Does your sales culture destroy the chance of better profits?

What makes sales so gratifying is that its results can be clearly measured. Few of us, however, recognize and acknowledge the elements of a sales culture that enables success. Are you growing successful salespersons or a successful sales organization? To what extent does the following apply to your organization?

PROACTIVITY. Do we recognize the needs and challenges of our client groups before the clients themselves become aware of the issues? Does our sales culture enable and support active and spontaneous activity?

VISION. Do we provide our clients with new insights and ideas for developing their business operations? Is our organization able to produce visionary messages and content to support the salespersons?

BOLDNESS. Do we have the boldness to utilize productized views and challenge the client on the basis of those in a constructive way? Is the questioning of existing sales policies allowed in our organization?

TRANSPARENCY. Does our client feel that buying from us is easy and interacting with us is uncomplicated? Do we conduct sales or client work alone or together, and do we do it for the common good? What are the strengths of your sales culture? What about sluggishness and blind spots?

Do we, as an organization, have a clear image of why the client should interact with us, provide us with their time, meet us, and purchase from us?”

What makes a sales culture successful?

When a client wants its problems to be solved quickly and effortlessly, the salesperson and the organization they represent cannot be a hindrance. Instead, they must act as an enabler, helping the client decide to purchase. Guiding the client to realize things and providing them with insights are some of the most important sales tasks. The client must be guided to view its business operations from a different perspective than before and to recognize the development potential in them. In addition to this, the client requires assistance with purchasing. Managing the purchase process and helping the client come to a decision are the challenges that need to be met. The sales culture must support this.

In our opinion, the elements of a successful sales culture include the following:

PROACTIVITY. This must be reflected in the operational models, attitudes, and management. The organization must look forward, not just examine the past, and understand what it can and cannot affect. Do your sales KPIs provide more information about the past or do they predict the future? Is your organization waiting or acting? Proactivity is immediately visible to the client from the first steps on the client path.

VISION. The client wants more than to be sold to. The client also wants to learn. Clients often feel that they give more than they get during sales encounters. The client wants thoughts and ideas to develop their business operations. Do we, as an organization, have a clear image of why the client should interact with us, provide us with their time, meet us, and purchase from us? It is essential to understand and be able to answer the question of how we can help the client and their organization to succeed.

BOLDNESS. Boldness is a matter of will and corporate culture. Does your organization allow the internal challenging of existing policies, or do new ideas get suppressed? The sales department must have the courage to challenge clients in a constructive way and the boldness and desire to help the client view even familiar matters from a new perspective.

TRANSPARENCY. Transparency is our best internal teacher. When our operational methods are open and easy to understand, both internally and to the client, it is possible to increase client understanding and accelerate learning and the production of perspectives. Transparency is valuable to the client, and it generates partnership and helps to improve the operational methods of both parties.

A change in the sales organization can only be managed by knowing where we are now. Recognize and acknowledge!

A successful sales culture cannot be conjured out of thin air. Instead, it requires a meaningful common goal and constant management in everyday operations. New things cannot be managed in old ways, because then nothing ever changes.

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