Sales leaders know end-of-quarter stress all too well. Nothing’s worse than the VP or the CEO breathing down your neck, asking about all the deals that were “likely to close.”
You can picture the scene: You frantically provide guidance to the reps working those deals, hoping they’ll be able to bring them home. As your reps scramble to push deals through, your prospects can sense their desperation. In some cases, you extend discounts that eat into profitability. In others, you make buyers so uncomfortable that you ruin the chances of closing a deal that would have otherwise come through eventually. Either way, this reactive approach isn’t good for you, your reps, or your company.
Derailed by Deal Mechanics
The problem stems from spending review sessions simply figuring out the status of each deal in the pipeline. If you’re focused on deal size, expected close date, probability to close, and rep activities to date, you don’t have time to strategize on how to win the deal. In other words, you’re dealing with a major blindspot in your pipeline.
Sales Navigator Deals gives you a complete, clear view into pipeline health, freeing you to support your reps in ways that matter. By proactively guiding your reps during review sessions on ways to advance their deals, you stand a far better chance of keeping your boss off your back and helping your reps live up to their full potential. Here are three opportunities to better apply your experience and wisdom during deal review sessions.
Get Targeted in Pursuing Opportunities
Your reps can be well versed in the hottest industry trends and focused on the right companies. But if they’re not targeting and connecting with the right people within those accounts, they’re spinning their wheels..
Zero in on the account contacts your reps have in their sights. Once you’ve confirmed your reps are connected to the right people, identify the key stakeholders they’re overlooking. Many seemingly promising deals fall apart when last-minute evaluators and influencers enter the picture.
Build Out Your Buyer Circle
Today one in five decision makers changes roles each year, making it imperative to develop multiple connections within a target account.
As the membership of the buying team changes — which often happens during the course of a deal — your ability to help reps establish multiple threads within an account can help you salvage a couple of deals per rep, per year
To that end, identify opportunities to make warm introductions between your reps and your account contacts. For instance, you might have exposure to senior-level people who can help your team reach the next decision maker or influencer. Then coach your reps on establishing and building relationships with the essential players, keeping value-based selling top of mind.
Know Each Stakeholder
In addition to understanding who the actual stakeholders are, your reps will also want to figure out what makes each person tick and how to motivate them to take action. Driving consensus is the name of the game when engaging a buying committee.
Guide your team to a deeper understanding of buying circle members by identifying their role within the company and in the purchase decision. Encourage your reps to pinpoint whether a contact is the decision maker, influencer, champion, evaluator, and so on, and figure out what it will take to influence them to move forward in the deal.
Deal review sessions provide an excellent opportunity to collaborate with your reps on identifying risks and figuring out a strategy for winning each deal. By proactively moving beyond deal mechanics, you can engage in more productive meetings that minimize the likelihood of end-of-quarter panic.
To understand all the ways Sales Navigator Deals can help clear up blindspots in the sales process, check out The Ultimate Guide to Eliminating Blindspots from Your Sales Pipeline.
Topics: Sales management
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