As working women, and maybe even for a few of those progressive men in my network, we spend the majority of our adulthood and hundreds of dollars trying to find the right tool to keep the grout in the shower clean. BTW, after 30+ years of searching, I did find it: Scotch-Brite Hand & Nail Brush. Of course, that's not the reason for this post.
Shower cleaning is just an analogy for my #fintech #CEO and #CRO friends. So often, we expect our #sales team to be successful, but we haven't armed them with the right tool for the job. First, you'll see evidence of shabby pipelines and missed quotas, followed by resignations right around the 12-month mark. Yeah, I think sales success is directly aligned to the tools you provide, and as CEO or CRO - it's your job, not theirs.
The Sponge. Many CEOs, especially those in the early stages, think that arming a salesperson with an engaging mission statement and demo is enough to bring in deals. That's no different from using a sponge to clean grout. It covers the surface but doesn't work.
The Power Drill. Others go to the opposite extreme providing your reps with detailed presentations about every single solitary feature of your solution. You'll test them on their knowledge of your product and overwhelm them with details that are relevant for users after they sign but rarely match the needs of the decision-maker during the buying journey.
The Scotch-Brite Nail Brush. The relevancy of this analogy is that it still takes muscle and hard work but with the right tools, your team will be successful! So what should be in a salesperson's toolbox? The Basic Toolbox should include lists of target buyers (not just market segment), a clear description of the problem you solve, pricing, competitors and other alternatives, scripts for networking, discovery calls, and demos, a simple benefits-based brochure, and of course some sort of CRM. The Advanced Toolbox also includes buyer personas and their journeys, qualification questionnaires, presentations for each stage in the buying cycle, ROI calculators, value props with proof statements, and most importantly, access to you to share their experiences and iterate on the tools they need.
If you're wondering why your sales team has too much turnover and results are less than stellar, I encourage you to clean your shower grout with these three tools, then ask yourself whether you have armed sales with the right tools to be successful.
Please comment with other sales tools for your toolbox...or, of course, if you think you found a better grout cleaner. :)