What makes a sales transformation process successful? As a sales leader, one of your biggest contributions to transforming your sales force is reinforcement. The reason?
Adoption of a sales methodology isn’t just an event that takes place after training. It’s a mindset that needs to influence the design, development, delivery and reinforcement of your sales transformation process.
Most sales organizations have gone through their fair share of sales enablement programs. As a career seller, think of all the sales trainings you’ve sat through. How lasting was the impact on you individually, and more importantly, to your sales organization as a whole? A true sales transformation will have a quick and lasting impact on the bottom line. But, before you take the next big step, take a step back and evaluate the net value of your last sales enablement initiative.
Here Are Four Steps to Ensure Your Next Sales Transformation is Worth the Money:
Before Your Sales Transformation Begins:
1. Review Your History
- How successful were past sales enablement projects?
- Why were some more successful than others?
- How do recent organizational changes align with this project?
- How do recent executive changes align with this project?
2. Set Priorities
- What are your critical few corporate initiatives?
- What is the priority of this project compared to other corporate initiatives?
- Whose idea was the project?
- What other sales enablement initiatives will be competing for this project’s critical resources?
Throughout the Implementation:
3. Monitor and Measure Adoption
- How engaged are senior leaders in the major project events (e.g., kickoff, workshops)?
- What are the success metrics that will be measured and reported to support adoption?
- What is the plan for owning, adopting and sustaining the deliverables from the project?
- How is the project being communicated to those who will be impacted by it?
After Organizational Rollout:
4. Continue Reinforcement and Assessment
- How have the project outcomes integrated into the Management Operating Rhythm?
- How well are managers reinforcing (inspecting and coaching) the processes?
- How are the success stories being gathered, documented and communicated?
- How are the project success metrics being tracked and reported?
Ensure Success of Your Next Sales Enablement Initiative: Download our Whitepaper: A PRIMeR for Successful Adoption.
