy without customer insights is malpractice. In today’s competitive business landscape, having a deep understanding of your customers is the foundation for sustained growth and success. With a clear comprehension of customer behaviors, needs, criteria, and expectations, businesses can better tailor their offerings and strategies, satisfy customers, and drive profits. Think about how much your business has changed since the pandemic. We must clearly understand how our customer’s businesses have changed too and help them solve the challenges and problems they face today. This article delves into the nuances of conducting effective customer research, the limitations of relying solely on surveys, the potential of Voice of Customer (VoC) interviews, and the art of transforming these insights into actionable, growth-driving strategies.
The Limitations of “Surveys Slapping” Your Customers
One frequent approach in customer research is the widespread use of surveys, or, as critics argue, “survey slapping.” The term refers to the propensity of businesses to flood their customers with an avalanche of surveys to gather as much data as possible. This method, however, has severe limitations. Surveys tend to confirm and validate existing assumptions and hypotheses by their design rather than unveil new, transformative insights. They’re akin to a rear-view mirror, reflecting what you already know, instead of a telescope, that allows you to explore the unknown and anticipate the future. Another challenge is the response rate ( often meager) and how much thought went into quickly completing a survey compared to having a phone interview.
The Essentials of a Good Survey
To be fair, surveys are not entirely devoid of value. If designed appropriately, they can offer valuable quantitative data. The key is to start with a clear objective and a defined target audience. Questions should resonate with this audience and be simple, clear, and straightforward. A survey that feels like a taxing exam or a winding maze can lead to early dropouts or distorted responses. Just to remind you, the goal is to make the process smooth and unintrusive for the respondent.
The Power of Voice of Customer Interviews
As I share in my popular eBook on leveraging the voice of customer interviews, Voice of Customer (VoC) interviews are a treasure trove of insights waiting to be discovered. They delve deeper into customer perspectives, unlike surveys which often scratch only the surface. Let’s explore the immense potential and the best practices of VoC interviews.
What Is Voice of Customer Interviews?
VoC interviews refer to the process of engaging customers in one-on-one conversations to gain an understanding of their experiences, needs, preferences, and pain points. These interactions could occur in person, over the phone, or through video conferencing. They allow businesses to move beyond the typical yes-or-no responses of a survey and explore the ‘why’ behind customer behavior. This article will share the insights you will gain and how to leverage these insights to drive explosive growth.
Project Kick-off
The question design stage in our process is so critical. We design open-ended questions that enable the interviewees to share their thoughts and expand deeper on key topics. We also want the results to be statically significant. Some of the questions we will ask your team include: How many active customers do you have? How many unique product or service divisions do you have? How many inactive clients do you have? How many contacts do you have with each customer? Once we have your data, we will share the number of interviews we need to complete to make our results statically significant.
Benefits of Interviewing Customers
VoC interviews provide several advantages that other research methods may lack:
Depth of Information
Interviewing customers provides a depth of information that is hard to match. These conversations can reveal why customers make certain choices, underlying motivations, and emotional responses – aspects often missed by other research methods.
Flexibility
An interview is an interactive conversation, allowing the interviewer to ask follow-up questions based on the customer’s responses. This level of flexibility enables businesses to probe deeper into issues or ask for clarifications, leading to more valuable insights.
Discover Unexpected Insights
Surveys and other research tools often require knowing what you’re looking for. VoC interviews, on the other hand, are open-ended and can uncover unexpected insights that can prove pivotal for your business. In one case, we interviewed the customers of one of our metal manufacture and assembly companies. In the interview, one of their top three customers shared they were not happy the salesperson did not quote a recent RFQ. We asked more questions about the work, and the job was well within our client’s capabilities. We wondered if it would be ok if the CEO called her back, and she agreed. That short call turned into a $600,000 order. The salesperson was correct. They had never done a job like this, but the salesperson needed help understanding that the customers’ needs were well within the manufacturer’s capabilities.
Discover Key Customers Preparing to Defect
When we design our questions to gather the insights your leadership team needs, we also weave in customer satisfaction and net promotor score questions. We often are provided a list of customers by sales declining so we can deliver insights by key tiers of customers, A, B, and C accounts. We were helping a vast machine shop in one project and discovered that one of their top 3 customers was preparing to defect. In the interview, the decision maker shared their concerns and that they have already started moving a sizeable chunk of business to another machine shop. Our team is trained to communicate quickly with clients when we hear something like this. To the credit of the CEO and VP of sales, they contacted the account, flew to their location within 48 hours, and worked out the client’s issues. Not only did they save the business, they were introduced to another company’s division, and the machine shop’s volume with this client grew by over 40%. The time to save unhappy customers is before they defect.
