B2SMB Playbook - Building a Killer SMB Sales Team · The Problem: Building successful B2SMB sales teams can be a puzzle — small businesses are tricky to acquire, and often require

BuildingaKillerSMBSalesTeamAB2SMBPlaybook:BestPracticesforWinning,Keeping&GrowingSmall-BusinessCustomers

PlaybookContributedby

B2SMBPLAYBOOK:BuildingaKillerSMBSalesTeam©2019B2SMBInstitute 2

AboutB2SMBPlaybooks 3

PlaybookContributor 4

Abstract 5

Introduction 6

TheSituation 7

TheSolution 8

TheProgram 9

TheResults 15

AboutVictoryLap 16

AbouttheB2SMBInstitute 17

Playbooks19 18

B2SMBPlaybooksprovideactionablesolutionstosomeofthemostcommonissuesinB2SMBsales,marketingandoperations.We’veenlistedsomeofthebrightestmindsinSMB-focusedsolutionstosharetheirbesttactics.

WhoshouldusethisPlaybook?B2SMBpractitionersresponsibleformarketing,sales,productdevelopment,customerserviceordeliveryofsolutionstosmall-businesscustomers.


--VictoryLap’sCEOBrianBarspokeabouthowrecruitingandenablementeffortscanboostSMBsalesinapresentationatthe2018B2SMBInstituteGlobalConferenceinChicago.

AformerheadofonboardingatGroupon,Barspokeaboutseveralstrategiesthathelpedthatcompanygrowrapidly,hiringandtraining452repsinayear.

“Asweweregrowingtheplanwas:‘Youbringusthepeople,wewilldevelopthem,’”hesaidoftheinitialhiringpushatGroupon.“Wedidn’tcommunicateaton.”

Overtime,itbecameclearthatamoreintegratedmethodbetweentalentacquisitionandtalentdevelopmentwasneeded.

We’repleasedtoshareBar’sinsightsinthisB2SMBPlaybook.


BRIANBARChiefExecutiveOfficerVictoryLap

TheProblem:BuildingsuccessfulB2SMBsalesteamscanbeapuzzle—smallbusinessesaretrickytoacquire,andoftenrequirealotofhand-holdingtomaintain.Andifyou’vegotthewrongsalespeoplearmedwiththewrongtools,churncanbeendemic.That’swhyit’svitaltouniterecruitingandonboardingtoensurethatyourteamisbuilttowin.

TheProcess:Isitthepersonortraining?Whenyoudon’tinvestinqualitysalesenablement,it’sdifficulttoassessifthepersonortrainingistoblame.Focusoninvestinginaqualityonboardingprogramthenalignrecruitingstrategieswiththis.Performancemanagementrequiresclearlydefinedexpectationsandaccuratefeedbackwhichareessentialtoimprovingskillsandincreasingmotivation.Measureeverythingyoudo,anddowhateveryoucantoprovideunwaveringsupporttonewhires.

TheResult:Afterrealigningrecruitingwithenablement,fast-growingGrouponsawimmediatereturn—mostwithoutanysalesexperience,andatthecompanyunder6months—farmoreeffectivethanitsveteranreps.Thesenewsalespeoplebroughtin35%morecontracts;had5%bettermargins;signed22%morequalitycontracts;achieved88%highercallactivity;andexperienced10%lowerattrition.


--BuildinganSMBsalesteamcanbeagrind—butthereareprocessesthatcanhelpensurethatyouhirebettertalentandmaketherepsyoudohiremoresuccessful.

Findingtherightpeople,andthengivingthemtherighttrainingcanmakeallthedifferenceintheirsuccess,andtheonboardingprocesscanbethebestpartofyourrecruitingpitch.


StaffingUpinaWhirlwindofRapidGrowthTheriseofGrouponfrom2010-2014wasnothingshortofmeteoric.Thedailydealsfirmwasthefastest-growingcompanyinhistory,andwasseenbymanyasthesolutiontothedecliningfortunesoftraditionallocalmediaandadvertising.Byofferingcouponsfordeepdiscountstosmallbusinesses,Grouponwasabletooffertwobigthingsthatnewspaperscouldnot:online-offlinemarketingtraceability,andasteadystreamofnewcustomers.

