This year our selling tools and data are more advanced than ever before. Our buyers are growing savvier and more value-hungry, expecting sophisticated customization and personalization in seller interactions. And, after a couple of years of stagnant macro economics, market indicators are for a more promising commerce flow emerging.
Every business leader wants their selling team to achieve sales excellence. Yet it is folly to think salespeople can meet and exceed their quotas without the right leadership, revenue enablement and coaching support.
If you want to make 2025 the year of sales excellence — and why would you not? — support your sales force with these three efforts.
SALES EXCELLENCE STARTS AT THE TOP
The chief revenue officer (CRO) is tasked with managing an organization’s revenue operations and leading the sales force to great heights. Yet, for as important and impactful a CRO can be in an organization, these leaders currently have the shortest tenures, averaging about 25 months. Turnover grew by more than 50% from 2022 to 2023 according to research from SBI Insights. This constant churn disrupts continuity and weakens overall sales leadership. How can a selling organization achieve sales excellence when one of their key leadership roles is in disarray?
The majority of CRO failings — missed revenue targets, quotas, revenue team turnover and more — we witness at Mereo result from misalignment. Many CROs come into their roles with a plan and approach that does not sync with the business. They are tactical versus strategic. They just focus on sales rather than the entire revenue engine, which needs to include marketing and product as well as account management teams responsible for revenue retention / expansion.
In order for CROs to support sales excellence from top-down, alignment is in order. Take the extra time in the first 100 days to develop a plan and an approach that fits with the organization and that helps the entire revenue engine run as effectively as possible.
SALES EXCELLENCE IS ONLY POSSIBLE WITH THE RIGHT REVENUE ENABLEMENT
In today’s evolving sales environment, the highest-performing salespeople will be experts on their buyer — and they will use that expertise to craft the most compelling value proposition as possible to shepherd compelling sales conversations with buyers. Fortunately, with more-sophisticated data sources, such as 6sense, Apollo and ZoomInfo, sales teams have more accessible buyer data at their fingertips than ever before.
This rapid access to buyer data empowers sellers to deliver personalized and tailored value propositions that resonate with each specific buyer’s needs. Failing to leverage these tools is not only a missed opportunity but gives competitors an edge. You can be sure they are using every resource available to win every sales conversation to earn the business, so you should too.
Armed with buyer insights, you can tailor value propositions based on situational dynamics, unique use cases and pain points specific to the buying organization and key decision-makers — connecting the dots to compelling, differentiated solutions. Build your winning sales proposition now.
SALES EXCELLENCE DEMANDS CONSISTENT SALES COACHING
Front-line sales managers today are stretched thinner than ever before. A decade or two ago, their primary role was hands-on coaching — joining “ride-alongs,” conducting account reviews and helping their teams rehearse sales calls. Fast forward to today, sales managers are often expected to focus more on reporting on team performance using the tools within their sales stack, like CRMs, which does not necessarily improve performance but rather enhancing forecasting and pipeline management — in theory.
Yet the most effective and time-tested way to improve sales performance and help achieve sales excellence remains in active sales coaching — running alongside sales professionals, participating in pursuits and carving-out space for meaningful coaching on best practices.
As a sales leader, you must find a balance between time spent coaching versus forecasting. Gong or Chorus, can help enable you and your fellow sales leaders to leverage AI-driven insights for more systematic coaching, rather than relying solely on instinct or anecdotal evidence. By combining the power of AI with traditional coaching practices, sales managers can bridge the gap between reporting and leading their teams to sales excellence.
SALES EXCELLENCE HELPS YOU WIN AN UNFAIR SHARE™ OF THE MARKET
Sales excellence does not happen in a vacuum or due to one salesperson being a genius or selling savant. Sales excellence can be achieved with strategic, concerted efforts and enablement from leadership.
Win an unfair share™ this year and achieve sustainable revenue performance. Give your sales force an extra boost with these 10 Revenue Accelerator training guides.
Book a call with one of our revenue experts to discuss the heights you want to take your selling teams in 2025.