Discover The Language of the Customer
Each call is recorded and transcribed unless the customer is in a region where this is not permissible. We capture the words and phrases customers use and how they describe problems. Often the language the client uses and searches for differs from the language manufacturers and service providers operate. One client had an innovative technology that mitigated odors in the air in industrial applications like wastewater treatment plants, breweries, and several odors-producing farming applications. As we interviewed clients in industrial processing and wastewater, the customers kept using “nuisance odor.” This was not a term on our websites, ad words, or campaigns. We added nuisance odors to our website, wrote blogs about mitigating nuisance odors, and web traffic increased significantly in 60 days. That minor change helped a large wastewater odor mitigation project in the Netherlands find our company, which became the largest installation to date.
Discover New Problems That Turn into Successful New Products
Markets and customers change all the time. When we conduct voice-of-customer interviews, we are listening for unresolved problems. When one of our trained interviewers discovers an unresolved issue, we capture as much detail as possible about the problem and the requirements of a product to solve this problem. We share the information with product management and marketing when we discover unmet needs and requirements. These insights often turn into successful new products and services.
Discover New Markets for Existing Products
Our team contacts and interviews your clients. We often find new clients in new markets using a current product in new ways. We focus on speaking with end-users and clearly understand their use case. We often discover new markets that value our existing products and services.
Discover Needed Process Improvements and Training Needs
Our questions on customer satisfaction often result in lengthy discussions we did not anticipate when a customer is unhappy. Rarely is the product or price concern, but the main issues are how the customer was served and the skill level of the person doing them. Voice of customer research provides excellent insights into dated and broken processes and much-needed product and skills training.
Discover Why You Did Not Win a Large Order
As a separate service, we provide loss mitigation and win-loss analysis. However, why customers buy and why they don’t often bubbles to the surface when we speak with them. The CRM entry read: “Customer went with cheaper alternative product from our competitor.” However, when we interviewed the decisionmaker, we learned price was third on why they did not buy from my client. The main reason they did not believe was they felt my client’s salesperson did not clearly understand the problem and therefore did not trust the solution they recommended. Second, the salesperson took over ten days to send the quote when the competitor provided a quote the next day.
In another project, we called the largest customer for our client. They sent many tasks to our client to quote, but their close rate was under 20%. Our client’s CEO wanted to know how to increase their close rate to 50% or more. What we discovered were two insights. First, the client said no cleaning certification documents were provided in the quotes. Second, my client’s competitors were quoting in 48 hours, and my client’s average quote turnaround was 15 days. The shame was my client was cleaning the parts before shipment but was unaware of a needed document in the quote. When my client provided the documents and quotes in 24 hours, their close rate jumped to over 60%
Discover Your Share of Wallet at Large Key Accounts
One question CEOs and business owners often want to ask is our share of the buyer’s wallet. In other words, do we have over 70% of the volume in a particular category or 10%? When we ask salespeople, we often hear we spend most of the dollars on a specific product category. However, when we interview your large clients, the number typically is between 20% and 35%. Just imagine how your sales and marketing strategy might change if you thought you had a 60% share of wallets but discovered after the voice of customer research you had 23%.
Best Practices for Conducting Voice of Customer Interviews
While the benefits of VoC interviews are evident, their effectiveness depends on your approach. Here are some best practices to consider:
Prepare but be Open
Before the interview, prepare a guide or a list of topics to cover. However, remain flexible during the interview to explore exciting points brought up by the customer.
Use Open-Ended Questions
Open-ended questions allow customers to express their thoughts freely rather than restricting them to predefined options.
Create a Comfortable Environment
Encourage honest feedback by assuring customers that their responses will be used to improve their experience and that there are no right or wrong answers.
Listen Actively
Pay close attention to the customer’s words, as well as their tone and non-verbal cues. Try to understand their emotions and the reasons behind their feedback.
Do Not Have Sales Conduct Voc Interviews
Salespeople should be selling. Your salesperson is the worst person to conduct Voc interviews. First, they have a relationship with the customer, and the customer may be less than 100% truthful for fear of damaging the relationship. Second is bias; the salesperson has preconceived notions about the customer and their business and will detract from gaining insights. Third, if there are issues with the salesperson’s skills or service level impacting customer satisfaction, will the salesperson report them to you? And last, salespeople sell. If a salesperson conducts Voc work and hears a problem, they jump into sales mode. Once this occurs, the customer being interviewed feels this is some trick and stops sharing the insights you are hungry for.
Gather All Data and Determine Five to Ten Key Actionable Insights.
Although the interviews often have unique conversations, we must answer the key questions our clients want and need to build their strategy. After completing the interviews, we compile all the data and look for five to ten actionable insights. We develop an executive brief and share what we learned and the actionable insights discovered. We collaborate with our clients, provide recommendations based on the data, and help them develop an action plan. Our plan reviews the understanding, what we plan to do, who will do it, and when.
Act on the Insights Discovered
You just invested with our team to interview and understand your current customers’ level of satisfaction and your net promotor score, and we gathered answers to the questions you wanted to improve your strategic plans. Now we must act on those insights. Often, we prepare a customer-facing document for our clients, thanking them, sharing what we learned, and sharing our plans to work on the information we shared. This process will deliver the ROI that many of our clients experience of 10X to 50X their investment. We provide consulting and coaching to help the action plans have key thrusts with smart goals and often train and coach the team members executing them.
