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The need for STAR: the hard testIf you answer yes to any of these hard (measurable) criteria, then STAR needs immediate implementation inside your organization.
1. Your company is not consistently "hitting its sales numbers". 2. Some (all?) of your regional sales managers are struggling and not consistently "hitting numbers". 3. Your senior sellers are not growing revenue and/or are not consistently "hitting numbers". (Some of your senior sellers have recently resigned.) 4. Ramp time for newly hired sellers is longer than six months. 5. You are experiencing high turnover within the sales organization. 6. Your CRO/Head of Sales is new to the organization. 7. There has been a re-org in the company and/or your product offering has evolved dramatically of late. |
The need for STAR: the softer criteriaIf you answer yes to any of these soft criteria, you need STAR. Make sure your restless sleep stops and implement STAR immediately.
1. There is no installed selling process that guides all on the sales team. 2. Your sales team is under-performing against its potential and your expectations. 3. Your sales managers are not effective assessing the skill development needs of those on their team. 4. Your sales managers are not accomplished skill developers. 5. Your company does not regularly use a B2B sales-specific evaluation protocol that yields quantifiable and prescriptive recommendations. 6. Your hiring process is not efficient nor quick, and your company does not have an effective on-boarding process that trains and prepares newly hired sellers for success. 7. Your company does not utilize a formal skill development plan that supports, trains, and motivates your sellers. |
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Sorry, bows and arrows aren't going to work...never have. Revenue operations are most successful when sales management and sellers are all operating from a clear and clean plan. |
The current "performance crisis".
It's not fair to say "my sellers aren't selling", or, "my sales managers don't know what they're doing". Those statements are not accurate, not helpful, in diagnosing the problems you are experiencing with your revenue operations. Unfortunately, for those who buy the books and lecture tickets, most of the so-called pundits have never managed sales teams. Most of them don't know what they're talking about, and they complicate the issue. (But of course, they want to sell books and lecture tickets.)
Most B2B sales orgs are currently experiencing a "performance crisis" that requires a more actionable and specific game plan versus what is being utilized within organizations, or what is recommended by the "experts". Consider the following:
1. Competition, complex business models, lightning-fast timelines and pace all contribute to knock even the most focused and organized sales managers and revenue drivers off their game.
2. Sales managers - the lever who are instrumental in driving revenue growth and sustained success - are inexperienced and untrained to do the herculean tasks being asked of them.
3. Everybody has robust amounts of data from CRMs and other sales enablement technologies, but few companies follow a repeatable and disciplined sales process that positively drives results. Thus, companies wrongly think their CRM can handle the full load of support for sales management efforts.
4. Technology (email, texting, portals, social extensions) has a reverse effect on workplace dynamics versus what is promised: communication is eroding inside sales orgs to the point where "nobody has the time" and nothing gets done. As a result, attention to fundamentals and foundational sales process diminishes by the day.
Is it any wonder there's a performance crisis inside most B2B sales orgs today?
Is it any wonder sellers and sales managers don't stick around too long? (Numerous research supports this fact; one market survey puts seller tenure as low as 1.4 years in B2B companies.)
The question isn't whether or not you need STAR, the question is why wait?
Most B2B sales orgs are currently experiencing a "performance crisis" that requires a more actionable and specific game plan versus what is being utilized within organizations, or what is recommended by the "experts". Consider the following:
1. Competition, complex business models, lightning-fast timelines and pace all contribute to knock even the most focused and organized sales managers and revenue drivers off their game.
2. Sales managers - the lever who are instrumental in driving revenue growth and sustained success - are inexperienced and untrained to do the herculean tasks being asked of them.
3. Everybody has robust amounts of data from CRMs and other sales enablement technologies, but few companies follow a repeatable and disciplined sales process that positively drives results. Thus, companies wrongly think their CRM can handle the full load of support for sales management efforts.
4. Technology (email, texting, portals, social extensions) has a reverse effect on workplace dynamics versus what is promised: communication is eroding inside sales orgs to the point where "nobody has the time" and nothing gets done. As a result, attention to fundamentals and foundational sales process diminishes by the day.
Is it any wonder there's a performance crisis inside most B2B sales orgs today?
Is it any wonder sellers and sales managers don't stick around too long? (Numerous research supports this fact; one market survey puts seller tenure as low as 1.4 years in B2B companies.)
The question isn't whether or not you need STAR, the question is why wait?
“Productivity isn't a function of resources or smarts, but of making certain choices in certain ways."
- Charles Duhigg, Author of Smarter Faster Better: The Secrets of Being Productive