How Minor Tweaks in Your Selling Systems Can Produce Major Results

Hey, Enablers, Happy Friday. Mike Kunkle here. Welcome to this week’s edition of Sales Enablement Straight Talk!

Last week, I talked about how to apply systems thinking to improve sales performance . In that edition, I made a brief mention of Selling Systems, but focused on systems thinking overall, and then used an example of a Sales Hiring System. Today, I want to return to the topic to share some ideas about how to make some minor tweaks to your Selling Systems, that can deliver major results for you.

Let’s dig in.

INTRODUCTION

Sales Model: Your sales model is how you are structured to go-to-market, based on the channels your buyers buy through.

Sales Process: Your sales process are the stages that an opportunity progresses through.

Sales Methodology: Your sales methodology is how your sellers interact with your buyers and customers, as they navigate through their buyers’ journey and move through your sales process. It’s the frameworks, models, steps, and skills that your sellers need to be successful.

Selling System: When your process and methodology are designed and executed in a replicable, repeatable, scalable way to deliver predictable results, you have a selling system.

The Teachable Elements of Sales Effectiveness represent one depiction of a Selling System, at a high level. The Sales Effectiveness Acumens are inputs into the system, and The Sales Effectiveness Fundamentals represent the other elements or moving parts.

In this case, the foundational elements of Buyer Centricity and Value Creation are key to the system producing good results, and along with Territory Management, Account Planning, Sales Calling Planning, and Resolving Concerns, support the system and tie it together.

Then, in the center, there are the actual systems for Prospecting and Lead Generation, Sales Process Management (Discovery, Opportunity Qualification, and Opportunity Management), and Strategic Account Management.

As I often say, remember that "the map is not the territory." One level below this high-level depiction, lie the details of Prospecting/Lead Gen, Sales Process Management, and Strategic Account Management. The true system is the playbooks, steps, processes, and methodologies for each of these sales activities.

Another visual that reflects this system is the mapping of methodology to process:

The process includes the stages, stage names, objectives per stage, the tasks to be completed in each stage, and buying process exit criteria per stage. The methodology includes the buyer-facing selling tasks (and any work needed to prepare for them). The details about how these tasks get executed (what, why, how, and as appropriate, when and where), aligned with the process, which is aligned with the customer lifecycle and buying process, comprise the full Selling System.

And to focus in just on Sales Process Management for a moment, it might look more like this (just one example):

Now, those are simply examples of pieces and parts of a Selling System, but hopefully I’m making sense. ?

Conducting Top Performer Analyses Taught Me a Lot

I've done what I call Top Performer Analysis (TPA) for years. TPA is a study to determine the mindset, traits, knowledge, skills, and behaviors that top-performers possess, that differentiate them from other sales reps. I did them for my past employers and for clients, over a period of about 16 years. I didn't do a longitudinal study (I wish) - they are all separate studies at different companies. Some were small sales forces, with only 25 people. Most included at least several hundred sellers. One was approximately 2,500 reps and the largest was a little over 6,000 feet on the street. (The statistical analysis for that one was supported by the University of North Texas, which was fun.)

But after even only a handful of TPAs, some very clear patterns emerged - across vertical industries, solution types, buyer types, and GTM models. And those patterns remained consistent across the other TPAs that I conducted.

In the rest of this newsletter, I'm going to tell what I learned, and what tweaks you can make to your Selling Systems, to move the middle and get far better results across your sales force.

The Tweaks – What Really Matters to Move the Needle

When comparing what true Top Performers (the top 4% or top quintile) do to those in the middle (average, just above average, and just below average) or bottom quintile, the results are a range between "drastically different" and "barely perceptible." But even in the "barely perceptible" category, there are usually key differences in what the Top Performers do, that give them an edge over others with that "thing," whatever it may be (their prep, a method they use, a skill they've honed).

I'll share some of these differences now.

New Business Development

• Use Problem/Outcome-Focused Prospecting: Top Performers focus on understanding the specific challenges faced by potential clients, rather than pitching products. By starting with relevant problems, gaining confirmation, and emphasizing outcomes before solutions, they create a compelling case for engagement.
• Research and Prepare for Prospecting: Instead of generic outreach, Top Performers tailor their prospecting efforts to address the above-mentioned problems directly. Top Performers invest time in researching their target market, industry trends, and individual prospects. They gather insights about the company’s needs, decision-makers, and competitive landscape. Armed with this knowledge, they approach prospects with relevance and confidence.
• Create Compelling Conversations: Top Performers combine the above into a conversation, instead of a pitch. They stay focused on setting the appointment, but ensure to gain agreement on the problem, confirm the outcomes are relevant and desirable, and ask if it makes sense to explore more, rather than moving right to an appointment-set attempt by using old-school alternative choice closes (tomorrow at 2 pm or Tuesday at 10 am?).