Understanding and Improving Customer Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction measures how well a product or service experience meets or exceeds customer expectations. One of the most widely used metrics for gauging this is the Net Promoter Score (NPS). NPS measures the willingness of customers to recommend a company’s products or services to others.
A critical determinant of NPS is the overall customer experience, so businesses must enhance the quality of their offerings, the efficiency of their customer service, and the entirety of the customer journey. One of the leading influencers of your NPS score is your company culture, as I shared in my book: Driving Explosive Growth.
Strategies to boost customer satisfaction and NPS can include:
If we find a meager score, we assess the all-team members who are customer-facing and then deliver training to improve their skills. This ensures the customers receive the best overall service experience possible.
Adapting to Customer Evolution and Future Challenges
Businesses are not static entities—they evolve, pivot, and adapt. The same is true for their customers. Businesses must understand their “share of wallet”—the proportion of a customer’s total spending captured by a particular business, as discussed above. Once we have this data, we develop key account growth plans to capture a more significant share of purchase dollars.
In this era of rapid change and uncertainty, businesses must also be adept at identifying and addressing new customer challenges. This requires staying updated on market trends, technological advancements, and consumer behavior and preferences shifts. Several of our clients ask we conduct Voc interviews many times yearly to compare the results and identify trends.
Transforming Insights into Growth Strategies
Developing your strategy to grow your business without customer insights is malpractice. You need current customer feedback to take an inward-facing approach to strategy development. Our strategic plan will only suit your teams’ existing customer and market knowledge. Teams often share their “gut and intuition,” not customer-specific data. Customer insights can be a potent fuel for growth, provided they are translated into actionable strategies. Businesses should analyze their customer research findings to identify growth opportunities. This might involve launching new products or services, revamping customer service strategies, training customer-facing teams, or changing marketing tactics.
Successfully implemented, these strategies can result in substantial growth in revenue and profits. However, this necessitates a willingness to truly listen to your customers, adapt to their changing needs, and occasionally take calculated risks.
Conclusion
In conclusion, effective customer research is far from a mere administrative chore. It is a fundamental pillar that underpins a successful growth strategy. By understanding customers better and allowing these insights to shape their strategies, businesses can enhance customer satisfaction, navigate market changes, and achieve remarkable profit growth.
Start harnessing the power of customer insights today, and let your business ride the wave of growth tomorrow.
Let’s go ahead and schedule a to discuss gathering customer insights from your current customers and how to reengage with inactive customers to drive explosive growth in revenue, profits, and shareholder value.
I recently delivered a presentation at a Private Equity firm’s conference for its portfolio companies, and one topic everyone wanted to discuss was Sales and AI. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has emerged as a game-changer across various industries, modifying established processes, fostering efficiency, and spearheading innovation. AI’s imprint is progressively prominent within the sales landscape, redefining conventional sales models and methods. Is AI used in common sales activities the silver bullet some teams think, or is it another tool to improve sales effectiveness?
Understanding AI and Gen AI
Before diving deeper into AI’s role in sales, it is essential to differentiate between AI and General AI (Gen AI). The AI that permeates our lives and businesses today is specialized or narrow. It is designed to perform specific tasks, such as providing customer support via chatbots or predicting sales trends using complex algorithms. I recently spoke with someone who described AI as a junior assistant or college intern that can perform many tasks and gather and review large amounts of information for you to turn into actionable insights.
On the other hand, Gen AI, also known as Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), is a theoretical concept that currently needs to be fully realized. It refers to highly autonomous systems capable of outperforming humans in most economically valuable work, not limited to specific tasks but adaptable across a broad range of activities. While our current focus is narrow AI, the potential emergence of Gen AI carries profound implications for the future of sales and numerous other sectors, much like a trained virtual assistant identifying your ideal prospects, contacting them, and booking meetings for you. It can also answer common questions you train it to answer. For sales managers, it will review your data and make suggested next steps with your salespeople and customers.
Sales and AI: A Symbiotic Evolution
On average, salespeople spend less than 20% of their sellable time selling today. AI will take sales activities and tasks to improve sales effectiveness, opening up more selling time for salespeople. Sales teams are increasingly adopting AI to streamline their operations and drive growth. For instance, an AI tool could automate repetitive tasks like sending follow-up emails to potential clients. This automation allows sales representatives to focus their efforts on strategic tasks that add more value.
In addition, AI algorithms can sift through vast amounts of past sales data to identify patterns and predict future trends. With such predictive capabilities, sales teams can proactively strategize, prepare, and position themselves advantageously.
As I shared at the recent conference, we do not want salespeople being librarians looking through mountains of data we want them to sell. Ai tools can review your ERP transaction data and deliver actionable insights and specific task recommendations for each salesperson, customer, and prospective customer.
