Bugbears of a Salesperson

7/23/2019 Bugbears of a Salesperson

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ISSUES, CHALLENGES AND

BARRIERS TO SUCCESS

Sales in 2015 and beyond

A research guide into the bugbears of a salesperson

An eBook by



Unfortunately, the answer is not a simple one. The

frustrations, obstacles, and niggles that plague the modern

salesperson are diverse, and more often than not they’reunavoidable. Of course, in order to confront the challenges

facing salespeople, it’s essential to understand what these

challenges are and how they lead to sub-optimal

performance and revenues.

First, it’s important to recognize that no two sales teams

are alike, as the sales profession spans multiple industries

and sectors, and the issues each organization faces vary

according to factors such as the economic health of its

market, its budget for additional sta members, and its

overall technological aptitude.

We’ve done some research, surveying 283 sales pros from

the UK and the US, and have identied the challenges

commonly faced by professionals across organizations of

dierent sizes, in dierent areas, and in dierent trades.

really bothers

salespeople? Why

aren’t they winning

more business?

What’s keeping themfrom selling more?

Sales in 2015 and beyond: issues, c hallenges and barriers to success

In this report, we’ll oer insights into the banes, burdens

and bugbears salespeople face on a day-to-day basis.

The ndings are presented in this eBook, and should provea valuable resource for any business leader looking to

correct defciencies, boost sales, and improve customer

relationships.

1

What

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Respondents are primarily based in North America (62.9%)

and the United Kingdom (35.0%). However, within this scope

was a range of companies of dierent sizes, operating

within dierent industries.


2

1.

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THE SALESPEOPLE

So, who did we speak to?

62.9% USA/Canada

35.0% UK

2.1% Rest of the world

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) were well-represented,

with 44.9% of respondent companies having under fty

employees, while organizations with over 250 members

of sta amounted to 30% of those surveyed. The ‘middle’

groups, with 51-100 employees and 101-250 employees,

amounted to 13.8% and 11.3% respectively.

What is the size of your company?

44.9% Less than 50 people

13.8% 51 - 100

11.3% 101 - 250

30.0% 250+








The 283 surveyed individuals, working for an eclectic variety

of businesses, provide a more than suciently diverse

foundation for the remainder of this report. With this rangeof salespeople to draw on – from large corporations to

tiny startups, from builders and car manufacturers to oce

suppliers and food companies – we have a far greater idea

of the challenges facing the profession as a whole.

industry does yourcompany operate in?


3

Which

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17.7% Automotive

19.4% Building & construction

9.5% Food & drink

11.0% Jan/San

8.1% Oce supplies

34.3% Industrial supplies

Industrial

Building

Automotive

Jan/San

Food & drink

Oce








Sales professionals face a number of challenges on a

day to-day basis, both in customer-facing and internal

capacities. Often, it seems like the job requires employeesto be in several places at once, and the resulting pressure

can be overwhelming for them and detrimental to the

company’s revenue.

So, what do sales professionals worry about the most

before they get out of bed each morning?


4

2.

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THEIR BIGGEST DAY-TO-DAY CHALLENGES

What is your biggest daily challenge?

49.5%Understanding which customers are

falling in sales and new opportunities

6.4%

4.6%

23.0%

16.6%

Preparing for meetings

Compiling sales reports

Upselling to existing customers

Having visibility into what my sales

team is doing

Falling sales

Preparation

Sales reports

Upselling

Visibility








there any otherchallenges thatsalespeople face?


5

Are

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General administrative tasks posed a problem for a (not so

insignicant) minority: 4.6% listed ‘compiling sales reports’

as their biggest challenge, while 6.4% claimed ‘preparing for

meetings’ was theirs. These are tasks quite separate from

the meat and potatoes of selling, so it’s understandable that

professionals might balk at them: they’re time consuming,

mentally draining, and don’t seem to have any direct

correlation with increasing revenue.

Admin

Many professionals also found transparency to be a key

issue. 16.6% said that visibility into the activities of the sales

team was their most signicant daily challenge. Without

insight into the way sta members are dividing their labor,

there’s no means by which to understand their ineciencies,

productivity (or lack thereof) or areas for improvement.

Often the result of this is, at best, a stagnant sales team and

at worst, one in active decline.

Visibility

Still, this wasn’t the biggest challenge facing our survey

respondents. 49.5% of respondents said their main problem

was understanding which customers were falling in sales

and identifying new opportunities, while 23% were troubled

by upselling to existing customers.

These have long been issues for salespeople. While the

traits commonly thought of as essential to success in this

profession are still important, all the personal charm in

the world won’t keep a neglected customer from going

elsewhere – and it won’t unearth new leads or business

opportunities on its own. Equally, in order to upsell a

product to a regular customer, it is necessary to convince

them that they need it, but some part of them must need it

in the rst place.

Sales is often a delicate balance and, if nothing else, our

survey respondents have demonstrated how dicult it is to

get right.

Finding opportunities








should you and yourteam do about it?


6

What

www.sales-i.com

Automate admin by using technology. Get rid of time

consuming routine tasks in favor of high-value, customer-

facing work.

Automate admin

Use analytics tools to track and measure employee activity.

This will provide greater visibility into how your sales team

is spending their time, and will highlight areas in which

productivity may be down.

Track activity

Use customer data to your advantage. Analytics can

identify buying patterns and trends. Understand what your

customers want before they even know they need it.

