The problem with sales is that it's a big hairy beast.
Operating it is intricate. It's both art and science. And above all, sales feels unnatural to most.
So, when it comes to building out your sales capability, it can feel very overwhelming.
Because of this, it's really easy to fall into the traps that lead to wasted time, missed opportunities, and frustration.
These pitfalls often include:
Outsourcing – making sales for someone else's problem is the common trap. But, outsourcing often sacrifices control and risks misaligned priorities and not enough drive and dedication to bring it together.
Progress paralysis – the sheer scale of the task ahead can cause indecision and inaction, leaving potential change on the table and progress stalled.
Boiling the ocean – the inner perfectionist takes over, and instead of making incremental improvements, we chase an unattainable "perfect system," neglecting day-to-day business in the process.
The silver bullet – hiring a salesperson or leader with the expectation they'll fix everything on their own. This approach rarely succeeds without the right strategy and support.
Short-term patches – plugging visible gaps while ignoring root causes and not undertaking the lock stock transformation the business needs, leading to more problems.
For those who tackle sales transformation in-house, it often feels like pushing water uphill.
Why? Sales is not just one challenge; it's a series of interconnected problems where art meets science, creating a strange organism that needs a lot of care and attention and constant optimisation.
But if you can make progress in the right way, it will become very rewarding quickly.
Why sales transformation feels overwhelming
Sales is a broad, complex discipline, and each stage of the funnel presents unique challenges and dynamics.
Top of Funnel (TOFU) - generating demand and creating consistent lead flow is often new and unfamiliar territory for businesses accustomed to relying on referrals or ad hoc efforts.
Middle of Funnel (MOFU) - the messy middle requires careful alignment between marketing and sales. It's where leads are nurtured, qualified, and passed along a process that demands strategy, clarity, and discipline. But it also requires stoic determination not to give up when you get ghosted.
Bottom of Funnel (BOFU) - this is where deals are closed. While this stage is often functional in most businesses, it still requires optimisation to handle a mix of inbound and outbound opportunities effectively.
Other challenges that compound the problem include:
Leadership gaps - a lack of experienced sales leadership can make progress chaotic and unstructured, but often, it's a lack of Leadership focus and ownership that screws the pooch.
Tooling overload - the sales technology landscape is vast and noisy, making it difficult to choose the right tools. So, decisions get made, and tech gets implemented, often with a heavy hand. And because they don't fix the problem on their own, more tech is added.
Content paralysis - many teams are unprepared for the content volume, such as thought leadership, articles, posts, and videos required to fuel a robust sales engine.
Proximity blindness - founders and leaders are often too close to their business to see gaps in positioning, messaging, and strategy. This can lead to a more service-led rather than a solution-led offer that connects to buyer problems.
Inbound focus - a fixation on quick wins from inbound opportunities can detract from long-term pipeline development and scalability. They are distracting because the business jumps to the new thing, drops the consistency and focuses on the slower, colder pipeline.
Talent misalignment - expecting a single person to excel across all stages of the funnel is unrealistic; different stages demand different skills.
The sales delivery see-saw - when the business gets busy with freshly won work, all eyes and focus go to delivery, and sales get forgotten.
Despite these challenges, progress is possible if we embrace one core principle: "done is better than perfect."
The phased approach to sales transformation
Sales transformation is a journey, not an event. Whether you're a 10-person startup or a 1,000-employee organisation, tackling everything at once is a recipe for frustration. Instead, approach it in phases, focusing on one part of the funnel at a time.
Step 1: Assess what's working
Before diving in, take stock of your existing sales process. What's working? What isn't?
Most businesses have some functionality at the bottom of the funnel, especially with inbound leads.
Please resist the urge to disrupt this; instead, leave it as it is for now and focus on higher-priority areas.
Step 2: Start at the top
The first fundamental transformation begins with your proposition and positioning and the self reflection to ask yourself:
- Is your value proposition clear and compelling?
- Does your offer resonate with your target market?
- Are your products or services packaged in a way that's easy to understand and sell?
Simultaneously, build your top-of-funnel (TOFU) demand engine:
- Tech stack: choose tools that suit your business needs without overcomplicating. Tools like CRMs, email marketing platforms, and prospecting software should work together seamlessly.
- Strategy: define your approach to generating leads, whether through outbound efforts (cold outreach, LinkedIn, email campaigns) or inbound (SEO, content marketing, and PPC).
- Roles: assign responsibilities. Who is generating leads? Who is qualifying them? Ensure everyone understands their part.
Step 3: Address the middle of the funnel
Once TOFU is functional, move to the middle of the funnel (MOFU).
- Process: develop a process for nurturing leads. This includes follow-ups, email cadences, and qualification calls.
- Integration: ensure smooth handovers between marketing and sales. Misalignment here leads to wasted opportunities.
- People: define roles for managing the nurturing and qualifying process. Sales development reps (SDRs) and account executives (AEs) often play key roles here.
Step 4: Optimise the bottom of the funnel
Finally, revisit the bottom of the funnel.
- Refine processes: ensure contracts, negotiations, and closing workflows are efficient.
- Handle complexity: train your team to handle outbound and inbound leads differently. They often require distinct approaches.
Step 5: Review and refine your CRM
With all three stages operational, evaluate your CRM. Ask yourself:
- Can it support the processes you've implemented?
- Does it provide the visibility and reporting needed to optimise your funnel?
- Are your tools still working together seamlessly?
Step 6: Continuous optimisation
Sales transformation isn't a one-and-done effort. To achieve scalability, predictability, and sustainability, commit to ongoing optimisation and periodically revisit each part of the funnel to continuously improve:
- Upgrades to processes and procedures
- The incorporation of new tools or technologies
- Team alignment, performance and sales culture
Let's wrap this up
Building a high-functioning sales engine is no small task but essential for long-term success. Here's how to move forward:
- Start small: begin with your proposition and top-of-funnel strategy. Focus on incremental changes.
- Phase it out: work through the funnel step by step, starting at the top and working your way down.
- Commit to optimisation: regularly review and refine your processes to stay competitive and scalable.
Remember, progress beats perfection and done is better than perfect.
By breaking your sales transformation into manageable phases, you'll create a scalable, predictable, and sustainable sales engine that drives growth and profitability.
It's time to stop boiling the ocean and start building a system that works for you.