As a former Senior Sales rep, one of the more difficult challenges is prospecting through the terms of cold calling, emailing and social media outreach such as LinkedIn, managing your book of business and closing the sell. Wouldn’t it be nice if every customer responded with a positive outreach or picked up the phone to an unrecognized number? Sales, in my opinion, is all about overcoming rejection and how to handle rejection. In the many unsuccessful attempts I have had in my career as a sales rep, it took years to finally understand the processes of Sales Flow, starting from how to determine your strategy and managing your book of business. In the following informative blog, I am going to walk you through the Sales and Marketing process and the strategic approaches through my experience of my success. In the process below, I am going to saves you years of conflict and help you develop an IT Sales strategy that will help you grow and manage your Sales team.
Book of Business:
Identifying your Previous Sales Challenges
Step 1: When it comes to being a sales rep and sales manager for your company, you first want to understand the key challenges you previously can identify. This is to help you better understand what needs to be fixed and how you can achieve your goal. Think to yourself, how could I “realistically” do better? I have broken this down to three categories: Marketing, Sales Channels and Sales Support: If I am not identifying my key challenges, then how could I ever expect to grow? Example Below:
Book of Business:
Marketing and Sales Process
Step 2: The next step in the process, is determining your target market and value proposition. This is done through determining your high-level target market, business segments and how we should approach each segment. Break it down into segments - small, medium and large. Obviously, the current IT needs would be different from the smaller business needs. I have created a detailed example below how to determine those segments based on previous experience.
Step 3: Once you have determined your target market and segment, the next step is to determine how you plan to manage and plan your sales and marketing. Think to yourself, how do we fill the top of the funnel with qualified leads and prospects? In the example below your will see 4 metric funnels I used in IT sales: Referral DB, Vendor DB, Internal DB and white space accounts such as 3rd Party Tools (i.e., ZoomInfo and LinkedIn Sales Navigator). With each funnel, you want to determine the process and gaps similar to the example I provided below. If you don’t determine your current gaps, then how can you expect your sales process to flow smoothly?
Step 4: After you have determined your sales process and gaps, the next step is to focus on your key areas and initiatives. In the example below that I have created, I have determined the stages of the typical client, the key focuses, go to market strategies, goal and the expected desired outcome. At this stage, I have set the expectations of how I want to close those gaps.
Book of Business:
Determining your Companies’ Cylinders
Step 5: In the next stage of the sales process, take a step and determine the cylinders for your company’s engine. Think to yourself what are those cylinders, how do they operate, how do I utilize each cylinder to manage a functional business?
Below is an example of a former company of mine on how I determined I could operate and manage my cylinders in the book of business. This included utilizing my 24/7 tech team for costumers who needed help immediately, when a network goes does in a company, this could cost millions at time goes by, so its important showing the extra values fo your business. Utilizing my sister companies to gain referrals, expressing that aside from loans and insurance we also do managed IT service needs. Reflecting on the active and existing clients including dormant customers, how do you want to nurture those accounts and grow them to capitalize your gains efficiently? Below is an example of how I determined my cylinders, and in each cylinder, I have created an example of how I want to operate those cylinders efficiently. I have also included the 5 stages of prospect awareness and marketing strategies.
Step 6: Once you have determined your digital marketing plan, keep it simple and short in this stage of the process, determine what was accomplished in 2022 and the plans for 2023. Example below:
KPI Metric System
Step 7: The next step in the process of managed growth is determining the KPI metrics for a business.
This is projects (servers, network refreshed, computer refreshes, cloud solutions), procurement spend (everyday IT needs), and managed services, managing everyday IT needs. Projects are major IT needs in an organization that can take anywhere from 1-9 months to close and bring in margins 18% and above. Everyday IT procurement needs, may be printers, laptops, cables, etc., basically small everyday use needs. Managed IT needs is where the money is to be found, this is reoccurring revenue through a contract in which a company manages the IT needs for a 3rd party company. Within your metric you want to establish a KPI report with your sales team. I find this important, as Sales is pressure, and it helps measure your goal to success. Example below:
Step 8: Finally, determine your next steps, how do you plan to execute your strategy?
*For a copy of these slides, please feel free to reach out to me at jrogers@crancer.us
Managing your book of business is essential for long-term success in any industry. It involves nurturing client relationships, identifying growth opportunities, and optimizing your sales strategies. At The Crancer Group, we understand the challenges you face and are committed to providing the support and expertise you need to excel. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you take control of your book of business and drive your business forward.
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