As most VPs of Sales and Chief Revenue Officers know, the mortality rate of those who take on ownership of meeting an organization’s top line revenue is quite high. The job security of a VP of Sales is often determined by whether they made the number for the last quarter.
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The summer has a reputation among those in the B2B sales world as being a time of massive slowdown. Inside sales and business development representatives get discouraged at the low sales numbers and frustrated when trying to reach leads that seem to be perpetually on vacation. Morale begins to suffer and people end up wasting time in the office.
Encouraging your B2B sales team to keep pressing forward through the summer months can help keep the company in the black and help ensure that everyone hits the ground running when fall arrives. Here are some fantastic and fun ways to keep your sales team successful throughout the summer.
Since you know that the sales slump is likely to occur during the summer months, use the time leading up to the slow months to build momentum with some fun contests. Learn what matters most to your sales team, such as a new iPad, an extra vacation day, or other type of fun prize. Then invite people to participate in a fun contest that challenges them to keep their numbers high. Some fun ideas for contests might be:
Some teams might also find success if they assign a particular number of points to different tasks, such as 20 points for a new client, 15 points for a demo and 5 points for a new qualified lead, and having contests to see what team can obtain the most points in a month.
Sometimes, despite the most exciting contests a supervisor can imagine, the office is still slow. Even the most motivated salespeople cannot sell to customers who are on vacation. To keep the office engaged and enthusiastic about their jobs, there a few ideas you can use to help people relax and have fun while also moving towards sales success.
Recognize hard work by celebrating even small successes, such as closing a big deal or the newbie making their first sale. Have a small party so everyone can celebrate and feel reinvigorated.
There are a variety of fantastic sales movies that can be used for inspiration or just some laughs such as The Boiler Room, The Pursuit of Happyness, The Goods - Live Hard, Sell Hard and Glengarry Glen Ross. Consider screening one occasionally over lunch breaks.
Pass the time when business is slow by doing some fun role-plays or breaking down past sales. Look for what went wrong, what went right and what sales teams can learn. It is a great way to practice skills even when not speaking with customers
The summer slump is commonly acknowledged in sales circles as people struggle to find clients through the slow, hot months. To keep your sales team motivated and engaged, you have to be creative, but with proper preparation, it is entirely possible. If you find yourself staring down the approaching summer with dread, consider implementing some of the above ideas and keep your team moving forward towards the more productive autumn.
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A recent study unveiled by business-to-business research and advisory firm SiriusDecisions, found that for more than 50% of all buying scenarios, human sales interactions occurred during all phases of the buying process. In complex scenarios, sales rep involvement begins during the education phase of the buying cycle.
SiriusDecisions recently unveiled the findings from its 2015 B-to-B Buyer Study during a keynote address at its 10th Annual SiriusDecisions Summit.
The SiriusDecisions B-to-B Buying Study identifies the three stages of the buying process as Education, Solution, and Selection. It was commonly believed that 67% of the business process occurred without sales rep involvement. That is, customers would conduct research via the internet and social media prior to engaging a sales rep.
According to the report, B2B buyers interact with human sales reps in every stage of the business cycle.”
Another finding that should not be overlooked, “buyers interact with a sales representative from the winning provider organization in all phases of their decision-making process.”
"We found that buyers interact with representatives during every stage of the decision-making process at least half the time, and that the type of decision – or buying scenario – greatly impacted the number and types of interactions," said Jennifer Ross, Senior Research Director, SiriusDecisions. "Just because buying behavior is done digitally does not mean that sales representatives are no longer required to instigate or facilitate a buying process.”
A phone call is a great way to exchange information between a buyer and a seller. It is easy to do, does not cost much, and can jumpstart the buying process. Inside sales reps should not be shy about contacting prospective buyers as early in the sales process as possible.
Sales dialing automation makes the telephone process even easier and more cost-effective.
Other blogs on this topic that may be of interest:
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ConnectLeader Click Dialer is a new click to call dialing app being launched as part of the ConnectLeader for Salesforce V2 upgrade. The app, which can be downloaded from the ConnectLeader AppExchange listing (for Salesforce Professional Edition & higher), now provides B2B sales teams with three sales acceleration solutions to boost their sales productivity. With the introduction of Click Dialer, Connectleader expands the range of dialing speeds available for B2B sales reps, increasing sales dialing productivity over manual dialing from 30% to 800%.
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