Effective Sales Models

I wrote this article about the difference between sales process and sales methodology.  In addition to those two sales infrastructure components, companies should have a sales model.  How is the model different from the other two key components of an effective sales organization?

Where processes contain the sequence of customized/optimized steps, milestones and tasks in your sales cycle, and methodologies are the sales approaches or styles, the model is the success formula.  The model is presented to new salespeople during orientation and it demonstrates what they must do in order to succeed.  Models often include the target customer/client, some application of what they would typically purchase, a revenue goal per customer/client/account and a summary of how many of those it takes to achieve quota/goal/income.  In summary, the model is a blueprint for what your successful salespeople do in order to succeed.

When companies are able to easily and successfully plug-in new salespeople, have predictable ramp-ups and few hiccups, it is because they usually have all three crucial pieces of sales infrastructure in place.

Do you have a customized, optimized, formal, structured sales process that delivers consistent predictable results and everyone follows it?

Do you have a sales methodology and everyone is able to effectively utilize it?

Do you have a sales model that everyone understands and they all use it to achieve success?

If you are missing any or all of these components, or have them but people aren’t locked in to them, think of the consequences in terms of each component having the potential to provide a 33% gain in revenue over the course of 1-3 years!