Sales Operations, the new ally indispensable ally for boosting your and your teams
A little background...
The last 3 years have been historic. They have been marked by a pandemic, an upsurge in activity that led to shortages shortages and then inflation, and wars. All of this has disrupted a globalized economy and forced it to evolve. And who could have predicted it?
The use of the Internet for professional purposes is a real groundswell. This trend has been further accelerated by successive periods of confinement.
Sales reps telecommute, sell via videoconferencing and share more and more dematerialized information with customers and colleagues. B2B companies are launching e-commerce and/or information exchange platforms with their customers.
As a result, new working methods and sales strategies have emerged, and new activities have developed. And today, we'd like to focus in particular on the concept and function of "Sales Operations".
According to LinkedIn's "State of Sales Operations 2021" report, the number of Sales Operations Manager positions increased by 38% worldwide between 2018 and 2020 alone.
So what are Sales Ops? Why is it now critical to business? What can we expect from it? And in concrete terms, how does it apply to B2B companies, and in particular to manufacturers, packaging printers and carton makers?
1- What is "Sales Operations"?
The concept of "Sales Operations" aims to improve sales processes within a company in order to support its growth. Sales Ops enable the organization to sell more effectively and quickly, help sales staff achieve their objectives, and advise them on how to continually improve their sales practices.
Sales Ops' main mission is to focus on optimizing internal processes, and in particular :
- Redefine sales targets
- Adopt new systems, tools and technologies to support the sales effort
- Analyze data to identify company trends and areas for improvement
- Establish and fine-tune your lead generation strategy
- Automate prospecting by implementing the right tools and processes, for example by personalizing sequences or harmonizing e-mail templates.
- Automate recurring tasks such as CRM data entry, reports, e-mail reminders, etc...
- Harmonize sales practices and help recruit sales forces.
In short, Sales Operations is a strategic component for the company, as it guides sales and marketing strategy and enables the acquisition of better sales and business practices. It is particularly important for B2B companies.
2- Sales Operations: why is it now vital?
Do you want your salespeople to sell?
According to Salesforce, salespeople spend only 34% of their time selling.
What does he do with the remaining 66% of his time?
The age of data
Several factors explain the emergence of this concept and the corresponding functions within companies:
- The amount of data generated within organizations continues to grow,
- Increasing the number of communication channels between your company and your customers (customer meetings, trade fairs, newsletters, emails, social networks, website...),
- The multiplication of new customer acquisition channels (showcase or E-Commerce site, trade shows, networking, marketplaces, word-of-mouth...),
- The massification of data encourages reflection and analysis. Analysis that sales teams need if they are to sell more successfully,
- The changing economic context.
An ever-increasing amount of data is exchanged, providing information that needs to be properly exploited, both in terms of analysis and strategic thinking, and in terms of the concrete actions (processes, work organization, investments, implementation of the right tools) that follow.
Who in your organization can drive all this, with the aim of developing your revenues and profitability while improving the experience of your employees?
IT? General management? Sales management? Sales administration? Operational departments?
It's probably not clear: responsibilities, job descriptions and expected objectives all need to be reviewed in the light of this new "data" paradigm, so that the Sales Operations function can emerge in your organization.
Align the 5 pillars of your organization
Considering that your business is built around five main pillars: strategy, people, data, processes and tools, Sales Operations must become the backbone of your business, linking each of these pillars and ensuring that alignment is perfect.
Are you sure that your sales objectives and your strategy for achieving them are perfectly aligned with your teams? And your internal processes? And with the tools you use? With what your data says - which you've obviously analyzed and analysed?
If the answer is no, you need to structure Sales Operations.
3. Sales Operations, to help you to boost your figures and your teams
Increase sales
A key indicator is that, on a like-for-like basis (same sales team, same marketing budgets), Sales Ops enable you to increase your sales. In particular, Sales Ops will work to..:
- Expanding the customer base
- Increased sales per customer account
- Increased quote/order transformation
Increase profitability
Even more importantly, Sales Ops' actions increase the company's profitability.
In the previous paragraph, we specified that the action would be measured on a like-for-like basis. So, with the same human resources and the same customer acquisition budgets, the company increases its sales. Mechanically, this leads to more profitable sales, every time!
Increase the satisfaction of your sales teams, but not only!
Sales Ops will align the vision of all stakeholders (management, departmental teams), implement the right tools and processes, and share results based on reliable data.
Naturally, the teams are satisfied, because on the one hand, their day-to-day work is made easier, and on the other, their performance is improved.
You build team loyalty and create a virtuous circle internally.
In a few figures, what's the return on investment for Sales Ops?
According to the "Revving Up Go-to-Market Operations in B2B" study conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, B2B companies with closely aligned teams (sales, marketing, sales administration) find :
- 100-200% increase in return on investment for digital marketing campaigns
- A 10-20% increase in sales team productivity
- 10% increase in the number of new customers acquired
- An increase in internal employee satisfaction of 15 to 20%.
4- Sales Operations: how to get started?
When should the Sales Ops function be structured?
Some experts say you need 1 Sales Ops Manager for every 10 salespeople in your company.
What about a company with a smaller sales force?
First option: enlist the help of external experts to put in place the tools, processes and analyses required for your strategy. Measure the return on investment. Start again.
Option two: identify the right internal person to take on this responsibility. Train them and include this mission in their job description.
Third option: a mix of the first two. Start with support, get to grips with the subject and then get the right person to take over.
Conclusion
We haven't finished telling you about Sales Ops. A real "concept" theorized in the United States, it is becoming a key function in the most successful companies. From start-ups to major corporations.
We are already preparing additional content on :
- Key indicators monitored and improved by Sales Ops
- How HIPE is a tool for Sales Ops and sales performance improvement