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The 6 Worst Decisions Sales Leaders Make
“With every mistake and failure, not only mine, but
of those around me, I learned what not to do.”
Mark Cuban
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When the decision is made at the top, the collateral
damage is MULTIPLIED!
Bad decisions can cause your
company to miss the number.
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Here are 6 of the worst decisions we’ve seen
senior sales leaders make
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Bad Decision #1 -Failure to Map the Buyer’s Journey
Again and again, we encounter sales leaders who are
certain they know their customers.
Only problem is, the customer is
changing
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Today’s buyers are educated.They have the power.
They do research online and are less inclined to agree to a F2F meeting.
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Without researching how your customers
make a purchase decision, your sales force
will be MISALIGNED.
They sell one way – your Buyers prefer to
buy differently.
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Bad Decision #2 Too Much Love for the Legacy Sales Organization
The senior sales leader knows and loves the current sales
model.
Sometimes he grew up on it.Maybe he designed it.
Either way, it works, right?
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Many times, comfort with the current
sales force structure hurts the senior sales
leader.
Legacy sales forces are often based on “feet on the street”
This model is incredibly expensive.
Headcount, benefits, car packages, travel –
all cost a fortune.
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The result….
Your average sales price (ASP) must be higher.
You have to charge more to achieve the desired profit margin.
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Bad Decision #3Ignoring Content Marketing
Content means blogs, whitepapers, webinars,
slideshares, tweets, eBooks, podcasts, etc.
Content “sells” your product before your
Buyer meets with your rep.
Don’t let the first time a Buyer hears about you be from your rep.
Give them a chance by engaging your Buyers virtually early in the
process
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Bad Decision #4Let’s Buy Some New Technology!
We all like shiny new things.
However, don’t buy new technology before figuring out how
to enable it.
You will only end up with an expensive system that acts as a
frustration multiplier.
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To prevent the frustration multiplier, follow these steps:
1. Build a process.2. Choose a technology3. Find the right people to manage
it.4. Create compelling content for it
(see Bad Decision #3)
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Bad Decision #5My Gut Tells Me Who
To Hire
Why entrust your success or failure to the
“gut-feel” of your managers?
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“Sales has too long been an art. It is perhaps the last bastion of aimless, gut-feel decision making in the the business world.”
Topgrading For Sales – Greg Alexander
Start upgrading your talent immediately by implementing the Topgrading hiring process today!
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Bad Decision #6The Selling Starts When My Rep Walks In
20 years ago, Sellers had all of the power because they had all of the information.
The Buyer’s feeling of being in control was an
illusion.
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The internet has flipped the balance of power FOREVER!
Research shows that 57% of the Buyer’s purchase decisionis made without a sales rep present.
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World class companies understand the virtual world is the new sales and marketing battleground.
Why??
Because that’s where Buyers are going for
information.
When they go there, they need to run into
YOU.
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Need Help?
Download this Buyer’s Exercise
to understand YOUR Buyer’s journey
GOOD LUCK!
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Learn More
If you don’t have a content management process or need help optimizing your current one, Contact us to hear the rest of the story...
Email - [email protected] - 1-888-556-7338Web: http://www.salesbenchmarkindex.com
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