Outcomes and Benefits of AI in Sales
AI’s increasing role in sales opens up new horizons for business operations and customer engagement. It’s an exciting time for sales teams, as AI brings multiple benefits ranging from increased efficiency and precision to the ability to predict customer behaviors.
One of the most significant benefits of AI in sales is its remarkable efficiency enhancement. AI-powered tools can perform manual and repetitive tasks, like sending follow-up emails, data entry, and lead generation, much faster and more accurately than human counterparts.
The often-quoted statistic is that the average salesperson only spends 20% of their time selling, and these mundane tasks consume the rest of their time. AI takes over these activities, freeing salespeople to focus on what they do best, engaging in customer conversations and closing deals.
Moreover, AI in sales leads to smarter customer targeting. AI’s advanced predictive analytics capabilities can examine past sales patterns, customers’ online behavior, and other factors to pinpoint potential leads. Armed with these insights, sales teams can then focus their efforts on high-probability prospects, reducing wasted time on unlikely leads and improving overall conversion rates.
Some tools offer a predictive receptivity score based on each prospect’s profile, online activity, and comments made on social platforms. This tool lists hundreds of ideal prospects and ranks them based on a receptivity score to your message helping sales teams spend more time with prospects who likely want and need to engage.
Beyond mere efficiency, AI can help create a more personalized customer experience. By processing massive amounts of data, AI can generate comprehensive insights into customer behaviors, preferences, and needs, allowing sales representatives to tailor their approach to each customer. A sales pitch that resonates with the customer’s unique needs and interests will likely be more engaging and successful.
Some AI sales tools also predict the contact’s personality based on the person’s online profile, how they interact online, and the word choice and tone they consistently use. Is your prospect a high D, driven wanting bullet points, or a High I wanting a much longer conversation? Or is your ideal prospect a High S or C, and you will need to lead with data? AI can deliver insights resulting in more time selling and improved sales effectiveness.
Furthermore, implementing AI in sales can lead to significant cost reductions. Automation means less time spent on each task, lowering labor costs. Enhanced decision-making, facilitated by AI’s ability to process and analyze vast amounts of data, can also decrease costs associated with human error.
To sum up, the integration of AI in sales processes delivers a host of tangible benefits. It makes operations more efficient, improves the targeting of leads, enables a more personalized customer experience, and ultimately reduces costs. Adopting AI in sales is more than just a trend—it’s an impactful shift towards smarter, more efficient sales processes.
What are some of the current AI Sales Platforms?
Clari: Provides AI-driven insights for sales forecasting, pipeline management, and deal execution. It helps answer the question: Are you leaving revenue on the table?
Chorus: Offers conversation analytics to help sales teams understand customer interactions and improve call quality. It helps salespeople make every conversation count.
Insidesales.com Utilizes AI for predictive analytics to prioritize leads.
People.ai : uses AI to capture and analyze sales activities.
Spiro: AI-powered CRM that helps salespeople activity tracking lead management and opportunity prioritization. They focus on manufacturers.
Gong.io: turn customer conversations into strategic insights. Helps sales teams improve customer communication and deal strategies.
Seismic: AI-empowered content management and sales enablement solutions delivering relevant content to prospects.
X.ai: Focused on understanding the universe. Watch for more updates.
Outreach.ia: Sales Engagement and revenue intelligence.
Salesforce Einstein: Gen AI for CRM, insights, recommendations, and automation for sales processes and motions.
The above are just a few new AI tools, and many more are being launched daily to improve sales effectiveness and ultimately increase revenue at higher margins.
I remember when CRMs were introduced into the market, and they were to be the sales silver bullet. However, many teams do not have CRMs today, and for those that do, very few use them to their full potential. So why will AI and sales be any different?
Potential Risks and Considerations with AI
Despite the extensive benefits, AI integration in sales is not risk-free. Overreliance on technology can expose sales teams to vulnerabilities during tech failures or cyber-attacks. Additionally, data privacy is a critical concern. As AI systems manage massive amounts of data, there’s a heightened risk of data breaches or misuse of customer information.
To mitigate these risks, sales teams should implement robust data security measures. A balanced approach to AI adoption, where human involvement remains central to the process, can help prevent overdependence on technology.
I suggest a human still review the information and content accuracy to avoid AI Hallucination. AI Hallucination is when the AI tool provides false information or information that does not apply.
We can also foresee intellectual property concerns and possible litigation. There are AI tools today to check your content to ensure it has not been plagiarised and this tool can even change your content to different adult reading levels.
Best Practices in Integrating AI into Sales
Some practices can significantly improve the chances of success when adopting AI in sales. Importantly, regularly updating and training AI systems with new data helps to enhance their accuracy and effectiveness. These systems improve with each new piece of information, learning from data and progressively refining their operations.
