Sales operations groups often struggle with the internal perception that they are a tactical support organization. Some have even reported being characterized as “a bunch of hands to do the grunt work” so that salespeople and managers can focus on selling. And more often than any of us would care to admit, these types of perceptions and characterizations have been…well…pretty accurate.
But at SellingBrew, we’re seeing a quiet shift taking place…
More and more sales operations teams are acknowledging the need to become more strategic. They’re recognizing the huge “green field” opportunities that exist in their businesses. And, they’re realizing that they’re in a unique position to act on these opportunities, contribute a lot more value to their organizations, and change their own fortunes in the process.
Some of these “next level” sales ops teams are tackling customer retention to stave-off the huge costs of defection and attrition. Others are transforming their CRM systems into a sort of “GPS” that can actually guide salespeople in closing better deals. And still others are mining existing books-of-business to identify high-probability account penetration and expansion opportunities.
Now, these sales ops groups weren’t given a mandate to become more strategic. No one in upper management issued a directive for them to execute these more strategic initiatives. They just did it. They saw the possibilities and took action. And as a result, they’re being recognized for their “heads” as well as their “hands.”
To learn more about strategic sales operations, what other companies are doing, and what’s really possible, check-out these SellingBrew Playbook resources:
- Training Replay: Exploring the Sales Ops Center of Excellence
- Interview: Inside a Sales Operations Group On a Mission
- Training Replay: Driving Sales Effectiveness with Strategic CRM
- Tutorial: Building a Sales Ops Center of Excellence
- Training Replay: Taking Your Sales Operation to the Next Level
Of course, a sales operations group can’t change what it’s doing overnight. It takes time to identify the most meaningful areas to focus on, explore the possible solutions, solicit the necessary support, and drive the initiatives forward.
But the first and most important step is actually making the decision to become more strategic—and that’s something that can happen overnight.
