If I asked you to identify your sales team, who would you point to? I’m guessing you’d start with those staff who have ‘Sales’ as part of their job titles, but is that where you’d stop?
What about your secret sales force, the one that may be hiding in plain sight?
Cutting out the boring bits
The traditional sales process can be laborious. Purchasing contact lists, cold calling, lead generation, follow-up calls. Every now and then you celebrate getting a foot in the door. Only then can you start to think about closing a sale.
What if you could cut out the boring bits?
What if you could start the process with not one but two feet already firmly inside the door?
That’s where your customer-facing consulting and technical staff come in.
- It’s a well-known truism that it’s easier to sell to an existing client than a new prospect.
- Your consultants and techies already have the relationships, and presumably the trust, of your clients.
- They are also perfectly placed to see issues – perhaps before the client is even aware of them – and formulate ideas about the solutions you could offer.
All that’s needed is the foresight and will to turn those issues into sales opportunities. For some this will come naturally – in which case they are probably already doing it. For others it might require a change of mindset, perhaps supported and encouraged by training and incentives.
Next time you think about how best to motivate and reward your sales staff, take a step back and make sure you've included the entire team.
Acknowledgement: This article was inspired by Australian firm Carpe Diem Consulting's blogs: 3 ways to involve your Techies in the buyer's journey. and How "revenue ready" are your techies?