Sales teams must also strive to balance AI and human interactions. As I shared in my new book: Driving Explosive Growth: A No Smoke and Mirrors Approach to Profitably Growing Your Business https://a.co/d/0BNNFGZ, human-to-human sales skills will become a key differentiator in the future. While AI can handle automation and provide valuable insights, the human touch remains critical for building relationships and managing complex or sensitive client interactions.
However, sales teams should only rely on AI for some decision-making. Despite AI’s predictive capabilities, it cannot fully account for all variables or replace human intuition. Ethical considerations and adherence to data privacy laws are also non-negotiables, as any breaches can lead to legal issues and irreparable damage to a company’s reputation.
Future Role of Salespersons in an AI-Dominant Environment
Just as 79% of top-producing salespeople use social selling today, and I anticipate the data will show in the future, over 80% of top-producing salespeople will leverage AI sales tools in some capacity. With AI becoming deeply entrenched in sales, the salesperson’s role is evolving. Instead of just disseminating information, salespersons are morphing into trusted advisors, providing counsel to their clients based on comprehensive insights drawn from AI-powered tools.
In the future, successful salespersons will need to augment their skills. They must be capable of interpreting and applying AI-generated insights, necessitating a higher degree of data literacy. Soft skills such as empathy, effective communication, building business relationships, and active listening will become even more crucial, as these are areas where AI cannot replace human interaction.
In conclusion, while AI is set to become an indispensable part of sales, it does not eliminate the need for skilled salespersons. Instead, it provides powerful tools that, when used effectively, can significantly enhance sales performance. To thrive in this evolving landscape, sales teams must strategically embrace AI, comprehend its implications, and adapt their skills and approaches accordingly.
Top-performing salespeople will have strong sales skills in creative problem solving, situational awareness, asking great questions, active listing, empathy, business acumen, and the ability to design and deliver a business case.
Do Your Salespeople Have the Right Skills, Beliefs, and Motivations Today to Thrive in an AI-Dominant Environment?
If you would like to understand the level of your sales team’s skills today and the skills they will need to improve as AI generates more conversations that could lead to revenue, let’s schedule a call. AI may make more conversations, but the salespeople must have the selling skills to create conversations that lead to revenue.
Putting pen to paper and crafting a narrative that resonates with others is a deeply transformative experience. The benefits extend far beyond having a tangible product bearing your name. The journey creates personal growth, nurtures professional development, and offers the opportunity to enhance your personal or business brand. This article provides a detailed account of my journey while writing ‘Driving Explosive Growth’, to shed light on the facets that might guide your decision about writing a book.
One of the most profound outcomes of writing a book is the establishment of expertise in your chosen subject area. The process requires in-depth research, analysis, and thoughtful articulation of concepts, which leads to a comprehensive understanding of the subject matter. Upon completion, the book serves as a concrete testament to your intellectual prowess and industry knowledge. It’s an opportunity to voice your thoughts, contribute to industry conversations, and position yourself as an authority in your field. Customers buy for two reasons: Competence and Trust. Sharing your experience and knowledge in a book helps others know more about you, your process and how you serve others.
Let’s consider a technology consultant penning a book about the impacts of artificial intelligence in modern industries. This endeavor requires an in-depth understanding of both technology and its real-world applications, making the consultant a recognized authority on the subject.
The process of writing a book is an introspective journey. It encourages critical thinking, hones writing skills, and fosters emotional intelligence as you empathize with your readers. The discipline, commitment, and resilience needed to see a book project through to its conclusion can also lead to significant personal growth. Every challenge surmounted and every milestone achieved is a step towards becoming a more resilient and dedicated individual. I want to warn you though, it’s not unusual to suffer with a bit of doubt. Everyone knows this, I don’t need to share it…. When in reality everyone has something, they can teach us all.
From a professional perspective, writing a book can serve as a powerful branding tool. It provides credibility, differentiates you in a crowded marketplace, and introduces new opportunities. It not only fortifies your personal brand but also boosts your business brand by linking it to thought leadership.
For example, an entrepreneur crafting a book about a unique approach to sustainable business practices not only establishes their individual credibility but also positively impacts their business’s reputation and visibility in the market. My book: Driving Explosive Growth for example shares the process I have refined over the past 35 years to help companies scale profitably.
Although not every author will land on the bestseller list, writing a book can contribute to income streams. Directly, the sales of the book provide financial gain. Indirectly, the book can open up opportunities for speaking engagements, consultations, or even spin-offs like online courses, which can significantly contribute to your income.
Writing ‘Driving Explosive Growth: A No Smoke and Mirrors Approach to Profitably Growing Your Business’, a book that illuminates innovative strategies for business growth, was an enlightening journey. The central objective of the book was to equip readers with actionable insights to fuel their business expansion.
The road to completion was filled with challenges. There were moments of writer’s block, feelings of being overwhelmed, and times when the magnitude of the project seemed daunting. But with every challenge came an opportunity for growth. I learned to step away when needed, seek inspiration in various forms, and break down the project into manageable sections, which made the process less overwhelming.
