WHAT MAKES YOUR BEST INSIDE SALESPEOPLE SUCCESSFULpages.velocify.com/rs/leads360/images/Best Inside... · 2020-03-09 · What Makes Your Best Inside Salespeople Successful 3 Every

1What Makes Your Best Inside Salespeople Successful

Written & Researched by

Steve W. MartinSales Expert, HBR Contributor, and Author of the Heavy Hitter Sales Series

Nick HedgesPresident and CEO of Velocify

15 Factors That Separate High Performers From Underperformers

WHAT MAKES YOUR BEST

INSIDE SALESPEOPLE SUCCESSFUL


Steve W. Martin is an expert on the human nature of complex sales. His “Heavy Hitter” series of books for senior salespeople has helped over 100,000 salespeople become top revenue producers. His new book is titled Heavy Hitter I.T. Sales Strategy: Competitive Insights from Interviews with 1,000+ Key Information Technology Decision Makers and Top Technology Salespeople. Steve is a regular contributor to the Harvard Business Review and teaches at the University of Southern California Marshall School of Business MBA Program. You can learn more about Steve at www.stevewmartin.com.

About Steve W. Martin

About the Authors

Nick Hedges is the president and CEO of Velocify and a 15 year veteran of the Internet and software as a service (SaaS) industry. Nick has spent the last seven years at Velocify helping organizations accelerate sales performance and is a widely-recognized thought leader with respect to technology’s transforming impact on the sales profession. Nick is also a regular contributor to Inc.com, where he writes a column called Sales Acceleration. For more on Nick, visit http://velocify.com/company/leadership/

About Nick Hedges

http://www.stevewmartin.com/

http://velocify.com/company/leadership/


Every organization has underperforming sales reps. In fact, the popular 80/20 rule often holds true in the sales industry, with most reps underperforming – missing quota and appearing to lack motivation. When you try to help, they do better for a while and then dip back into the underperforming category. As a sales manager, it can be frustrating trying to get these underperforming reps to improve.

The goal of this research was to help shed light on this ongoing challenge by analyzing the top factors that differentiate high-performing inside salespeople from underperforming inside salespeople.

Nearly 200 inside salespeople participated in a comprehensive sales performance study by completing

an extensive 42-question survey. The study goals were to gather quantitative and qualitative information on individual sales performance. Participants were asked to share their opinions and personal details about their own quota performance. In exchange for their candor, it was agreed their names and organizations would remain anonymous.

Overall, 14 percent of study participants sell for companies with more than $1 billion in annual revenue, 10 percent between $500 million and $1 billion, 20 percent between $100 and $500 million, 7 percent between $50 and $100 million, 14 percent between $25 and $50 million, and 35 percent less than $25 million.

Study participants by company size (annual revenue)

Top Factors That Separate High-Performing From Underperforming Inside Salespeople

Less Than $25 Million35%

Over $1 Billion14%

$100 to $500 Million20%

$500 Million to $1 Billion10%

$50 to $100 Million7%

$25 to $50 Million14%


The industries represented in the survey in order by number of participant responses were financial services, high technology, business services, manufacturing/distribution, education, retail/hospitality, media/entertainment, healthcare, energy/utilities, and other industries.

Salespeople were asked to identify what type of salesperson they were and who they called on. Thirty-nine percent indicated they were “hunters” calling on new accounts. Four percent were “farmers” who were responsible for sales to existing install base clients. Fifty-three percent indicated they were both hunters and farmers. Four percent selected none of the above.

What type of inside salesperson are you?


Both hunter and farmer53%

Hunter - primarily responsible for winning new accounts

39%

Neither4%

Farmer - primarily responsible for existing accounts4%


Twenty-six percent of survey participants met or exceeded their annual quota last year and were classified as high performers. Forty percent met between 76 percent and 99 percent of their quota

and were classified as average performers. Thirty-four percent met 75 percent or less of their quota and were classified as underperformers.

Inside salesperson annual quota achievement


75% or less quota achievement

76% to 99% quota achievement

100% and over quota achievement

34%

40%

26%

Underperforming Inside Salespeople

Average Inside Salespeople

High-PerformingInside Salespeople


The study results were analyzed to find the differences and similarities between high-performing (100%+ quota) and underperforming (75% or less of quota) inside salespeople. The primary goal was to reveal the key attributes that influence individual sales success, both at

the organizational level and the individual level. The research uncovered three key areas for sales leaders to investigate in their own organizations, listed below:

1. The higher inside salespeople rate their sales organization, the more likely they are to meet and exceed quota.

2. Sales organization accountability influences individual quota achievement.

3. High-performing inside salespeople prioritize the factors that determine whether they make or miss

their quota differently than underperforming inside salespeople do.

