We often get asked to support a sales transformation initiative when there is barely a function to begin with. If your business-to-business (B2B) venture doesn’t have any sales or marketing people, it isn’t a sales transformation. There are countless sales trainers, coaches, recruiters, marketing agencies and software companies just waiting to sell into your functions. But what if there is no function? What if there is no senior leader in sales or marketing? What if the infrastructure and processes barely exist? This isn’t a far-fetched example or tale of fantasy but a very real prospect when working with B2B entities. So, today we discuss sales transformation when it should really be creation.
Sales transformation
Put simply, sales transformation is a programme of work to review, redesign and revamp the performance of the sales function. A focus on the people, processes, systems and partners of a sales organisation that is designed to increase inquiries, the quality of leads and the rate of conversion. In most B2B entities, such a transformation often involves marketing, which should (in most cases) be the engine that generates inquiries that become leads.
Unfortunately, we have encountered countless B2B companies with little to no sales or marketing resource. In the worst-case example, there were no sales people, no marketing people and no systems to support selling. Others have had a handful of salespeople with no support, systems or marketing to work with or inquiries that come into sales (order processing) to process but no outreach is happening. So, what has caused this state of affairs? Why do some businesses hardly have any sales or marketing resource? Why do many businesses exist regardless?
When no sales transformation has been needed
In many owner-managed businesses, the founder or owner generates leads and sales in their own right. That is, they are larger-than-life characters that have grown their business through their own network, friends and personality. In such cases, it is often difficult to let go when you know that a few days of your own focus can land a large deal. However, such scenarios eventually run into a need for sales transformation for scalability, possibly due to private equity (PE) investment or a sale.
Many long-standing businesses operate within a niche environment, with limited competition and/or very high barriers to entry. In such cases, their customers may have limited options and the cost of switching is high, making customers relatively ‘sticky’. As a result, there may have been little need to aggressively sell, with the founder establishing a presence decades ago. Again, this eventually becomes unstuck due to new ownership who want to see a return on their investment.
Finally, where others in your market are smaller than you are, have worse service or lesser products that compete on price, you find yourself in a strong position. Customers may have very few options due to your relative scale versus competitors. Nationwide, Europe-wide or international coverage may not be achievable by all of your competitors, thus narrowing the field. Sometimes, it can even be as simple as a company name and internet domain that ‘does what it says on the tin’. This means that every search for a particular service always lands you at the top or very close, putting you front of mind. Again, this strategy is fine until you need more growth due to the changing competitive landscape, a change of ownership, preparation for sale or simply cost pressures forcing growth.
When sales transformation is needed
Before embarking on a sales transformation, we would suggest considering the following three questions:
- Do we know where we want to be versus where we are today (e.g. 50% growth)?
- Does the leadership in sales (and marketing) agree that it is needed?
- Do the owners, board of directors and the leadership team support investment?
If the answer to all three questions is a resounding, “Yes!”, then embark we should. But, what does a sales transformation entail? Where do you start if there is hardly any foundation in place? We would recommend the following starting point, which is to look at what you currently have to set your baseline for improvement. If you have no systems, cannot report on sales metrics and have no salespeople, we are talking about creating a new function. If there are some existing salespeople with experience and a ‘little black book’, we need to form a picture of what good looks like for them and any new additions to the team.
Let’s now look at the key enabler for your sales function.
Marketing supporting selling transformation
Marketing does not always support sales in B2B companies, which is surprisingly common. It is often just one or two people (if any) and acts as an administrative function that posts to LinkedIn or keeps the website up-to-date. Such tactics rarely result in leads or sales. In such instances, they also have no reference point of experience or marketing leadership for mentoring. Furthermore, there may be no drive towards filling the funnel if there is no sales director or head of sales. This overlooks the importance, like forgetting to put fuel or electricity in a car to power your journey.
Most software businesses recognise marketing as essential to generate inquiries that become leads. The function acts as the engine that you can accelerate to fill the funnel faster and improve the quality of leads. Sales have a much more productive time when the inquiries are actively considering your services. The teams work (ideally) hand-in-hand to generate inquiries, recognise them as leads and convert them into contracts. They have invested in a sales and marketing aligned growth engine because of high profit margins.
In conclusion, many B2B businesses do not have high enough profit margins to build a growth engine. Others cannot see a proven return-on-investment (ROI) to make the investment. A few take incremental steps when they should take leaps, with each one given insufficient oxygen to flourish. So, the next time you consider a sales transformation, think about if you have enough to build upon or if we need to design a new organisation.
Creating or transforming a sales function
With a wealth of experience in creating, transforming and supporting sales and marketing teams, we can boost your transformation aspirations. From starting at zero to transforming a 50-strong team of sales and marketers, we know that we can guide you to improved outcomes. With a focus on people, data, sales funnels, processes, systems, propositions and ideology, we leverage every aspect of your capability. We also apply an external lens, where appropriate, to find gaps in the market and optimise your position in the competitive landscape.
To speak to a management consultant about being ‘fit to grow’, simply reach out on our website. Alternatively, there is also our professional business profile on LinkedIn.
Finally, why not read a related article about the challenges of ongoing transformation.