WhileGrouponeventuallycamedowntoearth,itsquickrise(whichincludedthehiringofhundredsofsalesrepsperyeartohandlelocalSMBaccounts)providessomegoodlearningsforhowB2SMBcompaniesshouldthinkaboutbuildingtheirsalesteams.

“Itwaswild,”saysBrianBar,whowasheadofonboardingthroughthecompany’speriodoffastestgrowth.HewasinitiallyinchargeofGroupon’slaunchandpresenceinOcala,Fla.—butjustsixmonthslaterhehadalreadybeenpromotedandwasmanagingmultiplemillion-dollarmarketreps.


BetterOnboardingforNewHiresBarsaysthatduringthistimeofmassivegrowth,hefoundthathekeptbeingfacedwithmanyofthesamechallengesinhiringandtrainingsuccessfulsalesstaff—andhebeganthinkingaboutdifferentwaystohelpthecompanysolveit.

Onnightsandweekends,hebegantoworkoncreatingabetteronboardingexperiencefornewhires.AfterenlistingsomealliesinHRandsalesmanagement,hebuiltaminimallyviableproduct(MVP).

Theonboardingprocesshecreatedturnedouttobeaquicksuccess.Inlessthan18months,over450repscamethroughtheprogram,includingsevenwhoeventuallybecamemanagers—andhundredsofothershaveusedtheprogramsince.


Quick Success…

!

< 18 months!

* 450 reps were !

onboarde

d!

* 7 became managers!

* 100s have used the

!

program since!

Inadiscussionatthe2018B2SMBInstituteGlobalConferenceinChicago,BarsharedsomeofhisbiggesttakeawaysfromthatformativeexperiencewithGroupon.

Thecompanyeventuallyputthisonboardingprocessthroughanumberofiterationsandoptimizations,butthecoreofhisprogramcontinuestobethecompany’sonboardingprocesstoday.

1.  Clearlydefineexpectations

2.  Alignrecruitingandsalesenablement

3.  Measureeverything

4.  Provideunwaveringsupport


Salesisanumbersgamethatisbestplayedwhenthegoals,targetsandconsequencesarecrystalclear.Overtimeyoumaylearnthatyourexpectationsneedtobeadjusted,butyoursalesstaffshouldalwaysknowwhattheyaretoeliminateshiftsinmomentumandperformance.

Onceyouhavebroughtthemonboard,assesstheirperformancefairlyandaccurately,usingdatatounderstandwhatisworkingandwhatisnotworkingwiththeirapproach.Thentakestepstoimprovetheirsalesskills.


Barrecommendsasalesfunneltomeasureeverythingfromprospectingtoclosingthesale,whichhelpssettherightbaselinesalongwithincreasinggoalstodrivefastergrowth.


Prospecting 30sComm ApptsSet

NeedsAssessed

PresoMade

Sent Closed 30sComm%

ApptsSet%

NeedsAssessed%

PresoMade%

Sent% Closed%

380 117 96 68 51 40 36 30.8% 82.1% 70.8% 75.0% 78.4% 90.0%

496 65 52 48 48 45 35 13.1% 80.0% 92.3% 100.0% 93.8% 77.8%

620 51 46 40 37 32 21 8.2% 90.2% 87.0% 92.5% 86.5% 65.6%

611 77 77 40 32 23 21 12.6% 100.0% 51.9% 80.0% 71.9% 91.3%

381 118 71 63 63 59 49 31.0% 60.2% 88.7% 100.0% 93.7% 83.1%

203 51 47 42 42 38 36 25.1% 92.2% 89.4% 100.0% 90.5% 94.7%

496 168 82 61 43 27 14 33.9% 48.8% 74.4% 70.5% 62.8% 51.9%

368 108 100 87 81 35 27 29.3% 92.6% 87.0% 93.1% 43.2% 77.1%

713 41 41 38 38 32 23 5.8% 100.0% 92.7% 100.0% 84.2% 71.9%

957 155 118 79 50 36 25 16.2% 76.1% 66.9% 63.3% 72.0% 69.4%

402 117 116 111 110 102 84 29.1% 99.1% 95.7% 99.1% 92.7% 82.4%

5,627 1,068 846 677 595 469 371 19.0% 79.2% 80.0% 87.9% 78.8% 79.1%

Workbackwardsfromsuccessfulhirestobetterunderstandthefactorsthatmadethemwork—andcreaterecruitinggoalsthatprojectforwardtosuccessfulrampandretention.