Track activity








Not all of the diculties contemporary salespeople face are

so dramatic. While most professionals can easily identify

an issue with lead generation or upselling, problems withprocess are often of equal signicance – collectively, if not

on their own.

Frequently, it’s the smaller operational tasks that cause the

most delay and preclude them from superior performance.

On their own, they might seem mildly annoying;

cumulatively, they can have a drastic impact on prots and

workplace productivity.


7

3.

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OPERATIONALHEADACHES

17.3%

9.5%

28.3%

11.3%

33.6%

Manual data entry

Using Excel for sales reporting and

analysis

Too much information stored across

dierent systems

Accessing information when I’m out ofthe oce

Getting hold of timely information to

use when selling

Some of these seem like necessary administrative evils.

For example, 17.3% identied issues with manual data

entry, which will have some crossover with the 9.5% who

found trouble with using Excel for reporting and analysis.

With technological solutions widely available, it is not

even necessary to have administrative assistants doing

this work, let alone dedicated sales professionals: their

energies should be concentrated on tasks more relevant to

increasing the company’s bottom line.

Data entry

But the biggest complications by far are all to do with a lack

of information. Whether you’re hawking beauty products

door-to-door or sealing big B2B deals, sales was, is, and

always will be a mobile profession, and to get the best

results, consultants can’t go in blind. With this in mind, it’s

understandable that 11.3% have trouble when they can’t

access information outside of the oce.

Furthermore, 33.6% indicated that their main problem was

acquiring timely information to use while selling which can

be borderline crippling for a business’ prot margins. But

even when information is accessible, a lack of consolidation

means that 28.3% are wasting time attempting to retrieve

it from dierent formats simply because the organization

knows no other way.

Accessing information










8

What

www.sales-i.com

Ditch manual entry. Invest in technological solutions and

save hundreds of man-hours. That’s hundreds more hours

of selling time.

Remove manual processes

Cut down on unnecessary processes by using a single

platform to access all your customer information.

Use one system








If you’re a business owner with a sales team, you’ll know

all too well how willing they are to take credit for success.

Every deal signed is the result of a moment of Ricky Roma

style brilliance; every dollar or pound earned is one earned

by their sheer bravado, intelligence, and determination.

Naturally, when it comes to underperformance, they’re

a little bit quieter. Nevertheless, it would be pointless to

pretend that the problems plaguing sales teams have

nothing to do with the sales teams themselves, so it’s worth

taking a quick look at their decision-making processes.


9

4.

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MAKING DECISIONS

6.0%

13.8%

39.9%

40.0%

I go with my gut

I manually sort through customer data

to nd the information I need

I use technology to analyze data which

informs my decisions

Based on the relationships I have withcustomers

Gut instinct

Manually

Technology

Relationships










10

What

www.sales-i.com

Of those surveyed, 40% said they made decisions based

on the relationships they have with customers. This is very

understandable, but hardly quantiable. The importance

of solid rapport shouldn’t be understated, but it’s also

important to acknowledge that it isn’t everything. If it’s not

being measured, it’s not a reliable indicator of anything

other than how much a sales professional gets on with a

particular customer.

This trend of using unveriable information to make major

decisions is also widespread – and even worse – with the 6%

who said they make decisions with ‘their gut.’ Again, instinct

is important, it’s just highly unlikely to make money on its

own on a long-term basis. A ‘feeling’ should be checked

against evidence and data before it is acted on.

Thankfully, there is some indication that, in other quarters,

sales professionals are wising up somewhat. 39.9% claim

to use technology for the purpose of data analysis and

decision making, while a further 13.8% manually sort through

data to nd the information they need – an inecient

approach, and one liable to fall prey to the old ‘correlation =

causation’ fallacy, but a (very tiny) step in the right direction

nonetheless.

Make decisions based on data and facts, not your gut even

if you ‘feel’ that it’s not correct.

Don’t use your gut








There are ways to remove the administrative burden

entirely and enable sales professionals to pursue the

business of actual selling. There are ways to, if not quite

read a customer’s mind, at least predict their movements

with eerie and prot-boosting accuracy.

There are ways to take that mass of marketing data and turn

it into actionable trends and insights.

There are ways to ensure you will never turn up unprepared

for a client meeting or customer call ever again.

This is the promise of sales intelligence technology. By

leveraging the power of big data analytics, it supplies the

people most important to your company’s success with the

tools they need to guarantee it.


11

5.

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RISING TO THECHALLENGE

“The biggest challenge? Taking theleap in the rst place.”









About“It is a no brainer for distributors, andthe personal service is outstanding.”

sales-i is sales performance software designed to make

every sales call more personal and protable.

sales-i enables sales professionals to clearly identify and

target high quality sales opportunities within their current

customer base. Equipped with customer buying behavioralerts, salespeople can make insightful, personalized,

quick business decisions, realizing repeat sales, reduced

customer attrition and maximized prot margins as a result.

sales-i will change the way you sell. Get in touch for a free,

online demonstration and judge our software for yourself.

[email protected]

www.sales-i.com

- Scott Bennett, Bennett Auto Supply

“One call using sales-i yielded a $5,000order from an account that was leavingus for a competitor, he felt we did notcare, sales-i showed him we did.”

- Ron Dahlhaus, Prostock Automotive

“We’ve closed o the nancial year 58%up on the previous year and attributethis directly to sales-i and their salesperformance software.”

- Larry Sexton, Ofce 360º

We are the leader in sales performancefor distributors and wholesalers.

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Bugbears of a Salesperson