What does a football coach and a Sales Operating System have in common? A lot more than you might think!

A football coach spends their time managing players to ensure they are performing at their highest potential. Coaches schedule practices to improve the expertise of the players and run team meetings to promote communication. They carefully plot and organize game plans that will hopefully get their team to a bowl game or even the Superbowl.

A Sales Operating System acts as a coach for your business. It collects, measures, and manages sales activities to help yield far greater results than ever before. They monitor sales to produce reliable profits based on observation and predictability.

Without a Sales Operating System, it can be challenging to attain consistent growth. Your company needs a SOS because:

• Poor decision making for your business could result in obsolete sales techniques
• Inadequate communication between sales members and executive leadership could hinder internal relationships
• Less time spent finding new ways to develop your business could lead to stagnation

Creating a Sales Operating System

With a functional SOS, you can expect to be up to date with fluctuations in demand and better equipped to guide your sales team when communicating amongst themselves and with clients. A SOS will also help you collect important data that will assist with managing your sales team more productively.

To create the perfect SOS, it is important to assess the effectiveness of the different approaches you have when addressing the development of your salespeople’s skills. Your sales team members are the driving force behind your business and your SOS should promote accountability and focus between you and your team.

A common approach when developing a SOS is the APDIR model. Here’s a breakdown of how that model works:

Assess: Begin by observing your sales team members and their current sales process model. By assessing the effectiveness of this model relative to the members of your team, you should start getting a pretty good idea of how your business is currently operating.

Plan: Here is where you develop a gameplan. Gather information from existing key stakeholders through surveys, polls, etc. As you have already assessed your sales team, you can use this new data to see what needs to be provided to each team member to improve their approach to sales.

Design: What is the purpose of your SOS? Do you want to drive more sales for a specific product? Do you want to reach a different demographic? Have you lost business that you want to get back? Maybe you are doing this for the sole benefit of your sales team so that they can improve. Whatever the case may be, it will be easier to tweak and implement your SOS if the goals are clearly defined.

Implement: Resist the urge to heavily commit to your new SOS before testing it. It can be exciting when you believe you have the perfect plan but devastating if your game plan isn’t quite as complete as you thought it was. Test your SOS in a pilot program and closely monitor the results. If your new and improved SOS is showing signs of improvement, implement the changes as soon as possible. If not, revisit the first two steps and take another run at designing the perfect SOS.

Run: Congratulations! Your salespeople are thriving and so is your business. As a last step, be sure to regularly assess the performance of your SOS to be sure it is keeping up with changes in the market as well as to your team.

Finally, never forget that if it can’t be measured, it can’t be managed. This management principle is truer today than it ever has been before and yet many businesses struggle because they make poor judgment calls due to lack of organization and poor management.

A well-designed Sales Operating System prevents this and will undoubtedly yield the results your business needs to grow.

Can you recall a time a client had an unexpected change of heart? It stings. It burns. And even though we shouldn’t take it personally, we can’t help but wonder what exactly went through that customer’s mind to trigger their loss of interest.

Of course, any number of factors could have contributed to their decision but more often than not, you should be looking in the mirror to discover what could have been done to prevent it. Here are five big mistakes salespeople make:

Talking over the client’s needs

Imagine visiting the emergency room for chest pain and the nurse keeps interrupting you to rave about how short the wait times are. Wouldn’t you feel as though your needs were being ignored? When a salesperson has a great sales pitch, they sometimes get stuck on wanting to follow it word for word; however, this can sometimes come across as overbearing to the customer.

A lengthy conversation about your company’s mission statement may also make the customer regret ever asking you about it. Rather than focusing on yourself, let the customer tell you more about themselves so you can tailor your sales pitch accordingly.

Additionally, providing too much information about your product can overwhelm the customer. It is important to keep your presentation short and to the point, so your prospect can ask questions.

Not consulting the client enough

A crucial part of the sales process is engaging with prospects. Having faith in your product is great but trusting in it alone will not guarantee you a sale every time. When your client is in the process of making a decision, they may need to get a second opinion, or they may need to ask you a few more basic questions. In situations like these, you must do your best to accommodate the customer. Leaving them on their own for too long will give them plenty of time to convince themselves they don’t need your product or service. Sales professionals must understand the importance of communication being a two-way street.

Faking your persona

Overly energetic and enthusiastic behavior is both ingenuine and to be honest, creepy. Though your intentions might be friendly, your client might prefer not to feel like you’re trying to get them into bed on the first date.

