Repeatable Sales Motions vs. Selling Success
Having a sales organization that consistently exceeds aggressive goals is the holy grail of growth-focused companies. A repeatable sales motion is often seen as the vehicle to make that happen. Unfortunately, few companies have translated salesmanship and the art of selling into the science of repeatable sales.
Often, one or two successful deals become the foundation for what is believed to be the repeatable sales motion. While there may be lookalike prospects you can focus on, that doesn’t mean there is real scale potential. This approach fails to address other independent variables, and often results in an approach that is neither repeatable nor scalable. Let’s take a more analytical look at what works and why, which leads to a better understanding of how to develop repeatability.
As the Roman philosopher Seneca is quoted as saying, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
Preparation is more than understanding the prospect company, their competition and differences, the market they operate in, and what changes may be coming (technological, legislative, economic, etc.)—although that is often far more preparation than many Account Execs bring to a meeting. I’m always amazed at how unprepared many sellers are, and that is the quickest way to lose your prospect’s respect.
I’ve learned over the years that planning for the unexpected is planning for sustainable success. That can be as tough and nebulous as it sounds. You need to stay calm, unemotional, and in control while assessing the situation and adapting. Confidence definitely helps, as does logic. Composure is a key aspect of professionalism.
I like the Five Whys method of drilling into those statements or concerns to understand them. Sometimes it’s fluff, but sometimes it helps you close the deal faster because you uncovered something others missed. Other times, you qualify a prospect out quickly and move on to a better fit that develops into a closed-won deal.
Salesmanship includes:
- Being prepared
- Being likeable
- Relationship building starts with finding connections and common interests, then demonstrating your ability to help the prospect solve their problem (and at this stage they may be more focused on symptoms than root causes).
- Understanding the need. Why is this important to them? Document this, including their phrases and terminology, as that can have a huge impact on their acceptance of your proposed solution.
- Having value to add. This includes product knowledge, competitive knowledge, industry knowledge, and more. This allows you to have a perspective about their business that may not be 100% accurate, but will likely impress them and lead to deeper discussions about their needs and goals.
- Being respectful. This starts with respecting their time.
- Being focused on solving their problems. Without this, you won’t have a loyal and lasting customer base. To me, this is as much about reputation as it is about salesmanship.
- Learning from failures as much as success. Evolution is important.
These are all teachable/learnable skills. They also address the intangibles that fuel selling success.
So, which came first – the selling successes or the repeatable sales motions? To me, they go hand-in-hand. By developing a foundation of a high-performance sales team, pooling information gathered during sales discovery calls and other meetings, and focusing on unmet needs and associated messaging, it is possible to create and refine something that becomes repeatable. It takes more than one or two wins to prove there is a pattern.
Selling may not come naturally to a lot of people (it wasn’t for me), but it is a muscle that can be developed with hard work, practice, and a goal of improving each and every day. Your success may appear to be luck, but you will know better.
Where Ideas, Experiences, and Lessons Learned Intersect 