One crucial lesson that stood out was the power of persistence. Writing a book isn’t a quick sprint; it’s more akin to a marathon, demanding steady, consistent effort over time. With each page written and each chapter completed, you inch closer to that glorious moment when you hold the culmination of your thoughts, insights, and expertise in your hands.
Deciding to write a book is akin to embarking on a marathon, not a sprint. It demands significant mental, emotional, and time investments. Thus, it’s crucial to ensure you’re well-prepared for the journey.
Here’s an in-depth self-assessment to guide you through this vital decision-making process. Undertaking this self-assessment can provide valuable insights into your preparedness for the demanding yet rewarding journey of writing a book. It’s a step towards ensuring your venture into the world of authorship is informed, intentional, and ultimately, successful.
Writing a book is a long-term commitment. From ideation to drafting, revising, editing, and finally, publishing – each phase requires dedicated time. Unlike a blog post or an article, a book is a substantial body of work. An important question to ask yourself is: “Do I have the time to commit to this project?” This decision involves evaluating your current commitments, responsibilities, and goals. It’s worth noting that you may need to make some sacrifices, such as leisure time or other projects, to make room for writing.
The only exception is if you have content in blogs, podcasts, or eBooks. If you have content already and wish to turn it into a book is a much quicker process.
While you don’t need to be a Pulitzer-prize winner to write a book, you do need a fundamental understanding of language, grammar, and storytelling. Assess your writing skills critically. Are you confident in your ability to articulate complex ideas simply and engagingly? Can you weave narratives that hold the reader’s interest from start to finish? You may also want to consider investing in writing courses or a writing coach to enhance your skills.
I choose to work with a writer and editor that shaped my content.
Genuine passion for your chosen subject is the fuel that will keep you writing, even when the going gets tough. Your passion is reflected in the depth of your content and your ability to captivate readers. Ask yourself: “Am I deeply interested in this topic? Can I spend months, possibly years, immersed in this subject?” Writing a book on a subject you’re passionate about is not just more enjoyable but also more likely to result in a book that resonates with readers.
For me , helping businesses scale profitably is not just a passion but a ministry of sorts helping business leaders not only double and triple the value of their businesses but teaching them a process to work on their business and not so much in it. This results in more family time, faith time, time with friends.
Understanding your potential audience and market is critical. Who is the book for? Are there enough interested readers to make your book a success? Conduct market research, investigate competitive titles, and engage with your potential readers to understand their interests and needs. Writing a book without understanding your audience can lead to disappointing sales and missed connection opportunities.
Depending on your route to publication – traditional publishing, self-publishing, or hybrid – there may be significant costs involved. These could range from hiring professional editors to cover designers, proofreaders, and marketing. Evaluate your budget and consider if you’re ready for the possible financial investment.
When I wanted to write my book, I was quoted prices as high as $65,000 to $25,000. Some promised my book would be a best seller with their writing and promotion experience.
If you already have a blog, podcast, or other content the cost to produce your book can be much less. You will have some fixed expenses like cover design, editing and time with the writer.
Writing a book is a process that requires both persistence and patience. There will be times of writer’s block, days when the words don’t flow as you’d like, and periods when you might question the whole endeavor. It’s crucial to assess your capacity for resilience. Are you willing to face the ups and downs that come with writing a book?
The process of writing a book is an enriching journey that can position you as an expert in your field, foster personal and professional growth, and amplify your brand. Despite the demanding nature of this project, the rewards can be immense, from personal satisfaction to financial gains.
My journey crafting ‘Driving Explosive Growth: A No Smoke and Mirrors Approach to Profitably Growing Your Business’ was both challenging and rewarding. It allowed me to delve deeply into a subject matter I am passionate about and share that knowledge with others. If you’re considering embarking on a similar journey, I hope that the insights and experiences shared in this article prove useful.
Every book starts with a single word and every author with a single idea. Don’t let the scale of the task overwhelm you. As you contemplate whether to take the plunge, remember that every journey begins with a single step.
If I can help you tell your story, share your gift to serve others, let’s schedule a call.
In the rapidly evolving world of business, external expertise can provide an invaluable lifeline to companies striving to scale and maximize profitability. Depending on the unique requirements and challenges of your business, the solution may lie with a Consultant, Coach, Trainer, or Facilitator. Each of these professionals brings to the table unique strengths tailored to handle distinct areas of your business. However, understanding when and how to engage with each can be a conundrum. This article aims to provide a clear understanding of the roles these professionals play and guide you in making an informed choice.
A Consultant is an external professional who provides expert advice in a specific area such as operations, technology, management, strategy, sales strategy, marketing, or human resources, among others. They draw from their rich knowledge pool and extensive industry experience to solve complex business challenges and offer solutions that propel growth.
Consultants can provide objective, fresh perspectives and innovative solutions that might not be immediately apparent from within the organization. They conduct an extensive analysis, provide detailed action plans, and may even assist with the implementation.
