Questions to ask yourself about your Sales Function

What Sales methodologies do you use ?

1. Situation, Problem, Implication, Need-Payoff, popularly known as SPIN
2. Keeping it Simple, being iNvaluable, Aligning your activities with your Customer’s priorities or SNAP
3. Conceptual / Solution Selling
4. Consultative Selling

Do you have a proven Sales process ?

The steps right from leads / cold calling / known universe to various sales stages till closure including but not limited to Prospecting, Validating, Needs assessment, Budgeting, Mapping Customers Org Structure, Demonstrating, Proposing, Closing, Following-up is a Sales Process. The question is to ask is: Is your Sales Process proven? Has it delivered the desired results quarter after quarter?

Do you need a CRM [Customer Relationship Management] Software? Why?

1. What problems are you trying to solve using a CRM ?
2. How are you currently handling sales ?
3. Where and how do you find your clients ?
4. Why should customers buy from you ?
5. What implication will CRM have on your organizational goals ?
6. Why is it important for your Organization to think like your customers ?
7. Do you know the things you should keep in mind while implementing a CRM ?
8. Why is CRM Adoption more important than anything else ?
9. Do you know that a CRM can be used for Field Service, Channel or Partner Management or even for Product Management ?
10. And it can be used for Banking and Financial Services Sales ? Have you heard of Vertical CRMs ?

Do you understand the power of CRM Analytics or in other words Customer Analytics?

1. Why do you think CRM Analytics important ?
2. Lead stage to Close – how much time did the Prospect spend at each sales stage
3. Activities Vs Deal size – is your salesforce spending time and effort on high value deals
4. Weighted Vs Goal, Balanced Vs Goal, Pipeline Overview & Other snapshots
5. Forecasting, Forecasting Vs Actuals
6. Is 20% of your prospects giving you 80% of your revenue and vice-versa ?
7. Have you invested on Customer Analytics ?
8. How Dashboard Creation can help you and your Top management ?
9. What is the purpose of Campaign Analysis & Customer Segmentation ?
10. Why should anyone undertake Trend, What-if & Pipeline Analysis ?
11. Are you getting actionable insights from your customer data ?

Sales Training and Motivation:

1. When was the last time your Sales Force attended a Training program?
2. How often do you train your Sales Force?
3. Are they equipped to take your company to the next level?
4. Are they motivated enough?
5. Who fixes the compensation for your Sales Force?
6. What incentives do you give them?
7. Do you recognize your best sales persons?
8. What plans do you have to continuously educate your Sales Force?
9. Is your back end team [Product Management, Delivery Teams] taking regular feedback from your Sales Force?
10. Are you occasionally involving your Product / Delivery people  to meet prospects and customers along with your Sales Force?

I am sure these questions will help you frame fresh Sales Strategies, Process and Methodology. Spruce-up is not just desired but mandatory for growth.

Happy Selling !!

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