Opportunity Management

• Conduct Deeper Discovery with a Situation Assessment (COIN-OP): Rather than skimming the surface, Top Performers dig deeper during discovery conversations. They use frameworks like COIN-OP (Challenges, Opportunities, Implications, Needs, Outcomes, and Priorities) to uncover what really matters most, explore potential opportunities, and understand the impacts of doing nothing, and taking action, in a broader business context. And they do all of this without pitching solutions. (They may briefly answer questions asked, rather than skirt them, but they stay focused on understanding (diagnose first, then prescribe). They understand that patience is a superpower of selling.
• Doing Better Qualification: Top Performers qualify opportunities rigorously. They assess whether a prospect aligns with their ideal customer profile, has a genuine need that they can meet or solve, and possesses the budget and authority to make decisions. By focusing on high-potential qualified opportunities, they avoid wasting time on unlikely deals. While it sounds conflicting or counter-intuitive, savvy Top Performers also do not qualify deal out too soon, until they are sure it is not qualified or can't become qualified. (For example, can funding be sourced if there's no budget set aside, or can the real financial decision-maker be engaged?)
• Master Sales Call Planning + Sales Meeting Management: Top Performers meticulously plan their interactions with prospects and execute those plans. They set clear objectives and back-up objectives for each call or meeting, prepare relevant questions, and anticipate concerns. They ensure their buyers' objectives are understood and take them in consideration when planning the meeting. During meetings, they actively listen, adapt their approach, and guide the conversation toward desired outcomes for both sides.
• Co-create Solutions Whenever Possible: Rather than imposing pre-packaged solutions, Top Performers collaborate with their buyers. They involve clients in shaping solutions, co-creating value propositions, and tailoring offerings to meet specific needs, whenever possible. This collaborative approach builds trust and increases the likelihood of successful deals. The ability to do this varies with solution set, but even with the most transactional purchase, Top Performers endeavor to make their buyers feel a part of the process, so they feel that they own the final solution.
• Navigate the Buyer Landscape: Top Performers understand the complex dynamics within a buyer's organization. They identify decision-makers, influencers, coaches, champions, and potential detractors. They consider whether each views the solution positive, neutrally, or negatively, so they can create a plan to capitalize on momentum and ameliorate risk.
• Satisfy Individual Buying Process Exit Criteria: Each buyer may be part of a team and an overall buying journey, but their decision criteria and buying process exit criteria (per stage) may be both shared and unique, by stage. Top Performers recognize this and adapt their approach accordingly. They ensure that they understand, clarify, satisfy, and confirm satisfaction of the specific criteria for each buyer at each stage before progressing. This alignment accelerates deal closure and radically increases the likelihood of a win. (By the way, this is one of those "drastically different" behaviors I referenced earlier. I have rarely seen this done to this level of detail by anyone other than a Top Performer.)
• Personalize Your Value Communication: Top Performers tailor their messaging to resonate with individual stakeholders. They emphasize the value proposition that matters most to each decision-maker. Whether it’s ROI, risk mitigation, or strategic alignment, they communicate in a way that speaks directly to the recipient’s priorities. I refer to this as multi-lingual selling. And not German, Spanish, French, and English, of course, but being able to speak each of their buyer's language. This is another of the drastic differences I rarely see outside of the Top Performer ranks. They learn how to speak about one solution in multiple ways, based on what matters most to their most common buyer personas.

Account Management

• Set Logical Account Objectives: Top Performers define clear objectives for each client account. These objectives align with the client’s goals, business outcomes, and long-term relationship. What the reps analyze varies greatly based on the business, vertical industry, solution set, and more, but Top Performers assess the past, the current state, and desired future state (much like the Situation Assessment with COIN-OP) and determine whether the account is a Grow, Maintain, Recover, or Retire account, and set logical and measurable targets and outcomes.
• Creating Living Account Plans Strategically: Rather than static documents, Top Performers create dynamic account plans. These plans assess everything analyzed above when setting account objectives and create plans to achieve the objectives. Rather than letting the plans sit on a shelf or a digital file folder, Top Performers know they are living document that should evolve over time, reflecting changing client situations, needs, market shifts, and organizational priorities. They proactively adjust strategies, allocate resources, and pivot when necessary to achieve those pre-determined account objectives.
• And More: See the list above for Opportunity Management, because many apply here as well, especially Navigate the Buyer Landscape, Sales Call Planning + Meeting Management, and Personalize Value Communication, but if the Account Manager manages any opportunities they uncover through the pipeline, then everything in that section will apply, eventually.

