ValueSelling Associates and Training Industry research uncovers a glaring gap between the most impactful sales behaviors and what sales leaders measure today
Only 25% of sales organizations are directly measuring sales behaviors that drive sales success, according to the just-released ValueSelling Associates, Inc. research findings and e-book, “The Behaviors and Skills Sales Leaders Care Most About – and How to Measure Them.”
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“Our research findings mean that 75% of sales teams are driving down the interstate with their focus fixed on the rear-view mirror,” said Julie Thomas, President and CEO of ValueSelling Associates. “Many sales leaders only measure sales outcomes. Measuring both selling behaviors and sales results is critical to determine if a healthy revenue pipeline is on the horizon.”
To investigate the disconnect between the behaviors sellers need to succeed while working remotely and what sales teams actively measure, ValueSelling Associates and Training Industry surveyed 464 sales leaders and sales enablement decision-makers to further explore how to be successful with an increasingly virtual B2B sales model.
The Most Impactful Virtual Selling Behaviors at Each Stage of the Buying Cycle
The research reveals the sales behaviors that matter most when engaging with buyers during virtual interactions at each stage of the buyer journey:
Stage 1: Engaging with Prospects
- 61% of sales leaders rate “establishing credibility and trustworthiness” as the top skill.
Stage 2: Prospecting and Qualifying Leads
- 56% of respondents agreed that effective lead qualification is driven by “asking good questions/actively listening.”
Stage 3: Negotiating
- 48% of respondents believe the most important behavior for negotiating is a seller’s ability to “maintain rapport with buyers.”
Stage 4: Closing Deals
- 56% of respondents view “maintaining relationships with existing customers” as the essential sales behavior for closing deals.
What Sales Leaders Measure Today and Why That Isn’t Enough
While 98% of survey respondents measure their team’s sales performance in one way or another, their understanding of sales effectiveness is most often tied to sales outcomes – only 25% are directly measuring the sales behaviors that deliver these outcomes.
Sales leaders’ understanding of sales effectiveness is mainly based on sales coaching reports (57%) and supervisor ratings (55%). And, we often see sales success attributed to market circumstance or luck, versus the skill of the salespeople.
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The danger hidden here is that coaching reports are influenced by the interpersonal dynamics between the supervisor and the sales representative. They are not entirely objective, despite a sales leader’s best efforts. Supervisor ratings, meanwhile, are most often tied to a single metric: “Did you hit your number or not?”
Three-quarters of sales leaders favor lagging indicators, such as increased revenue and margins, transaction size, and the number of deals won. By contrast, the other 25% take a more cohesive view and monitor sales behaviors, which are leading indicators. These behaviors could include sales reps blocking time on their calendars for prospecting, completing more phone calls, and writing more follow-up plan letters.
The Gap Between Desired Behaviors and Sales Metrics
Many sales organizations have a disparity between how they want salespeople to act and the sales outcomes they are striving to achieve. The only way to know whether a sales training initiative was successful is to measure it – both by keeping an eye on selling behaviors (leading indicators) and sales results (lagging indicators). Without both measurements in place, it’s difficult to diagnose what is and isn’t working.
The research reveals that 81% of companies that agree they can connect sales behavior with results also have sales practices that nurture credibility, trust, and rapport in buyers, compared to only 44% of companies that could not connect behavior with results.
Thomas advises, “To maximize the investment in sales training, organizations must actively take steps to measure the behaviors that matter most to ensure their training is working. Without effective measurement practices in place, organizations lack insight into the performance of their salespeople and whether they are properly equipped with the skills they need to be successful.”
Learn More
- Download the ValueSelling Associates e-book, “The Behaviors and Skills Sales Leaders Care Most About – and How to Measure Them,” that provides sales leaders with practical and actionable recommendations on how to accurately measure the selling behaviors that build credibility, instill trust, and develop rapport with buyers at each stage of the sales cycle.
- Listen to the on-demand webinar, “Measuring the Virtual Sales Skills that Matter,” where Julie Bregen, VP of Direct Sales and Partner Success for ValueSelling Associates shares a playbook that sales leaders can use to upskill the virtual-selling skills of the entire sales organization.
- Learn how ValueSelling Associates successfully trains top sales performers. Visit Gartner Peer Insights to see what our customers are saying and understand why Gartner has positioned ValueSelling Associates as a Leader in its Magic Quadrant for Sales Training Service Providers.
