With the limitation of knowledgeable people to put in sales roles, have we changed job description expectations to be successful in today’s economy?
To continue from the last blog I published, I see leaders aiming at growth again. The question is, are your structure and job expectations meeting the market expectation?
Most leaders have a process for growth from their own historic path to leadership. But that begs the question, are sales done the same way? Was social media even in the mix when you learned about the sales business? Was there focus on a combination, or was it about revenue, regardless of the concentration? I think what we have all learned during the recent downturn in business; concentration is very important!
Most sellers in the market leverage their network, with 80% of their time on warm relationships and 20% on building new opportunities. I think that ratio makes us look at our structure and job description for growth. Do we have the correct job descriptions and structure to build something sustainable?
I propose we do not. We need to rethink how we go about growth and our target concentration to make the business sustainable. My experience with developing growth is that you try to find as many customers needing that solution once you build a solution that gets traction. While the revenue is great, would it not be more disciplined to offer that solution to the market leader first, not everyone?
The other challenge I see with our industry’s approach to growth is innovating solutions that come from individual salespeople. We do not structure a position to innovate, and having a plan for innovation is critical. Instead, we have a plan to grow sales. Before you even address the issue of growth, I propose that you need a roadmap for revenue concentration based on innovation you have developed.
Once you have a roadmap and a series of innovations to grow, then decide whether you want existing salespeople to introduce innovation to strategic targets and existing warm account relationships. This brings up the discussion of the business development role or traditional sales model.
My experience with brands is they engage in the solution and maintain relations based on the individual service and relationship. Our industry has complained about the cost of sales for years, but by my witness, all the innovation comes from sales, not from the company. Great innovation comes from a deep understanding and knowledge of a business sector or company. We as an industry need to invest in innovation and develop a process to innovate.
Change the structure, rewrite the expectation, and make your business grow sustainably and everlasting.
Many of you reading this will ask, “where do I find this innovation developer?” My answer is to look internally first for someone with the rough characteristics of the job description and look at thought-leadership about Intrapreneuring and productivity. I have attached two references that I think will make a difference.
https://www.amazon.com/Intrapreneuring-Action-Handbook-Business-Innovation/dp/1576750612
Also check out our blog post about Productization:
https://hartconsultingservices.com/archives/1076
https://hartconsultingservices.com/archives/1154
About HCS
HCS is teaching graphic communication companies (GCCs) how to thrive through challenging shifts in the marketplace. We have deep expertise formed over 13 years of marketing and business process consulting to this market segment. Our team guides businesses on how to get started – or grow their reach – with custom developed digital content marketing. We know the graphic communications industry from the inside out, and we help businesses of all sizes face down challenges in order to truly thrive. With HCS, you get streamlined service from six experts – for less than the cost of one in-house hire.
We also assist in structuring and building and internal department.
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