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In my last blog post, I introduced the idea of sales innovation, and how it is the most important thing a sales manager can do to drive growth.  I left you hanging about the specific activities inherent to sales innovation–and I promise to get there–but to really understand the concept, we need some context.

This story starts with why growth is so hard right now: changing customer behaviors.  There has been a lot of change in customer situations–increased price pressure, decreased budgets, etc –but while these changes may dissipate over time, we see a few trends that we think are here to stay:

1. More customer stakeholders involved with the deal
2. Customers pushing risk onto suppliers
3. Rise of third party consultants auditing deal agreements

What this means at the 10,000-foot level:  it is getting harder and harder to get a deal to close.  Looking closer, you can see that it’s getting harder in a very specific way that relies on the manager.

It helps to think about the path of a sale in two main stages:

• First, selling a customer on a vision
• Second, getting them to buy an offering customized to their specific needs

Think about it:  with every sale, we begin with the customer in some sort of status quo—uncomfortable as it may be, given the tough economy of late—then, through the recognition of a need, the customer agrees on a vision.  

Once that vision is agreed upon, we move to the second stage of the sale where the vision is vetted across the organization: budgets are checked, teams are consulted, and ultimately a purchasing decision is made.

The first part of that sale is supported heavily by the organization (i.e., Marketing, Product) and relies heavily on a strong value proposition.  But the second part of the sale – being specific to a customer’s individual needs and circumstances – is where the rep really relies on his/her manager for support.

First, the good news:  in some ways, the selling of a vision has gotten easier.  Not easy, of course, but easier.  Members tell us that customers are more open to having an initial conversation, in part because the budget and resource squeeze that affected everyone last year has put most customers in a tough place.   Also, many of our members have found that doing a better job commercial teaching also makes selling a vision go smoother.

Now, the bad news: all of the negative changes in customer behavior we mentioned earlier (e.g., increased need for consensus, reduced appetite for risk) all conspire to significantly expand both the time and effort it takes to move a customer from buying a vision, to ultimately purchasing an offering.  Yet that is where we rely on the manager the most.

And with that context, it makes much more sense why sales innovation – a manager’s deal-level support – is so critical.

Next post, we’ll have much more on what sales innovation looks like and how you build it.  But what do you think about this model for sales?  What kind of support do you provide for reps navigating the customer from buying a vision to purchasing an offering?

Related posts:

1. The Secret Of Star Manager Success
2. Protecting Your Sales Managers’ Time
3. The Six Things All Managers Are Good At
4. Think You’re Good At Coaching? Your Reps Don’t.
5. What do Sales Managers and Sword-Fighting Swedish Skiers have in Common?