In the past, sales training was a cornerstone of many SME business strategies. Business owners, many of whom had come through a similar process themselves, established training academies within their businesses. These training academies were designed to cultivate talented sales professionals, ensuring that businesses had a steady stream of skilled personnel ready to drive growth. However, today’s business landscape reveals a distinct void in such initiatives. This shift translates to missed opportunities in identifying and nurturing sales talent.

Leadership and Sales Devaluation

The problem starts with something other than sales executives but with sales directors or business leaders. When there’s a devaluation of sales talent from the top down, it creates a perception that sales are an expensive cost to balance. As a result, directors may look for ways to cut costs, often at the expense of the sales department. This shortsighted approach overlooks the long-term benefits of investing in sales talent.

Key Steps to Revitalise Sales in SMEs

To address these challenges, SMEs should adopt a strategic approach to developing their sales talent. Here are some key steps:

1. Sales Predictability
   • As a board, it’s crucial to use sales predictability to understand how much of your sales will transition into revenue. This allows for better planning and resource allocation.
2. Performance Review
   • Regularly assess the performance of your sales strategies to identify what’s working and what’s not. This helps in making informed decisions and fine-tuning your approach.
3. Sales Cadence
   • Implement a structured lead generation process. Consistent and systematic lead generation ensures a steady pipeline of potential customers.
4. Sales Playbook
   • Develop a comprehensive sales playbook. This should include best practices, sales scripts, and strategies that align with your business goals.

Overcoming the Fear of Being Outplayed

SMEs often fear being outplayed by larger organisations. However, it’s important to recognise that sales recruitment is a 50/50 game—typically, only 50% of salespeople achieve their targets. This means SMEs can be braver and more agile in spotting the right talent.

Setting the Criteria

1. Flexible Benefits
   • Offering flexibility in benefits based on results can be highly appealing to salespeople and drive better performance.
2. Affordable Training
   • Invest in affordable training methodologies. Good training doesn’t have to break the bank and can significantly enhance sales capabilities.
3. Leveraging Internal Talent
   • Small organisations often have team members with untapped potential. With the right support and framework, these members can become fantastic salespeople, even if their background doesn’t stereotypically show it.

Building a Balanced Sales Team

A good sales team should have a healthy mix of A and B players:

• A Players: These are the real drivers of sales, the top performers who consistently exceed targets.
• B Players: These are the farmers of existing accounts, maintaining and nurturing relationships to ensure steady revenue streams.

Developing sales talent is crucial for the success of SMEs. By recognising the importance of sales from the top down and investing in structured training and support, SMEs can build robust sales teams capable of competing with larger organisations. With a strategic approach, SMEs can not only survive but thrive in today’s competitive market.