4. High-performing inside salespeople believe a greater percentage of salespeople at their company should achieve annual quota.

5. There are fewer pessimists among high-performing inside salespeople.

6. High-performing inside salespeople rate the quality of their sales leaders more highly.

7. High-performing inside salespeople value different attributes of great sales managers.

8. High-performing inside salespeople have a different perception about the impact their sales managers have on their ability to make quota.

9. High-performing inside salespeople are in more frequent contact with their sales managers.

10. Sales experience and previous sales success influences future quota achievement success.

11. Inside salespeople at companies that closely monitor or strictly enforce a lead follow-up process are more likely to exceed quota.

12. High-performing inside salespeople are more likely to be power users of their company’s internal systems.

13. When competing for new accounts, high-performing inside salespeople lose business earlier in the sales cycle.

14. High-performing inside salespeople are more likely to find a balance in their use of social media and are more likely to know when the use of social media may not be necessary.

15. High-performing inside salespeople rated their company’s systems, training, and marketing programs more highly.

Evaluate Culture and Perspective

Evaluate Leadership and Experience

Evaluate Systems and Process

Evaluating What Differentiates Top Inside Salespeople


Thirty-three percent of high-performing inside salespeople rated their sales organization as excellent, compared to 21 percent of underperforming inside salespeople. Conversely, 29 percent of

underperforming inside salespeople rated their team as average or below average, compared to only 19 percent of high-performing inside salespeople.

The higher inside salespeople rate their sales organization, the more likely they are to meet and exceed quota.

An organization’s prevailing sales culture can have a significant impact on the performance of its sales team. Establishing a culture that promotes happy, positive salespeople is key to improving their chances of success. Much of an inside salesperson’s predisposition for success may come from the attitude

and perspective they bring into the job based on personality and prior experience, but there are always certain measures that an organization can take to further establish the right culture that provides an ideal environment for success.

How would you rate your sales organization?


Percentage of responses

0% 10% 30%20% 40% 60%50%

Excellent

Above average

Average

Below average

High-Performing Inside Salespeople Underperforming Inside Salespeople


Fifty percent of high-performing inside salespeople strongly agreed that salespeople at their company are measured against their quota and held

accountable, compared to only 26 percent of underperforming salespeople.

At your company, are inside salespeople consitently measured against their quota and held accountable?


Sales organization accountability influences individual quota achievement.


0% 10% 30%20% 40% 60%50%


Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree


Study participants were asked to rank the importance of different factors in determining whether a salesperson achieves their annual quota or not. In order of priority, the top four factors as rated by high-performing inside salespeople were motivation and focus, diligence and responsiveness, persuasiveness and communication, and likability and relationship building.

The top four factors for underperforming salespeople were work habits, motivation and focus, activity and persistence, and diligence and responsiveness. Overall, underperformers seem to place greater value on hard work, while high performers place greater value on softer skills and working smarter, not necessarily harder to meet quota.

Prioritized factors that determine whether inside salespeople make or miss quota

High-performing inside salespeople prioritize the factors that determine whether they make or miss their quota differently than underperforming inside salespeople do.


UnderperformingInside Salespeople


Most Important

Least Important

Motivation and focus

Diligence and responsiveness

Persuasiveness and communication

Likability and relationship building

Work habits

Activity and persistence

Industry and product knowledge

Organization and discipline

Intelligence and creativity

Achievability of quota set

Lead generation activities

Sales experience or aptitude

Work habits

Motivation and focus

Activity and persistence

Diligence and responsiveness

Lead generation activities

Likability and relationship building

Persuasiveness and communication

Industry and product knowledge

Organization and discipline

Sales experience or aptitude

Achievability of quota set

Intelligence and creativity


High-performing inside salespeople believe 81 percent of the salespeople at their company should achieve quota compared to 64 percent for underperforming

inside salespeople. In other words, higher performers believe their companies want more people to succeed.

From your company’s perspective, what is a realistic percentage of salespeople who should achieve quota?

High-performing inside salespeople believe a higher percentage of salespeople at their company should achieve annual quota.


Average of responses

0% 10% 30% 40% 50%20% 60% 70% 80% 90%

High-Performing Inside Salespeople



Twelve percent of underperformers described themselves as pessimists, compared to

only two percent of high performers.

Do you consider yourself an optimist or pessimist?

