“Lash, We have just had another resignation! We are going to implode!” a long time client lamented. I pride myself on the long-term success of my clients.
I was fortunate as I had detailed knowledge of the sales process as this was the core of the original turnaround!Working from home, the inability to set up appointments and a CRM process that had not evolved with the business, had led to frustration and demotivation of the sales team.
We quickly got to work and went back to basics. We unpacked the whole sales process this resulted inreallocated roles;
· who was responsible for lead generation
· Lead qualification (what criteria are used),
· Qualified lead development
· Proposal documentation
· Closing Procedures.
· Order Fulfilment,
and· finally after sales service.
The changes made in the lead generation process resulted in,
· Redesigned territories (we no longer needed staff in the same geographical region as the client).
· A focus on customer segmentation (this allowed us to focus staff based on industry segment)
This further necessitated other process changes,
1. an increase in support staff to free the sales staff to sell.
2. streamlining of the non-essential information that had crept into the CRM,
3. An adjusted incentive program.
This led to reversal of the staff exodus, within 6 weeks since of the changes being implemented a revitalised sales pipeline and increased year in year sales were achieved.
One of the biggest challenges was cultural, how the business celebrated success, motivated the team, and how the team members supported each other through informal networks.
We spent many hours working out, what culture we would like drive, how we were going to implement it and this flowed into the revised incentive structure.
What CULTURAL changes have you had to make to your sales process in a remote working environment to keep teams motivated?