Remember that nearly everything today is handled digitally in some way, including sales. The customer has reached out to you for insight that isn’t scripted to help them make their purchase. The thought of having to interact with a beguiling, obsequious individual who is incapable of holding a meaningful conversation can be extremely off-putting. When approaching customers, be enthusiastic but try to take it easy on the coffee and don’t overdo it.

Unconfident answers to questions

If a prospect is not sure whether an item is right for them, the chances of them purchasing that item are significantly lower. A salesperson with gaps in their knowledgebase concerning their product is hardly confidence inspiring. If you hesitate with important questions or worse, if you make up information, you will dissatisfy your customers and harm your company’s reputation. Be sure to consistently study your own product or service so you are familiar with its features to better assist customers in the decision-making process.

You prioritize price over value

Always establish the value of your product before mentioning the price. Your customer will have more to consider once you show how much your product can improve their lives. Don’t stall when a prospect is straightforward and demands a price and keep their best interest in mind when you deliver your response. Mention how buying your item will benefit them or go over other options if they don’t seem receptive to the pricing.

Didn’t make the sale? Relax. The customer may not have been ready to make a decision. Being on the market can be intimidating, especially if you receive poor sales pitches. By avoiding these simple things, you can act as a breath of fresh air for your next client.

Let’s face it. The world of sales is evolving at an unprecedented rate.

Advances in technology have people around the world more connected than ever and the interdependent relationship between sales and marketing continues to adapt and advance.

With computers literally in the palms of our hands, gathering information is easier than ever before meaning sales reps should understand that most buyers know a lot about their product or service before that first call ever happens. As a result, educating the buyer about the product before the sale has transformed into educating the buyer on why they should consider your product over your competitors.

As you read this article, think about what do you think it takes to be a successful sales representative in an ever-changing marketplace? While excellent people skills and a million-dollar smile certainly help, a salesperson should consider the following:

The sales rep of the future should be open-minded

You can’t expect to grow as a sales professional if you can’t accept change. Having a desire to learn while adjusting to the changes around you, will take you a long way when it comes to sales. You may have made many sales in the past, but if you approach every opportunity with a cocky, narrow-minded attitude, you will struggle as a sales rep as this field continues to change.

The benefit of the consumer comes first

Buyers don’t want to be sold something; they need someone to help them make a decision that will benefit them. It can be easy to become focused on the sale, but a sales rep of the future avoids this because they are compassionate and understand the hassle of choosing from an overwhelming number of options. Yes, the consumer will probably know about your product and the basics of what it has to offer, but you as a sale rep will have the expertise to educate them even more about the product and why they need it.

Always remain professional

An unsuccessful sales rep will let their emotions play into their performance. It can be challenging to not take rejection personally, but never forget that a buyer is saying no to the product, not you.

The sales rep of the future knows that they are promoting the company they work for 24/7. Therefore, professionalism is extremely important on social media. You may think a post with little attention doesn’t matter, but once it has been posted, your name is tied to it forever. With that in mind, always consider your actions and words both on the internet and among your peers.

Know your product inside and out

Many sales reps don’t take the time to truly delve into all the pros and cons the product they have to offer. A sales rep of the future understands that this puts them at a disadvantage. Buyers are also exposed to positive and negative reviews of the product thanks to infinite resources on the Internet. Anticipating the concerns of the buyer and having a counter that addresses any worries can be accomplished by researching how your product performs in those circumstances. Stand by your product and if applicable, share personal experiences that will show the buyer that you are not just selling the product for your benefit.

Motivation is key

Lastly, the sales professional of the future is constantly looking for ways to improve. There is no room for complacency in this line of work. They have initiative, are self-starters and require little to no supervision because they are in a mindset that encourages continual success.

Being a great salesperson is not easy. However, there are many notable people that have influenced sales. They were masters of innovation and creativity, and visionaries of their time. Here are the Top 8 most influential salespeople of all time:

1. Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs is known as the former CEO of Apple. Apple is known for mass producing computers and other technology. However, after a fallout with the previous Apple CEO John Scully, Jobs resigned and tried to begin a new project called NeXT. Jobs also funded Pixar, which produced at least 10 box office hits while Jobs was an executive producer. Jobs ended up owning 7% of Disney’s stock, and when Apple fell into bankruptcy, they bought NeXT and made Jobs the new CEO.

