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The 6 Worst Decisions Sales Leaders Make

“With every mistake and failure, not only mine, but

of those around me, I learned what not to do.”

Mark Cuban

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When the decision is made at the top, the collateral

damage is MULTIPLIED!

Bad decisions can cause your

company to miss the number.

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Here are 6 of the worst decisions we’ve seen

senior sales leaders make

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Bad Decision #1 -Failure to Map the Buyer’s Journey

Again and again, we encounter sales leaders who are

certain they know their customers.

Only problem is, the customer is

changing

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Today’s buyers are educated.They have the power.

They do research online and are less inclined to agree to a F2F meeting.

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Without researching how your customers

make a purchase decision, your sales force

will be MISALIGNED.

They sell one way – your Buyers prefer to

buy differently.

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Bad Decision #2 Too Much Love for the Legacy Sales Organization

The senior sales leader knows and loves the current sales

model.

Sometimes he grew up on it.Maybe he designed it.

Either way, it works, right?

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Many times, comfort with the current

sales force structure hurts the senior sales

leader.

Legacy sales forces are often based on “feet on the street”

This model is incredibly expensive.

Headcount, benefits, car packages, travel –

all cost a fortune.

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The result….

Your average sales price (ASP) must be higher.

You have to charge more to achieve the desired profit margin.

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Bad Decision #3Ignoring Content Marketing

Content means blogs, whitepapers, webinars,

slideshares, tweets, eBooks, podcasts, etc.

Content “sells” your product before your

Buyer meets with your rep.

Don’t let the first time a Buyer hears about you be from your rep.

Give them a chance by engaging your Buyers virtually early in the

process

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Bad Decision #4Let’s Buy Some New Technology!

We all like shiny new things.

However, don’t buy new technology before figuring out how

to enable it.

You will only end up with an expensive system that acts as a

frustration multiplier.

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To prevent the frustration multiplier, follow these steps:

1. Build a process.2. Choose a technology3. Find the right people to manage

it.4. Create compelling content for it

(see Bad Decision #3)

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Bad Decision #5My Gut Tells Me Who

To Hire

Why entrust your success or failure to the

“gut-feel” of your managers?

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“Sales has too long been an art. It is perhaps the last bastion of aimless, gut-feel decision making in the the business world.”

Topgrading For Sales – Greg Alexander

Start upgrading your talent immediately by implementing the Topgrading hiring process today!

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Bad Decision #6The Selling Starts When My Rep Walks In

20 years ago, Sellers had all of the power because they had all of the information.

The Buyer’s feeling of being in control was an

illusion.

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The internet has flipped the balance of power FOREVER!

Research shows that 57% of the Buyer’s purchase decisionis made without a sales rep present.

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World class companies understand the virtual world is the new sales and marketing battleground.

Why??

Because that’s where Buyers are going for

information.

When they go there, they need to run into

YOU.

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Need Help?

Download this Buyer’s Exercise

to understand YOUR Buyer’s journey

GOOD LUCK!

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Learn More

If you don’t have a content management process or need help optimizing your current one, Contact us to hear the rest of the story...

Email - info@salesbenchmarkindex.comPhone - 1-888-556-7338Web: http://www.salesbenchmarkindex.com

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