Building a Modern Sales Operating System

Small to mid-sized businesses that want to remain competitive, regain market share, or establish sustainable sales growth must keep pace with modern sales operations strategies, processes, tools, technologies, and other resources. To manage this, it helps to consider sales operations as a system: a Sales Operating System, or SOS.

How can your sales organization begin the journey toward a growth-oriented SOS? Consider these FAQs about building a Sales Operating System:

What is the Difference Between Sales Operations and a Sales Operating System?

Sales Operations is a strategic company function or functional unit. Why is Sales Operations important? What exactly does Sales Operations do? Well, Sales Operations is critical because it drives sales strategy, programs and processes, and goal attainment. It utilizes the tools, resources, analytics, and processes to identify, measure, and achieve KPIs for sales operations.

A Sales Operating System on the other hand helps Sales Operations, well, operate!

What Is a Sales Operating System?

A Sales Operating System (or SOS) is the set of systems, processes, and strategies that enables a company to build and manage an effective and profitable sales organization. It is the framework that empowers a company to scale Sales Operations for sustainable revenue and growth.

Why is a Sales Operating System Important?

A Sales Operating System provides the structure needed to deploy, execute, and manage essentials for sustainable growth and success. These include sales operation strategies, processes, technology, tools, resources, leadership, and frontline talent. It also provides the analytics needed to support timely and wise decision-making.

How does an SOS benefit the organization? Big-picture benefits include these and many more:

• Improved sales forecasting
• Increased sales productivity
• Better decision making at all levels from strategy to process to customer engagement and conversion
• Reduced cost of sales and better ROI on sales initiatives
• Improved strategic alignment between company goals and effective sales objectives
• Increased customer satisfaction (which can result in more efficient selling to repeat buyers)
• Enhanced process and results tracking to identify areas for improvement

What Questions Are Essential to Answer When Building a Modern Sales Operating System?

To begin building a successful modern Sales Operating System, it is critical to know the right questions to ask, answer, and act on. Here are a few high-level questions, but of course there will be many others to consider as your SOS comes together:

• What leadership, management, and frontline sales personnel are appropriate to run the sales organization? How do we most effectively attract, retain, motivate, and compensate them?
• What tools, technologies, and resources will we need to help the sales team efficiently and effectively optimize outcomes?
• Regarding sales analytics, how should the Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system be designed and maintained for optimal control, effectiveness, usability, forecasting, and decision-making?
• What policies and procedures need to be developed, implemented, and followed to help ensure smooth operations of the sales unit?
• How can we design, manage, and maintain sales compensation programs that are market competitive? How can we regularly benchmark these programs to ensure continuing market competitiveness?
• What sales compensation metrics (including individual and team quotas) should we establish, monitor, and manage to motivate and reward sales talent?

What is the Next Step to Start Building a Sales Operating System?

There is much to consider when establishing or refining your Sales Operating System. Knowing what an effective SOS entails and knowing great questions to ask can give you a leg up when it is time to navigate the path toward a better SOS.

Of course, trying to analyze, define, design, deploy, and manage those changes can be difficult for internal sales leaders to accomplish while also managing day-to-day Sales Operations. For many small to mid-sized businesses, therefore, it pays to engage with a Fractional Sales Executive. Once the Sales Operating System is enhanced and deployed, internal leadership will resume sales management, utilizing the new and improved system.