Changing
sales processes and procedures is relatively straight forward; changing
attitudes and actions of experienced sales reps isn’t. Anyone who has
been involved in managing or directing a sales team knows first-hand the
resistance of reps to change the way they sell, even if the current
efforts aren’t producing positive results.
Regardless
of the change you are hoping to implement, one of the biggest
challenges you are likely to face is getting buy in from your existing
sales team to adopt and implement the skills, processes, and procedures
needed to make the change successful.
There are three keys to
ensuring you achieve that buy in. Careful and thoughtful implementation
of these strategies will not only give you the best chance of bringing
your team on board, but also help you to sustain the early momentum and
success required to make transforming your sales culture possible.
1) Have a Clear Strategy for Rolling Out Your Initiative
It
may seem straight forward to suggest devising a planned rollout
strategy for something as complex and integral as a new sales platform,
but you might be surprised by the lack of planning and cohesion often
involved. A lack of clear strategy can not only sabotage many good
intentioned and much needed changes, it can often introduce more
problems than the change attempts to solve. The first key to giving your
new sales initiative a fighting chance is to carefully plan out each
step in its development and implementation.
Often, the best place
to start is to find ways of enlisting the support, feedback, and ideas
of the very sales people who will be asked to implement the new
strategy. There is a fine line to walk here. The key is to solicit input
from your sales reps by asking them to identify the sales situations
they need help in most, thereby focusing and directing their feedback,
proactively.
In order for sales reps to buy in to any change to
your sales culture, they need to feel like they are a part of its
design, and, more importantly, they need to see how they can benefit
from it. Again, you’d be surprised just how many companies develop a
sweeping new sales platform in the safety and comfort of the senior
management think tank before mandating it down to the reps. It’s no
wonder reps think their best strategy is to hide out and outlast the new
program. And they are right — without their buy in, sooner or later,
it will go away.
The next thing to consider is the development of
your new sales playbook. As it’s developed, it’s easy to become caught
up in the belief that new and improved scripts and sales procedures can
have an immediate positive effect on sales right now! But once again,
careful timing and the enlistment of your reps is key. Their input and
revisions will be crucial to the playbook’s acceptance and
implementation. It’s also important to resist the temptation of passing
new scripts out before they have been thoroughly tested by your managers
or top reps.
The last key to successfully rolling out your new
sales platform is clearing addressing your goals and benchmarks during
the initial rollout – usually the first 90 to 120 days.
The
mistake many companies make is in expecting total buy in and adoption
from the reps right away. Instead, measure and reward gradual adherence
and adoption starting with the first call. Bring the reps along slowly,
and reinforce each success as it comes.
2) Win Key Buy In and Get Champions Involved Early
By
developing a clear rollout strategy for each stage of the new sales
platform, you will be able to better identify and enlist potential
champions early on. The following are key groups and tactics for
securing their buy in:
Front
line managers: The formula is the same as for the reps – enlist their
feedback and input on the key areas of change you have identified and
committed to. Manager feedback can be particularly useful in providing
overviews of the entire sales process and sales cycle.
Top
producers: Your top producers are intimately familiar with the best
practices of closing your particular sale – let them know you realize
that and incorporate their feedback accordingly. Securing their buy in
is crucial to optimizing your initiative and will typically go a long
way to getting the rest of the team on board, as well.
The rest
of the team: Sales reps all want to know one thing: “What’s in it for
me?” If you can help them resolve the problem areas they run into – the
objections they have trouble overcoming, the blow offs they can’t get
past, etc. – you will more easily win them over.
Other champions
include support staff and team members who will be involved in compiling
and updating the new metrics and design of the sales dashboards and
reports. By identifying these key people in advance and having target
areas for their involvement, you can ensure the steady development and
implementation of your new sales platform.
3) During Implementation Focus on Progressive Success
After
investing the time, energy, and money involved with developing a new
sales platform you may understandably be in a hurry to get the team to
buy in. Don’t worry, they will, but it takes time and a plan.
The
first key is to coach, measure, and reward the adoption of each part of
the new sales process one step at a time. For the first week, have your
managers focus on getting reps to apply the new opening to their first
calls, then move on to building rapport, qualifying, and getting
commitment. Once your team is scoring high — using a script grading
adherence form — on the first call, turn your attention to the closing
call and build momentum, and buy in, one step at a time.
Next,
focus on the reps who have displayed the most buy in and emphasize their
successes in team meetings. Record them using the scripts successfully;
highlight their script grading adherence percentages, and reward them
for their closed sales. Once the other reps see that the new playbook
and techniques work, even the more senior or stubborn reps will follow
suit.
By aligning new sales initiatives with a clear strategy and
a defined process you will be able to establish an environment in which
the new platform can truly take root and transform your sales culture.