2. P.T. Barnum

Perhaps best known from the movie The Greatest Showman, P.T. Barnum set up his own museum, which later became the largest three-ring circus in the world. Additionally, Barnum also was the first to transport a circus by train. He also became a politician and worked to abolish slavery.

3. Mary Kay Ash

After quitting her job because she was being paid less than a man she trained, Mary Kay Ash initially set out to write a book. Instead, her notes ended up becoming a business plan for a beauty and cosmetics company geared towards direct sales by women. She would eventually make her company a sign of women’s self-sufficiency.

4. Dale Carnegie

After ending up in New York City, Dale Carnegie began offering prospective salespeople public speaking classes. Carnegie educated his followers on the importance of a perfect work-life balance and wrote the book How to Win Friends and Influence People, which instructs readers on healthy communication and teamwork techniques.

5. John H. Patterson

As the father of modern sales training, James H. Patterson was one of the first to organize sales training programs and retreats. He also looked at the sales cycle as a four-step process. These steps are: The initial approach, the proposition, the product demonstration, and the close.

6. David Ogilvy

This legendary advertising executive began his career selling stoves door to door. He was so successful as a salesperson that the company commissioned him to write an instruction manual for the rest of the company’s sales team. This became a cult classic filled with advice that is still applicable to sales teams everywhere.

7. Zig Ziglar

Ziglar helped shape modern sales terminology as one of the world’s leading motivational speakers. He encouraged people to commit to their education, set goals for themselves, and maintain the highest level of motivation by visualizing success.

8. Larry Ellison

Known as the king of aggressive corporate technology sales tactics, Ellison thrived on being feared rather than loved. He is often credited with winning new business any way he can, no matter what the cost. This has included using excessive discounts to win over new customers, followed by large fees to cover the costs.

For any company hoping to reach the next level of success, the Vice President of Sales is an extremely important role. In fact, one could go so far as to say that for most companies, that next level is unachievable without one.

An accomplished VP of Sales will improve accountability and communication and develop proactive strategies to ensure goal alignment and increased profitability. They will also promote a supportive and productive sales culture that fosters growth among your sales team members.

However, many growing companies delay hiring a full-time VP of Sales because of the costs associated with adding a full-time employee at that level. While they almost certainly will end up paying for themselves many times over, pulling the trigger on that initial investment can be nerve racking.

That’s why engaging a Fractional VP of Sales has proven to be such a sensible option for so many Salt Lake City companies and organizations. As they grow, they are getting all the benefits of adding a VP of Sales to their staff at a fraction of the cost.

What is the Skillset of a Fractional VP of Sales?

A fractional VP of sales in Salt Lake City is capable of easily adapting to and understanding a wide variety of business environments. They are also adept at quickly forging working relationships with their team members to make any necessary changes to the company’s sales strategy and culture.

Regardless of whether your Salt Lake City team is just a couple of sales reps working from home or a large in-house team, the right Fractional VP of Sales will get everyone on the same page and rowing in the same direction.

How to Find the Perfect VP of Sales

Finding the right fit for your company can be challenging given the wide variety of sales specialties that exist today. This is another great reason to dip your toe in the VP of Sales waters by going the fractional route. If they turn out to not be a good fit for you company, you’ll be able to move without all the headaches of unloading a senior-level full-time employee. Essentially, depending on the contract your draw up, it’s like hiring a temp and if you like them, you can make them an offer to go full-time.

It is important to remember that sales management styles vary and that can have a significant impact on how a company operates. Some VP of sales are micromanagers who hire people that will not waver from their instructions. Others are more expressive and outgoing who excel at putting people at ease.

When sourcing a Fractional VP of Sales, make sure to ask detailed questions about their experience and how their existing connections might be able to give them a running head start in their new role. You’ll also want to find someone who is highly organized and has a strong mentoring streak

SUMMARY: What A Fractional VP of Sales can do for your Salt Lake City Company

A Fractional VP of sales will help guide your Salt Lake team in the right direction while proving far less expensive than a full-time hire. They will bring in fresh ideas, strategies and connections that will boost your sales team’s moral and compliment its existing sales culture.

Most VPs of Sales come ready loaded with plans that are designed to be comprehensive and dynamic roadmaps to improve focus, efficiency, and productivity within a company.

The trick is finding one who is willing and able to customize their plan to your company and sales team.