However, it’s essential to remember that a consultant’s role is usually temporary, and project based. While they might help you navigate a complex business situation or overcome a significant hurdle, they usually do not contribute to capacity building within your team or foster long-term capabilities.
A Coach works on a more personal level, acting as a catalyst to drive individual or team performance. They work closely with their clients to understand their strengths, weaknesses, goals, and challenges. They then provide guidance, feedback, and accountability to help individuals or teams improve performance, develop new skills, and reach their potential.
The power of coaching lies in its ability to trigger lasting change and foster personal and professional growth. By focusing on individual or team development, a coach can substantially enhance overall productivity and efficiency within the organization.
However, coaching requires a significant commitment of time and energy from both the coach and the individual or team involved. It’s not a quick-fix solution to pressing business problems but a longer-term strategy for performance improvement and talent development.
A Trainer’s role is centered on skills development. They design and deliver training programs aimed at enhancing specific competencies within your team. Whether it’s technical knowledge, soft skills, or understanding and implementing a new process, a trainer can equip your team with the needed skills.
The effectiveness of a trainer often hinges on their expertise in the subject matter, their ability to engage the audience, and the team’s motivation to learn. If used correctly, a trainer can significantly improve the performance and productivity of your team. However, bear in mind that the impact of training can sometimes be hard to quantify and may not provide an immediate solution to complex strategic issues.
A Facilitator is an expert in guiding group processes. They ensure that meetings, brainstorming sessions, workshops, or team discussions are productive and inclusive. They’re skilled at navigating group dynamics, encouraging participation, managing conflicts, and helping teams reach a consensus.
Facilitators can help you make your team interactions more effective and efficient. They foster an environment where every team member’s input is valued, leading to better decision-making and more inclusive and collaborative team culture.
However, their focus is primarily on the process, not the content. While a facilitator can help ensure smooth processes and effective communication, they generally do not provide advice or solutions related to specific business areas.
Choosing the right professional – Consultant, Coach, Trainer, or Facilitator – necessitates a thorough understanding of your business’s current status and future aspirations. Making the right choice requires a multi-faceted examination of your business. Here’s how to go about it:
Begin by assessing your business’s current challenges. Is your company facing a strategic obstacle that requires expert advice? Or perhaps there’s a lack of essential skills or knowledge within your team hindering your progress. Maybe it’s a case of inefficient meetings and decision-making processes, or a need for individual performance improvement. Identifying the challenges will help point you towards the suitable professional – Consultant, Trainer, Facilitator, or Coach.
What are you aiming to achieve? Do you wish to implement a new strategic initiative, enhance the technical skills of your team, improve team cooperation, or boost individual performance levels? Your objectives will play a critical role in determining the kind of professional expertise your business needs.
The size and industry of your business can also significantly influence the decision. A small startup might benefit more from a Consultant to guide through the initial setup and growth challenges, while a well-established enterprise may need a Facilitator to enhance team collaboration and decision-making effectiveness. Similarly, the industry in which your business operates might require specific expertise – a technology company might need a Trainer to teach new programming skills, while a sales-oriented business might need a Coach to improve sales techniques and boost team performance.
What’s your vision for your business? How do you see your business evolving over the next few years? Your long-term goals can help determine which professional will bring the most value. For instance, if your goal is to rapidly scale your business, a Consultant with expertise in growth strategies might be ideal. Conversely, if your goal is to create a culture of continuous learning and improvement, investing in a Trainer or Coach might be more beneficial.
Lastly, consider your available resources. Each professional comes with their costs, and while they can provide significant value, it’s vital to ensure that their services align with your budgetary considerations. Take into account not only the direct financial costs but also the time and energy your team will need to invest to work effectively with these professionals.
Consultants, Coaches, Trainers, and Facilitators each bring unique value to your business. Understanding the distinctive role each can play is crucial to ensure you harness their expertise effectively to support your business’s growth and profitability.
Making the right choice requires a balance of different considerations, always keeping in mind that the primary aim is to add value to your business and drive it closer to its goals. It’s not about just hiring an expert but about finding the perfect fit for your unique business needs. Doing so will help you make the most of their skills and contributions, driving your business to new heights of success.
Let’s schedule a call if you would like to explore the best person to help your team achive next level results. As a Scaling Up Coach I often help coach teams who want to design a strategy to scale much faster than their industry averages. Often in this process we assess the skills of the sales team to ensure they have the skills to execute the strategy we design. Once we assess the team we often find skills gaps and we deliver sales skills training, a formal sales process, and coaching.
In an era defined by its volatility and uncertainty, with markets fluctuating at an unprecedented pace, strategic planning stands as an indispensable guidepost. As an essential process that paves the way towards actualizing a vision by translating it into comprehensive goals and a sequence of actionable steps, strategic planning goes beyond mere organizational formalities. It’s a vital tool for survival, a roadmap that ensures firms remain on course amidst challenging circumstances.
