The one priority that should be at the top of every sales leader’s list

• February 11, 2020

The life of the sales leader has become impossibly complicated, making it difficult to manage time and prioritize responsibilities effectively. We’ve found that one of the single most important priorities for sales leaders is to ensure that their teams are managing all aspects of their pipeline at the highest possible level of performance. Through focused coaching on the behaviors that can improve aspects of their pipeline such as deal profitability and forecast reliability, sales leaders can ensure that their teams will bring in larger, more profitable deals that meet or exceed their revenue targets – which is, after all, the ultimate goal.

We have identified seven core elements that drive great sales activity: Planning, Discovering, Engaging, Advancing, Customer Understanding, Managing, and Collaborating. When you look at achieving forecast reliability, deal profitability, and pipeline velocity, or your team’s ability to move opportunities through the pipeline, there are three elements that are key to your success: Planning, Engaging, and Advancing

Planning is what you do before a customer interaction. This might be one of the most underutilized steps, but one of the most important strategically.

Engaging is how you articulate the value of your offerings. After planning and gathering the necessary information, this is a chance to differentiate yourself from the competition by demonstrating your understanding of the customer’s business through a process called “value mapping.”

Advancing is how you advance the opportunity through the stages to a closed deal. Now, you are ready to move the customer through the buying cycle (Not your sales process). You understand where they are, what they need, and how you need to approach them.

Get the full paper and insights here