By: Steve Jensen
6 min read
To say the state of sales today is radically different than it was in 2005 would be an understatement. And it isn’t just one part of sales that has changed. Buyers have changed. Technologies have changed. Salespeople have changed. It doesn’t matter what your company sells or how it is sold, how a person sells is more important than what the salesperson sells, and because of this, the art and science of sales is evolving faster than it ever has as sales teams work to create new competitive advantages.
The modern sales team has added structure to the activities salespeople conduct to build pipeline and win business. Today, over 3,000 sales tools are ready for a salesperson to use to help win more business. While every company is different, it is not uncommon for a team to utilize over ten tools in their sales stack, each recording key data on how the salesperson engages a prospect or customer. Some of these tools help a salesperson conduct more activities, and others help salespeople conduct their activities with greater efficiency and effectiveness.
Sales engagement and enablement have emerged as a key focus area for the modern sales team that works to engage customers wherever they are. This has created more sales data than ever before. The availability of data has created an expectation that salespeople will use this for “coaching” purposes to help a higher percentage of salespeople achieve quota.
As the amount of sales analytics has risen, the percentage of salespeople achieving goal has fallen. According to data from CSO Insights, the percentage of salespeople hitting quota fell for the 7th consecutive year. While there are many drivers of quota attainment, the simple fact remains most reps are not achieving the expectations of their companies and most likely the expectations they have for themselves.
The simple fact is Data doesn’t change behavior, people do. There is so much focus on cadence, sequence of activities, volume of activities, and effort that not enough reps have the opportunity to stop, evaluate, and course-correct frequently enough.
Today’s salesperson is different than the GenX salesperson of 2005. The Millennial generation now is the largest segment of the workforce, comprising over 35%. This group is predicted to represent 50% of the workforce in the next two years and 70% by the year 2030.
Understanding what motivates these salespeople is crucial to most effectively lead them.
A 2005 Salesperson valued compensation above all else. Today, the Millennial worker values development and training as the top consideration for joining a company.
The modern salesperson chooses the leader they work for very carefully. The modern leader needs to have a track record of developing people and helping them learn and achieve faster than if left on their own.
Today’s salesperson talks with their feet. If they aren’t getting developed to their satisfaction, they are leaving. Glassdoor reports 68% of salespeople intend to look for a job in the next 12 months, and 47% plan to start looking in the next 3 months. Only 19% are convinced they will remain with their current company more than a year.
The top driver of intent to stay with a company: Quality of coaching and development.
The skill salespeople rate as the one their leaders could improve the most: coaching.
The modern salesperson has more tools and data at their disposal to help them win. They also face more pressure and competition than ever before. What they want now is a leader that can press the “How” button after pushing the “More” button.
Modern Sales Leaders are aware of the thirst a salesperson has for coaching and development. When asked what their primary role is, coaching is commonly listed in the top three priorities. However, when these same leaders are asked the percentages of time they spend in their key activities, coaching rarely cracks the top 10.
The modern sales leader needs a way to create structure around their activities so the high-value activities are happening with the right people, the right number of times, and the right way.
In a study conducted by Keenan, thousands of salespeople were asked how often they received coaching and how effective it was. 48% of these salespeople say they never receive coaching and only 13% of the time was it “helpful.” Here’s where this study gets interesting: it asked the leaders of these same salespeople how good these managers were at coaching. 83% of these leaders said they were coaching and doing it effectively.
These leaders are doing something they think is coaching, but the reps aren’t perceiving it as coaching. The reason this is important is when a salesperson receives what they think is good coaching, 89% of the time; they try to change. Today’s salesperson isn’t resistant to change; they are resistant to poor coaching.
95% of modern sales teams have a sales process of some kind. This is a result of the emphasis on salesperson activities and efficiencies. However, less than 3% of sales leaders have a structured 1:1 coaching process. A sales process is used to create predictability in where revenue will come from as well as a consistent customer experience. A coaching process will help a leader create predictability in how individual reps will create revenue growth and consistency in how salespeople develop.
Many sales leaders, when facing the 3% number, are quick to say, “I’m one of the 3%.” A sales leader from a large sales team shared the reasons why she felt her team was in the 3% club:
“I talk to each rep all the time…pretty much every day.”
“I know the status of all the key deals.”
“We are on track to hit our goal this year.”
“I don’t have a big turnover problem.”
These are really common things sales leaders point to when suggesting their coaching is effective. However, look at those 4 elements again. What’s missing?
There is no development plan. In order for you to have a strong coaching process, each salesperson needs to have a unique development plan that they are actively working on to help them achieve specific development goals.
Coaching isn’t about the absence of problems; it is about the abundance of progress. This is why every organization needs a structured coaching process. Just as a modern sales process has volume and effectiveness metrics, a modern coaching process will feature metrics that identify where a leader is coaching and how much impact these 1:1s create.
Given the dropping percentage of salespeople hitting goal and the fact that more salespeople are switching jobs than ever before, use the “Triple Filter Test” to see where your organization stands.
If you are 3/3 you likely have a good coaching process. You also likely are actively working to improve your coaching skills and systems. If any of these are a miss, you will benefit from creating a stronger 1:1 coaching process.
Salespeople aren’t the only ones that need structure, metrics, and role clarity. Sales leaders receive less training and tools to complete their jobs effectively than the salespeople they lead. Sales organizations that create structure for the activities a sales leader conducts see massive benefits as these leaders become highly effective in connecting to every rep on their team.
The fact that leaders think they are great at coaching when the reps they lead share a different story should cause every sales leader to stop and evaluate the strength and effectiveness of their 1:1 leadership process. The lack of salespeople hitting goal coupled with the lack of engagement/high turnover has created a scenario that is costing sales leaders their jobs.
In 2010 the average tenure of a VP Sales was 24 months. Today it is 19 months. This means as a sales leader you get to have one off-year, but not two.
Modern sales leaders need to have a process that helps them answer a question very few sales leaders are able to answer: “Does every salesperson on our team have an individualized plan on how they can improve by at least ___%?”
This isn’t “will I achieve our goal as a team of growing by ___%.” Great sales leaders develop great sales teams. This can only happen if each salesperson is able to grow in ways unique and impactful to that individual.
This is why the 3%ers create dynasties while others last 18 months.
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Steve Jensen is the VP of Marketing at Xvoyant