5 ways to increase productivity in your sales organization

5 WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR SALES TEAMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S PRODUCTIVITY This short guide provides 5 practices used at our firm, Docurated, to drive productivity across the enterprise. At Docurated we have embraced the concept of the Agile Enterprise. We constantly strive to make our organization more efficient and our processes are continuously scrutinized and regularly improved. We hope you enjoy.

Fergal Glynn Fergal Glynn, VP, Docurated

#1. THE WHOLE COMPANY SUPPORTS SALES Salespeople can be critical of the quality of leads generated by marketing, while marketing departments might criticize sales teams for not acting quickly enough on leads. Interdepartmental antagonism is an age-old concern. The blame for disappointing revenue returns is generally attributed to the sales organization who in turn can feel isolated from the rest of the company. At Docurated we realized that one way to improve organizational alignment is to foster a culture of revenue responsibility throughout the entire company. Specifically, there needs to be an explicit acceptance that daily decisions taken across all sectors of the organization will affect sales. Employees must accept their own accountability towards revenue. With the culture of revenue responsibility enshrined throughout the organization, the sales department should be seen as the interface between the customer and the enterprise. This perspective can improve morale in the sales organization, develop enterprise-wide cohesion, and cultivate a sense of shared responsibility. TIP 1: Develop a set of strategic sales support goals that are committed to by the entire organization.

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#2. USE SALES PROCESSES EFFECTIVELY Well-managed sales processes can lead to improved revenue. However, all sales processes come with a warning - they should not be over engineered. Sales teams will resent any extra work that does not reap obvious financial benefits. If there is not enough flexibility in your sales process, employees can feel demeaned, creativity will be stifled, and morale will ultimately suffer. Structure and balance is vital to a successful sales organization. Decide upon a basic outline for customer interaction, add a cadence, and establish a clear set of metrics. Take the time to develop the recipe for success. Scrutinize your process, then refine. Elicit the views of your sales organization on the strengths and weaknesses of your current process. Taking the time to establish a carefully managed, purposeful, and deliberate process that helps rather than hinders the sales organization will benefit both your top and bottom lines.

TIP 2: Keep processes simple. Do not over architect. The changes you make are your legacy.

#3. COMMIT TO A CADENCE The establishment of a cadence or operating rhythm is vital in a sales organization. The heartbeat of the team should not be irregular. Lack of cadence can lead to patchy and sub-optimal results. There are a number of ways an organization can establish a winning cadence:  Incorporate team meetings into the weekly schedule.  Set up regular pipeline review meetings.  Treat important team meetings as customer meetings. Reschedule if absolutely necessary, do not cancel.  Establish regular coaching sessions for quote carrying staff.  Establish a team wide commitment to the cadence.

TIP 3: Set the operating rhythm and stick to it.

#4. EFFECTIVE ONBOARDING Effective ramp up and onboarding of AEs and SDRs is key to the success of the sales organization. A well-defined onboarding plan must be developed by the VP of Sales or Sales Training Manger. Sales leadership should know precisely what role a new hire will occupy and ensure that the tools for success are already in place. A predefined set of metrics should also be set in place to measure performance. Pair new hires with top performers. Involve the product marketing and engineering teams in the onboarding process to help new hires get up to speed on the product line. Time should also be set-aside for new employees to view product demos. With an established onboarding framework in place, sales organizations can accelerate ramp up times and also reduce turnover.

TIP 4: Faster ramp-up = faster quote attainment.

#5. ONGOING TRAINING Increase sales effectiveness and productivity with regular sales training. Regular sessions should be incorporated into the team’s schedule. While annual sales training certainly has its benefits, there are advantages to ongoing training. Sessions can build on one another. One session, for example, could feature a selling technique and how it could be applied to your product. A follow up session might then add on a cross selling technique. With increased skills, team confidence will improve. There are also a number of other benefits that can be derived from increased training regularity:  Teams can keep abreast of any developments in the company’s product line.  Product line improvements can be quickly reflected in the company sales pitch.  New technology can be seamlessly integrated.

TIP 5: Single-event training is a useful tool, but ongoing training is essential for survival

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