First of all, most sales people are set up for failure due to business shortcomings. The most common factors that deter sales success include:
- Poorly Defined Value Proposition, Portfolio, and Pricing Strategy.
- Lack of Brand Awareness, Recognition, and Credibility in the marketplace.
- Lack of Sales Support and Marketing Assets.
- Overreliance on direct sales when Alternative Distribution.and more cost-effective revenue strategies exist:
- eCommerce, remote or online sales for transactional sales ; and
- “Principal or Thought-Leader Selling” for consultative sales.
So while Alternative Distribution should be utilized; there will also be direct sales personnel needed to consult and close deals. Use them wisely.
The Challenge of Direct Sales is Training and Sales Support
Companies are investing more than ever in sales training, but performance isn't improving. Just 9% of sales meetings end in a sale, and only one out of 250 salespeople exceed their targets. What's going on?
Researchers have observed that there is a significant training gap to achieving performance for the vast majority of all sales people.
The implication here for most businesses is that unless your sales people are all “A Players” which do not require sales support, then hiring direct sales personnel is going to be very costly.
Traditional “feet on the street” are no longer bankable or fundable for asset-light businesses or most service businesses. Not only because alternative sales strategies exist, but because Alternative Distribution is a required and essential part of the overall strategy to achieving cost effective sales.
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