The 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation

Sales force transformation can be the key to driving market-leading profits and top-line growth. But it is not for the faint-hearted, as we outline in our stories and lessons learned in our book, 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation. A sales transformation fundamentally changes how a company sells, and it radiates across the business both vertically (e.g., align to, and drive, corporate strategy) and horizontally (e.g., must include other functions). It permeates a company’s overall growth strategy, how it recruits and hires, and the types of sales conversations it has with prospects and customers.

What is a Sales Transformation?

We define sales force transformation as one that fundamentally changes the way a sales force sells. This is a big deal, and it’s not going to happen overnight. Typically, these sales transformations take longer than a year and must involve other functional areas – sales cannot succeed as an ‘island’ in the organization. Transforming a sales organization to consistently deliver insights requires new value propositions, case studies and collateral from Marketing, new competencies, skill development, recruiting profiles from HR, and alignment with Operations to refine products and services. A sales transformation is not a tweak, such as changing your sales training curriculum or implementing a new proposal generation application; it’s more like a “rewiring” of the company “house.” It’s multi-dimensional and holistic.

What are the Key Steps?

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About the Authors

Warren Shiver and Michael Perla are the authors of 7 Steps to Sales Force Transformation: Driving Sustainable Change in Your Organization (Palgrave MacMillan). Warren Shiver is the Founder and Managing Partner of Symmetrics Group and has more than 20 years of sales, management and consulting experience. Michael Perla is a Principal with Symmetrics Group, and has more than 20 years of sales effectiveness consulting and strategic marketing experience.