There are fewer pessimists among high-performing inside salespeople.


Percentage of responses selecting pessimist

0% 5% 10% 15%




Twenty-six percent of high-performing inside salespeople rate their sales manager as excellent, compared to only 10 percent of underperforming inside salespeople. Conversely, 52 percent of

underperforming inside salespeople rate their sales manager as average or below average, compared to 34 percent of high-performing inside salespeople.

High-performing inside salespeople know that much of their success is owed to their sales leadership. They leverage their own experience as well as the expertise

and wisdom of their leaders to ensure that they consistently meet or exceed their quotas.

How would you rate the sales leadership of your organization?

High-performing inside salespeople rate the quality of their sales leaders more highly.



0% 10% 30%20% 40% 50%


Excellent

Above average

Average

Below average


Study participants were asked to rate different attributes of great sales managers. The biggest difference between high performers and underperformers was their ranking of practical experience and sales intuition, and industry expertise and product knowledge. High performers ranked practical experience and sales intuition as the most important attribute and industry expertise and product knowledge as the fifth most

important attribute, while underperformers believed just the opposite, swapping the ranking of those two attributes. Another notable difference was the perceived importance of leadership and management skills. High performers ranked this as the second most important attribute, while underperformers ranked it as the fourth most important attribute.

Prioritized attributes of great sales managers

High-performing inside salespeople value different attributes of great sales managers.


UnderperformingInside Salespeople


Most Important

Least Important

Practical experience and sales intuition

Leadership and management skills

Communication and coaching skills

Fights for the team within the company

Industry expertise and product knowledge

Positive source of motivation

Industry expertise and product knowledge

Communication and coaching skills

Fights for the team within the company

Leadership and management skills

Practical experience and sales intuition

Collaboration and liability


When salespeople were asked to validate if their sales manager plays a key role in determining whether or not they make quota, 57 percent of high performers strongly agreed or agreed with the statement, compared to 34 percent of underperforming inside salespeople.

In comparison, 66 percent of underperforming inside salespeople were neutral or disagreed with the statement, as opposed to 43 percent of high-performing inside salespeople.

Outside of setting my annual quota, my sales manager plays a key role in determining whether or not I make quota

High-performing inside salespeople have a different perception about the impact their sales managers have on their ability to make quota.



0% 10% 30%20% 40%


Strongly agree

Agree

Neither agree nor disagree

Disagree


Eighty-seven percent of high performers and 70 percent of underperformers are in contact with their sales manager all the time throughout the day or frequently, multiple times a week. Thirty percent of

underperforming inside salespeople are in contact with their sales manager once or twice a week or a couple of times a month, compared to only 13 percent of high-performing inside salespeople.

How often are you in contact with your sales manager?

High-performing inside salespeople are in more frequent contact with their sales managers.



0% 10% 30%20% 60%40% 50%


Daily - all the time

Frequently - multiple times

a week

Once in a while - once or

twice a week

Infrequently - a few times

every couple of weeks or month


High-performing inside salespeople had an average of 16 years of sales experience, compared to 14 years of experience for underperforming salespeople. Over the course of their career high-performing

salespeople estimated they made their annual quota 90 percent of the time, compared to 79 percent of the time for underperforming salespeople.

How many years have you been in sales?

Over the course of my career, I estimate that I have made the quota I was assigned __% of the time

Sales experience and previous sales success influences future quota achievement success.


Average number of years in sales

13 14 1615 17



Average percentage of time meeting quota

70% 75% 85%80% 95%90%




Fifty percent of underperforming inside salespeople indicated their lead follow-up process was non-existent or informal, compared to 30 percent of high-performing inside salespeople. Conversely, 59 percent of

high-performing inside salespeople indicated their lead process was closely monitored, strictly enforced, or automated, compared to 28 percent of underperforming inside salespeople.

When it comes to building a team of high-performing inside salespeople, technology and discipline can be the great equalizers that level the playing field for salespeople of different skill levels and abilities. The use of technology in the form of multiple systems enables companies to take the practices of their best

salespeople and make them available to their entire sales team. It all starts with identifying and documenting those winning processes and then enforcing them or automating them through the use of technology and sales enablement tools.

How structured is your company’s lead follow-up process?


Inside salespeople at companies that closely monitor or strictly enforce a lead follow-up process are more likely to exceed quota.