Remember, even seemingly subtle differences can significantly impact performance. Top Performers consistently apply these practices, giving them an edge in achieving outstanding results.

The Last Leg of Selling Systems

Lastly, all of the above isn't a Selling System just because you know this stuff, or even because you train it. It becomes a system when you operationalize it.

Your Sales Process and Sales Methodology become a Selling System when you operationalize them and they become "The way we do things around here."

This is the next step beyond having a process and methodology and getting basic adoption.

• It's incorporating your process and methodology into the business workflow and fabric of the business.
• It's incorporating the methodology into your CRM.
• It's working cross-functionally with product marketing to ensure product training aligns with what you train your reps and how they should sell your solutions.
• It's having front-line sales managers inspect what you and they expect.

"What gets measured gets done and what gets asked about gets focus."

• It's ensuring your that your Sales Management System and the embedded Sales Coaching System are operationalized, as well, and support the full adoption and mastery of your Selling System.

If you've already done that with your current systems, the recommendations above will truly be tweaks that will propel you forward. If not, you have more work to do around process and methodology and systems implementations, but the above Top Performer Practices can be integrated right into that work, to ensure the highest possible level of sales effectiveness.

Enter, Modern Sales Foundations

If you don't know this already, I am the co-author of Modern Sales Foundations (MSF), which is a full-cycle, buyer-centric sales methodology and an award-winning sales training program to implement it. My contributions to MSF were based on the Top Performer Analyses I wrote about above, and the Top Performer Practices cited in this newsletter.

As you'd expect, clients who have implemented the program, and worked to get adoption and guide their sales force toward mastery, have seen significant results because of it.

Sample Results

These are just three examples from three separate MSF clients:

• 2.5X More New Accounts Opened
• 18% Growth in Total Sales
• 34% Increase in Cross-Selling

If you'd like to explore Modern Sales Foundations, to see what makes it so valuable (even beyond the Top Performer practices - there's more), let me know, or reach out here, and we'll get in touch: Elevate Your Sales Performance - Modern Sales Foundations

Closing Thoughts

Is there more than Top Performers do? Sure, the list could go on. They have higher business acumen, in general, are personally very productive, are very buyer-centric, have great interpersonal and influence skills, have a high "Figure-it-out Factor," and are coachable. But assessing your sales force against the above Top-Performer practices and closing any gaps you find, will definitely take your sales performance up a notch. In many cases, these behavior changes will just require a tweak, or a minor change, that will yield great results. And yes, in a few cases, they are more dramatic changes, but that doesn't mean impossible - it will just take a bit more work, training, reinforcement, and coaching, until they become "the way we do things around here."

Trust me on this -- it will be worth the effort.

RESOURCES

• How to Apply Systems Thinking Improve Sales Performance | Mike Kunkle
• How Do B2B Sellers Need to Adapt to Modern Buyers? | Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group
• Why Value Stories Trump Value Propositions | Mike Kunkle
• How to Improve Your New Business Development Results | Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group
• How to Improve Opportunity Management & Increase Win Rates | Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group
• Discovery Skills + Patience = The Superpowers of Selling | Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group
• How to Navigate the Buyer Landscape | Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group
• How to Build Key Account Plans That Get Results | Mike Kunkle on Distribution Strategy Group

?Need Support?

Would it be helpful to have a coach or advisor to:

• Guide you through implementing selling systems, like in this newsletter?
• Provide support for any aspect of establishing a Sales or Revenue Enablement function that delivers results?
• Help you establish a Sales Management Operating System at your company, to improve commercial effectiveness and lift performance across your sales force?

Download Info Here: Sales Advisory Services & Coaching Support and reach out. I can help you get where you want to go.

Well, that's it for this week, Enablers! Did you learn something new reading/watching this newsletter? If you did, or if it just made you think (and maybe chuckle from time to time - bonus points if you snorted), share it with your favorite enablement colleague, subscribe right here on LinkedIn, and check out The Building Blocks of Sales Enablement Learning Experience . Felix Krueger and Mike Kunkle are both Building Blocks Mentors, and we hope to see you there! For other courses and content from Mike, see: https://linktr.ee/mikekunkle

Until next time, stay the course, Enablers, and #MakeAnImpact With #Enablement!