What You Used In the Past Is Not Going To Work In The Future

Is it time to rethink your sales strategy?  What you used in the past is not going to work in the future.  New buying behaviors are moving out from underneath their traditional rocks.  A unified sales effort will be crucial to your future success. It may be a good time to conduct a selling model inventory.

When is the last time you conducted an inventory of your selling model, if ever?  The electronics age has changed the landscape of sales and marketing forever.  Many organizations are leaning on past success and methods and attempting to fold in a new way of selling into their familiar selling methods, instead of embracing the new, and folding in the old.  It is like the adage of placing new wine in an old wine skin, it does not work.  You can place new wine into the old wineskin, but eventually the expansion will burst the old wineskin because it does not have the flexibility of a fresh wineskin.

The same can hold true of our selling model.  Should we continue on with what is familiar or look to the future and adjust our sales model accordingly?  What we used in the past is not going to work in the future.  Many of us are embracing the social aspects of selling and marketing through our existing selling models.  Buying behaviors have changed and decisions are emerging from non-traditional places.  A unified sales effort across the entire organization is needed and should be obtained to ensure long term growth and success. 

To follow are a few guidelines to conduct your own selling model inventory.  First you need to honestly evaluate your existing selling model and processes. I speak with many sales executives and on the surface everything is perfect and running smoothly. However, when you dig a little deeper, reality is much different.

Inventory Your Current Selling Model and Processes

Drill down and list all the aspects of your selling model, methodologies and processes, including all areas past and present.  Take your time and involve multiple individuals in the information gathering exercise.

Define What Has Been Successful and Identify Areas for Improvement

Past to present – (What got you to where you are today?)
List out what areas of your “inventory” have been most successful in the past and present, and then list areas that you recognize are in need of improvement. You must be brutally honest and place your pride aside for the best results and outcome.

Compare Your Current Selling Model to Your Current Product and Solution Set

Current to current – (What is happening currently?)
Is your current selling model meeting and exceeding the needs and requirements of your current product and solution set?  Are your sales and marketing efforts being reflected in the overall revenue growth?  Simply ask yourself this “Is your current selling model supporting your current solution set”?  A simple yes or no answer should shed a lot of light on reality.
 

Relate Your Current Selling Model with Your Future Direction and Determine the Synergies

Current to future – (Where are you going?)
Define the future direction of your products and solution sets and ask yourself “Will your current selling model meet the needs of your future product and solution sets”?  In other words, is the way you are currently conducting business going to cut it three to five years from now?

Align your Future Direction with a Future Selling Model

Future to future – (How will you get there?)
Delve further and ask yourself this question based on the direction of the sales and marketing industry, “What selling model will I need to have in place to support the future sales and marketing requirements of my future product and solution sets”.  As you traverse through the previous points, the answer to this question should become very clear.  Many times it is the exercise and the journey itself that will generate the answers to appear right in front of us.

You can easily transition your current style into a future direction. All it takes is a little honesty and the willingness to make a slight shift towards the future.  It is all about the correct products, sold to the right customers, through the right selling model.

Contact Five Opportunities to conduct a Selling Model Inventory for your organization today and align your future products and solutions to a future selling model that will guarantee success for years to come.

Contact info:

Richard Francart
rlf@fiveopportunities.com
724-313-OPPS (6777)