0% 10% 30%20% 60%40% 50%


Non-existent or informal

Well documented

(written)

Closely monitored

Strictly enforced and

automated


Fifty-six percent of high-performing inside salespeople indicated they were power users who take full advantage of their company’s technology and internal systems, compared to 34 percent of underperforming inside salespeople. In comparison, 62 percent of underperforming salespeople said they

are knowledgeable about their company’s internal systems, compared to 44 percent of high-performing salespeople. Four percent of underperformers and no high performers said they only use their company’s technology and internal systems because they have to.

What best describes your use of your company’s technology and internal systems?


High-performing inside salespeople are more likely to be power users of their company’s internal systems.


0% 10% 30% 40% 50% 60%20% 70%


Power user who takes full

advantage

Knowledge and use

frequently

Only use because I have to


Sixty-eight percent of high-performing inside salespeople indicated they were most likely to lose a deal early in the sales cycle, compared to 54 percent of underperforming inside salespeople. Conversely, 23 percent of underperformers and 9 percent of high performers said they were more likely to lose a deal near the end of the sales cycle. One interpretation of

these results is that high-performing salespeople know they can only work on a finite number of deals, so they must pursue well-qualified accounts. Therefore, they actually want to lose earlier in the sales cycle so they are free to pursue more new, higher potential deals. Losing at the end of a sales cycle is a greater waste of valuable time, resources, and emotional energy.

When working on a new account, when during the sales cycle are you most likely to lose a deal?


When competing for new accounts, high-performing inside salespeople lose business earlier in the sales cycle.


0% 10% 30% 40% 50% 60%20% 70%


Early in the sales cycle

Middle of the sales cycle

Near the end of the sales cycle


These results suggest there really can be too much of a good thing. Everywhere we look, we hear about the advantages and benefits of using social media in sales. However, it may be surprising to many that power users of social media are more likely to be underperforming inside salespeople (18 percent) than high-performing inside salespeople (11 percent). The social media hype may be causing some salespeople to spend too much time in social channels and not enough time selling.

On the other hand, those who are light users of social media are also more likely to be underperformers, 34 percent versus 20 percent. Perhaps, low level users of social media aren’t really reaping the full benefits that social media really does have to offer. As in most cases,

balance is the key. Average users of social media are more likely to be high performers than underperformers.

Lastly, the use of social media might not be for everyone. The fact that 39 percent of high-performing inside salespeople do not use social media, as opposed to only 22 percent of underperforming inside salespeople, suggests that in certain industries or companies, the success of high-performing inside salespeople may be at least partly due to them finding or being provided enough high-quality leads through other sources, and consequently, they perhaps don’t have the need to generate their own leads through social media.

Do you use social media (LinkedIn Twitter, Facebook, etc.) to generae leads?


High-performing inside salespeople are more likely to find a balance in their use of social media and are more likely to know when the use of social media may not be necessary.


0% 10% 30%20% 40%


I am a power user of social

media

I am an average user

of social media

I am a low level user of social media

I do not use social media


High-performing salespeople consistently rated the systems, website, and lead generation, product training, sales process training, sales skills training, and field

marketing programs their companies provide more highly than did underperforming salespeople.

How well does your company support your sales efforts through each of the following means?


High-performing inside salespeople rated their company’s systems, training, and marketing programs more highly.


POORLY WELLFAIRLY VERY WELL


Company website

Sales process training

Sales skills training

Field marketing (webinars, seminars,

events)

System and tools

Lead generation programs

Product training

Velocify is a market-leading provider of cloud-based intelligent sales software, designed for high-velocity sales environments. Velocify helps sales teams keep pace with the speed of opportunity and increase revenue by driving rapid lead response, increased selling discipline, improved productivity, and actionable selling insights. The company has helped more than 1,500 companies across a variety of industries improve customer acquisition practices and sales performance. Velocify was recently recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in North America by Deloitte and a Best Place to Work by the Los Angeles Business Journal. For more information, please visit velocify.com or follow the company on Twitter @Velocify.

Contact Sales: 888-843-1777 l [email protected] to our blog: velocify.com/blog

Sales is more than a science-- it is an art. Sales success is the result of the skillful combination

of structure and free thinking, process and people, and logic and emotions. These individual

attributes include the salesperson’s experience, past success, their attitude about making

quota, and how they utilize their sales manager. In addition, sales success is determined by the

environment. High-performing salespeople work at better sales organizations that better support

their salespeople. They also have better sales leaders who hold their salespeople accountable.

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WHAT MAKES YOUR BEST INSIDE SALESPEOPLE SUCCESSFULpages.velocify.com/rs/leads360/images/Best Inside... · 2020-03-09 · What Makes Your Best Inside Salespeople Successful 3 Every