Amid the waves of uncertainty and change, strategic planning becomes an anchor, grounding businesses and enabling them to ride out the storm. This comprehensive planning process orchestrates a unified vision, primes the organization for upcoming challenges, and ensures efficient resource allocation aligning with the business mission. By threading together organizational objectives and tactics, strategic planning fabricates a coherent, robust pattern that guides the company towards its desired goals.
Economic turbulence and unpredictable circumstances call for a comprehensive strategic plan that goes beyond the norms. The approach requires being diligent, resourceful, and creative. These indicators provide you with real-time feedback, allowing for adjustments to be made along the way. Regular performance reviews should be scheduled to ensure strategies are having the desired impact, with tweaks made where necessary to optimize outcomes. This iterative process ensures your strategic plan stays relevant and effective, even amidst changing circumstances.
Here is an extended exploration of the steps to create a strategic plan:
Situational analysis is the first step in creating a strategic plan, especially in uncertain times. This involves a comprehensive review of the current economic environment, market trends, competition landscape, and potential opportunities and threats that might impact your business. It’s like taking a snapshot of what’s happening in your industry and broader market to identify the forces affecting your business.
An in-depth situational analysis goes beyond surface-level trends, seeking to uncover underlying factors and forces shaping the industry. This includes analyzing customer behavior patterns, technological advancements, global economic trends, and regulatory changes that could significantly impact your business. Recognizing these factors allows you to position your business to capitalize on favorable conditions and minimize the impact of adverse scenarios.
With a clear understanding of the external landscape, shift your attention inwards to the inner workings of your organization. Recognizing your strengths and weaknesses allows you to leverage your core competencies and address areas where your business may be vulnerable.
It’s about objectively assessing your resources, capabilities, processes, and structures to ascertain where you stand. Are your current resources capable of executing your planned strategies? Where are your vulnerabilities? What aspects of your operations are most affected by external changes? These are questions that should guide your introspection. This process might also involve benchmarking against competitors to understand your relative market position.
Informed by your detailed internal and external analysis, the next step is setting realistic goals and objectives. These should be closely tied to your company’s overarching vision and mission.
Your objectives need to be SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. They should provide a clear direction for your team and be framed in a way that allows progress tracking. Whether it’s enhancing operational efficiency, increasing market share, or innovating product lines, each objective should be clearly defined and broken down into actionable tasks.
Once you have set your goals, the next step involves crafting your strategies and tactics – the ‘how’ to your ‘what’. Your strategies should map out the major steps needed to reach your objectives, while the tactics detail the specific actions that will bring your strategies to life.
At this stage, it is essential to consider the resources needed for each action, including staff, materials, technology, and budget. Ensure that the devised strategies and tactics are realistic and align with your available resources. This might involve re-allocating resources or identifying potential partnerships to bolster your strategic initiatives.
Finally, your strategic plan should outline how progress will be measured. Defining key performance indicators (KPIs) allows you to assess how well your strategies are working and make necessary adjustments. These metrics should be linked to your strategic objectives and provide insights into your overall business performance.
Flexibility is an integral part of strategic planning, especially in times of uncertainty. When external conditions shift unpredictably, a rigid strategic plan can prove to be a pitfall. Instead, embracing adaptability allows your business to pivot quickly, seizing opportunities and mitigating risks that arise.
Strategic plans should be treated as living documents, open to evolution and refinement in response to changing market dynamics. This involves being open-minded, willing to challenge assumptions and prepared to make adjustments when necessary. A dynamic approach to strategic planning involves regular plan reviews. By assessing plan performance against set KPIs and considering new market intelligence, you can refine your strategies as needed.
Moreover, fostering a culture of agility and resilience in your organization is vital. This includes embracing innovative thinking, encouraging proactive problem-solving, and cultivating an environment that views change as an opportunity rather than a threat. A flexible mindset at all organizational levels helps drive swift, effective action when the unexpected occurs.
Flexibility in strategic planning is not about constant, aimless change. Instead, it’s about being well-prepared and responsive to external changes, allowing your business to navigate uncertainty while staying on course towards its objectives.
Embarking on the journey of strategic planning amidst uncertain times may seem like navigating through uncharted waters. However, with meticulous analysis, well-defined objectives, and a commitment to flexibility, it’s not only feasible but also vital for guiding your organization towards its goals. Despite economic unpredictability, a well-structured strategic plan acts as a sturdy anchor, keeping your business stable amidst turbulent times, ensuring survival, and laying a sturdy foundation for future success.
By adhering to these strategic planning steps, businesses can transform challenging circumstances into opportunities for growth and improvement. It’s crucial to remember, survival in the business world is not about being the strongest or most intelligent; it’s about being the most adaptable to change. So, arm your organization with the formidable power of strategic planning and consider each change as a steppingstone towards success.
Would you like a strategic plan assessment and tune-up if needed?
Let’s schedule a call to ensure your strategic plan is designed to deliver the results your shareholders expect.