Trainyourmanagerssothattheyunderstandthetrajectoryfromaninterviewthroughtothesesuccessgoals.AtGroupon,recruiterswouldshadowmanagersduringtheseinterviews,andmeasurewhohadthebestsuccessrateinhiring.

Onceyouhaveonboardednewhires,continuetomonitortheirsuccessratesrelativetooneanother—andfast-trackthebestofthebest.Dothiswithincreasedcompetitionatthe30/60/90daymarks.

Creategoalsandameanstoadvancebeyondthefirstyear;donotprojectfora12-monthcareerpath.


Dataiskeytounderstandingprogress—andtofixingproblemsastheyarise.Someasureeverythingabouttherepsthatyoucan,includingseeminglysubjectivecategorieslikeskilldevelopmentandculturefit.

Ultimately,youwantyourrepstobedoing“advisor-level”selling,whichincludesseveraldistinctpieces:

�  aclearsalesprocess�  deepcustomerknowledge

�  continuousfollow-up

�  closingwithurgency


You want your !

reps to be d

oing !

“advisor-lev

el”

selling!

Positivityandsupportgoesalongway.Duringtheonboardingperiod,it’simportantthatsalesrepsfeelcompletelysupported—andfeelthatyoubelieveintheirabilitytosucceed.

ThethinkingunderlyingthiswasdemonstratedfamouslybypsychologistRobertRosenthal.Inhisresearch,hefoundthatexpectationsaffectteachers'moment-to-momentinteractionswiththechildrentheyteachinathousandalmostinvisibleways.Teachersgivethestudentsthattheyexpecttosucceedmoretimetoanswerquestions,morespecificfeedback,andmoreapproval:Theyconsistentlytouch,nodandsmileatthosekidsmore.

"It'snotmagic,it'snotmentaltelepathy,"Rosenthalsays."It'sverylikelythesethousandsofdifferentwaysoftreatingpeopleinsmallwayseveryday."

Soifyoucaninternalizeyourbeliefinyourhires’potentialforsuccess,youwillundoubtedlycommunicatethattotheminmultipleways,largeandsmall.


BarsaysthatGrouponmeasured“everykpi/metricyoucouldthinkof”inthewakeofhisnewonboardingprocess—anditallpointedintherightdirection.

Mostnotably,thecompanyfoundthatindividualswithoutsalesexperience—atthecompanyunder6monthsinmostcases—wereperformingbetterinaggregatefromtenuredsalesstaff.

Thesenewsalespeoplebroughtin35%morecontracts;had5%bettermargins;signed22%morequalitycontracts;achieved88%highercallactivity;andexperienced10%lowerattrition.


VictoryLapempowerscandidatesandcompaniestofindsuccessinsales.Thecompany’sprogramseducate,develop,andplacecandidatesinsalespositionsacrossavarietyofindustries,andhelpcompanieshire,train,andretaintopsalestalent.


TheB2SMBInstituteisthefirstprofessionalorganizationfocusedonadvancingexcellenceinthebusiness-to-small-businessecosystem.

B2SMBleaders,practitioners,brandsandenterprisesrelyontheInstituteforcriticalmarketintelligenceresources,peer-to-peernetworking,best-practiceguidanceandspecializedskillsdevelopment.

TheB2SMBInstitutechampionssmall-business-centricthinkingandpractice,withafocusonhowtoreach,engage,win,keepandgrowSMBcustomers.

Ourmember-drivenorganizationservesasadynamic,dailydestinationtofind,meetandnetworkwithB2SMBdecision-makerswhosharecommonneeds,challengesandgoals.

Visithttps://b2smbi.com/fordetailsonresources,benefitsandmembershipopportunities.


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Playbooks19istheB2SMBInstitute’snewestevent,featuringpeer-to-peerworkshopsonhowtosuccessfullywin,keepandgrowsmall-businesscustomers.

TheprogramwillfeatureleadersinB2SMBmarketing,sales,productdevelopment,customerservice,deliveryandmore,offeringB2SMBpractitionersacrashcourseindoingtheirjobsbetter.

LEARNMORE:https://b2smbi.com/playbooks19/


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B2SMB Playbook - Building a Killer SMB Sales Team · The Problem: Building successful B2SMB sales teams can be a puzzle — small businesses are tricky to acquire, and often require