In the Driving Consistent Sales Execution training session, we explore how to turn our best intentions into consistent, effective action in the field. We cover practical ways to make adoption easier, embed effective guidance into workflows, and rig the whole playing field so that good behaviors happen naturally. Along the way, we also try to reinforce a key concept that too many Sales Ops teams forget…
That consistent sales execution isn’t actually the goal. Consistent execution is the byproduct of something much bigger and more important. And if we lose sight of that larger “something,” all the process maps, stage gates, and reminders in the world won’t get us where we really need to go.
It’s surprisingly easy for Sales Ops teams to slip into a mindset where the process itself becomes the point. We design a process, deploy it through our CRM systems, train the sales team, and so on. Then, it’s only natural…and appropriate…that we’d begin measuring adoption, utilization, and compliance. But before long, we can find ourselves celebrating compliance metrics rather than sales results!
We have to remember that the real purpose of any sales process is to capture and codify what works in our unique environment…the best practices, the winning plays, the proven steps that lead to successful deals…and make those things more repeatable and scalable.
In essence, our sales process is a knowledge-transfer mechanism. It’s a way of distilling the instincts and behaviors of our best salespeople into something the rest of the team can use. The point isn’t to reign in the top performers or get them in line; it’s to help everyone else get closer to their level of effectiveness by doing the right things, at the right times, and in the right ways.
The top performers will usually succeed no matter what process we put in front of them. They already do the right things instinctively and intuitively, which is why they’re our top performers in the first place. But beyond the top performers, there’s this big, messy, inconsistent middle. And that’s where process has the greatest leverage.
A solid sales process gives sellers in the “Meaty Middle” an effective roadmap to follow so they’re not trying to reinvent the wheel with every opportunity or figure everything out on their own through costly trial and error. A sound sales process replaces luck, personal style, and inherent skill and intuition with something a whole lot more reliable, repeatable, and transferable.
At least that’s what it’s supposed to do…
Unfortunately, too many organizations are treating the sales process as a compliance exercise rather than a performance tool. They spend more time tightening controls, adding steps and required fields, and policing deviations than then spend examining whether the process itself actually deserves a high level of compliance.
After all, adherence to any process really only matters when the process itself is actually effective. As we emphasize in the session, sloppy execution of a great process will always outperform flawless execution of a terrible one. So before we push harder for more compliance, we need to make sure what we’re asking people to adhere to is genuinely effective.
That means building the process around evidence and proven best practices. It means distilling and refining it until we’re confident that following the process will consistently lead to better results. It means listening to the field when they tell us something doesn’t work or doesn’t make sense, and first viewing non-compliance as a diagnostic signal that something might be missing or misaligned.
It means asking better questions…
How did we arrive at the current process? Where did it come from? Which steps are really necessary and which can go? Do these playbooks make our average salespeople more effective? How do we know? Do these stages really align to our buyers’ decision-making processes? Does our sales process reflect what actually works in our marketplace? Would our top sellers being doing any of these things on their own? Would they tell a newbie rep to do these things in order to be more successful? How much more effective is a rep who follows the process?
The point is that when we remember why the process exists in the first place, it not only shapes how we design and implement it, it also lowers the hurdle for adoption and utilization.
When sales reps see that the process does indeed help them close more deals and waste less time, guess what? They’ll adopt it without much arm-twisting. When sales managers see that the process does indeed boost Meaty Middle performance, guess what? They’ll reinforce the process without a lot of cajoling.
Simply put, when we build a process that deserves to be followed, adoption, utilization, compliance, and consistency all happen somewhat naturally.
Driving Consistent Sales Execution
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Sales Process Improvement
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