In this episode, we delve into the concept of sales architecture and its role in driving sales performance. We begin by addressing the common obstacle faced by many established businesses – the underperformance of the sales team. While these businesses may have a solid product and a growing team, they struggle to achieve the desired growth due to inconsistent monthly revenues and missed opportunities.

To overcome this challenge, we introduce the concept of sales architecture as a solution. We explain that salespeople are more likely to adhere to a framework or architecture rather than strictly follow a sales process. The first pillar of sales architecture involves implementing a trained common language for pipeline management and accurate forecasts. By de-risking the deals pipeline through an opportunity qualification methodology, businesses can ensure a more reliable revenue flow.

Moreover, we highlight the importance of implementing metrics and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to measure the risk to income each month. We introduce the idea of using deals coverage as a superior metric to revenue coverage, as it provides a safer buffer and reduces income risk. Additionally, we emphasize the significance of accurate monthly forecasting and advocate for the use of the salary bet standard, where salespeople prioritize closing deals within the current month rather than relying on eventual closures.

Moving forward, we discuss the transformational impact of accurate forecasting on the sales culture. We introduce a sales governance report called "distance to revenue," which categorizes income timing into green, amber, and red zones. This report is run by the finance department and provides a clearer understanding of the sales pipeline and progression towards revenue targets. We recommend sharing this report with the senior leadership and sales team to align their understanding.

We also emphasize the importance of inspection in the sales architecture. Using an ideal sales pipeline benchmark, businesses can measure sales performance accurately. To facilitate this, we promote structured weekly sales meetings with specific agendas and the use of CRM or governance reports, eliminating the need for clue-finding. We question the necessity of group sales meetings but suggest using them for forecasting declarations and learning opportunities.

The most significant meeting in the sales architecture is the one-to-one between salespeople and their direct managers. This is where performance and mindset are shaped, emphasizing the importance of building strong, customized relationships. Lastly, we introduce the OKR (Objectives and Key Results) pillar, focusing on salesperson and team development. By setting high-level objectives and supporting them with key results, OKRs align actions and create a standard of performance that leads to success.

Sales architecture serves as a bridge between the technical and creative aspects of sales, fostering incremental progress in revenue production, skills improvement, learning, and earnings. By implementing this architecture and hiring sales leaders who understand both the technical and creative sides of sales, businesses can significantly improve their sales capabilities.

The benefits of implementing sales architecture are substantial – from outperforming competitors who rely solely on sales personalities to achieving accelerated growth and new levels of performance. This podcast is aimed at helping small to mid-sized companies enhance their sales capabilities without extensive investment, demonstrating that sales architecture is an effective approach for driving growth and achieving success.

0:00:59 Establishing a strong sales team for growth
0:03:22 The need for a sales architecture and common language
0:07:02 Metric 1: Dated pipeline and its correlation to income production
0:09:37 Pillar 2: Achieving accurate monthly forecasting with the salary bet standard
0:11:03 Introduction of the Green Zone Standard for forecast performance
0:13:47 The Dangers of Operating in the Red Zone
0:15:05 Introducing the Distance to Revenue Report for Accurate Forecasting
0:19:20 The Role of Weekly Sales Meetings
0:21:06 The Power of One-to-One Seller-Manager Relationships
0:22:33 The OKR Pillar: Developing the Salesperson and the Team
0:24:19 Implementing OKRs for Long-term Progress and Personal Earnings
0:26:13 Building Quality Thinking and Behaviors in Sales
0:28:04 Attracting Good People with Effective Sales Architecture

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