How can we ensure our internal Environment enables our selling activities

Over the last couple of weeks we have posted on what we at Accredit Ltd call the three key internal components of sales success - Message, Environment and Resources.

This week we will focus on Environment.

In essence what we are talking about here are the internal environmental issues that lead to sales success - Process, Motivation and Support/Culture. Is it easy for our sales force to sell and our customers to buy our products and solutions? Are our sales people motivated to sell our portfolio and is the culture supportive of great selling habits?


Is it easy to sell what we sell?

This is a key question because it addresses the needs of the seller and the buyer. What we mean by this is that if our internal processes are aligned to ensuring that selling and buying are "easy" then we are likely to sell more and have more satisfied customers. For example if you sell a fairly complex or technical solution you probably need your salespeople to have access to very competent, expert project managers or technical specialists that can support the sales guys through the selling process. If you make it hard for sales to get access to the technical guys then it makes it harder for them to sell and harder for customers to get their technical concerns addressed. If the order handling process is complex or fragmented then the same applies - difficulty for sales and customers instead of ease and smooth professionalism.


Are our sales people motivated to sell our portfolio?
This is not just about payplan and bonus which is, of course, vital to get right when designing a sales remuneration package for a particular campaign, product portfolio or annual sales plan. What is just as important as money in our view are the "softer" motivational issues such as are related to the "ease" of selling we discussed above. If we make it too hard, sales people will be turned off. All of us in sales want it to be as easy as possible to sell; if it is not and we can find another way of earning our bonus then we will be drawn to what is easy.


What is our support culture?

Another 'soft" motivator that is absolutely vital and is something we have blogged about many times over the past year is sales management - how are we managed, led, coached. Is it mostly stick and little carrot? Do we feel happy in what we are doing? Do we feel valued? Are we regularly coached? Are we helped in finding solutions to problems when we are struggling to find answers and to do our best?

Having an internal environment where sales people feel valued is vital, where they can rely on processes and systems to help make the sales "easy". Easy does not mean easy in terms of being allowed to give away discounts; it is more about how the processes enable the order handling, contract signing, service handling etc. to run effectively for both the internal stakeholders and of course your customers.

We asked a sales support team recently what one word describes your organisational culture at present - their answer was damning. "Dictatorial"

This is a very successful major corporate sales team with a history of achievement. The last 2 years have been difficult (just like it has for many companies and sales teams). Culturally when the going gets tough this organisation has fallen into the trap of what we call "blamestorming" - in other words let's point the finger and demand change and improvement in the way a dictator would. The language is typical of organisations in panic mode - "The sales force need more training on products, they are not selling enough, it must be a lack of training". "These sales guys are rubbish" is the sort of thing we have heard over the past few weeks.

As the saying goes "when the going gets tough, the tough get going". In our view that does not mean shouting and pointing fingers. A culturally mature, level headed sales organisation has a leadership focus on understanding why things are not going so well, recognising the issues, thinking through some potential solutions and then executing and measuring the most appropriate solutions. Being "dictatorial" and demanding instant change, more training, more reporting etc. does not solve anything.

Reviewing sales activity and understanding what is going on before leaping into "solutions" is the mature, culturally grown up way of moving forward.

Three things to think about
So our recommendation is whether times are good or bad regularly look at how your selling environment is working.

1. Make it easy to sell. Align processes and systems to enabling selling so that all internal resources and your customers can easily understand what is happening, what is on offer, what will happen next and when service will be delivered.
2. Make sure your sales force is motivated. Motivation is about money for sure but it is also about support systems, enabling the whole selling process to work smoothly and having systems that work for the sales teams.
3. Make your culture one of support and growth. In good times selling seems easy. When times are tough that is when we find out if our support systems for our people and our culture is strong enough to get us through.

An effective message and a sales-oriented environment are just the bedrock

If we get the basics right we remove the excuses, next we will examine the pointy end of the sales organisation; your people.

Be prepared to ask for help

If you are not happy with your approach to your Environment feel free to contact Accredit. We can give you quick feedback just by placing a comment on this blog, or we can work with you to ensure you are best placed to start drive the activities that will help you be successful.

Do you want to know more?

Either read our "Helping business drive sales" document or contact either Mark Savinson or Fred Nelson and let Accredit help enable your sales organisation to maximise the opportunities your product set creates.