How do you sell more effectively and efficiently?
Research data shows that 57% of all sales organisations are not prepared for a recession. Although leadership may have experienced prior recession drills, the sales landscape shifted drastically. Especially since the last downturn, due to the abundance of digital tools and analytics.
So, how can you leverage the two to open new go-to-market approaches and thrive through this period? There are three sales principles that we see making an impact to many of our clients:
1: Align people to opportunity When markets change rapidly, the return on cost of sales starts to flatten. S&OP tends to get rusted in place, and when markets move quickly, the return on cost of sales inevitably starts to flatten. High-performing commercial leaders align their capacity with opportunities in the market.
2: Details of daily execution Improving on daily operations like administrative tasks, streamlining the number of people who attend pitches, putting controls on discounting and limiting leakages add up to signifiant wins.
3: Organise the back of the house This may involve automating account management, raising the game in pricing, or mining the customer base for cross-selling opportunities. At a minimum, you should cut on activities that have the weakest link to customer demand and the lowest return on investment.
However, if you want to win, your company should combine internal improvements with external efforts.
