Table: Alignment between the enduring elements of sales transaction & a solid sales foundation

I often meet with business owners, founders, entrepreneurs, etc to discuss all things business strategy and sales. The typical refrain I hear during these meetings sounds something like “I need to find some great sales people.”. Or “I thought Jack (company’s sales rep) would do great, but he just isn’t able to close deals”. I’ll listen and ask questions to dig a bit deeper. Most often I’ll find that the company hasn’t taken the time to lay a foundation for the sales resources to be effective at their job. This isn’t rocket science, but many small business leaders haven’t taken the time to think about sales as much as they think about the product and/or service that they’re offering to their customers.

As I ask questions the client inevitably begins to realize that they haven’t given their sales rep the foundational tools, structure, processes, etc. to have a chance at being successful. A simple and effective way to think about this is to consider the enduring elements of a sales transaction. Stated differently, consider the elements, regardless or industry, geography, products, etc that are ever-present in all sales transactions. Once you uncover those enduring elements, then consider how your existing sales foundation (structure/workflows/process/resources) aligns with those enduring elements of a sales transactions. You will quickly see the gaps that need to be addressed to increase the odds of success for your sales organization. Address these gaps as you lay a solid sales foundation for your company. It will save you heartache, time, and money…and your company will be in a better position to increase sales. Below is a simple table that shows the enduring elements of a sales transaction next to the core elements of a solid sales foundational.

Where are you gaps? Are you ready to address them?

Consider laying a solid sales foundation by aligning with the enduring elements of a sales transaction.