Impact of Protocols
How does the adoption of sales protocols impact sales leadership? First in recruiting, sales management must adjust the sales candidate’s profile (more adaptable/intelligence/ creative) and train salespeople to be more attuned to the prospect’s situation.
Second, sales training will be more critical and intense. Leaders will have to raise the bar on skill development to ensure that salespeople can execute the various protocols. Companies are likely to create their own certification and sales training programs in lieu of relying on traditional sales training firms.
Since effective protocols may change a sales approach, the sales actions will not follow traditional sales training methodology. Sales leaders will need to accompany salespeople on onsite sales calls more often to ensure they are able to follow protocols, validate their expertise, and test the protocol against the reality of the sales environment.
Sales metrics will also become more critical and more complex. In a traditional sales organization, sales management may track four to six metrics—a combination of historical and forward-looking sales activity and pipeline values. In the new environment, sales leadership will use some of the same metrics, but also begin to monitor other actions based on the types of sales protocols being followed and linking them with success ratios to specific sales actions being executed.
The “art and science” of sales management will still rely on the salesperson’s ability to create trust and confidence during the sales process, but they will be aided with a more prescriptive, proven approach to winning the sale.
