How to Build a Strong Sales Model: Strategies for Success in Today's Market

The desired result is closing of deals!

There are sales reps, sales teams, sales strategies, sales processes, sales pipeline funnel to help you get the work done.

But what is missing in all these sales terms and techniques?

Wll, a strong foundation to establish practices, a framework to plan out, and a template to start. 

In short, a sales model that streamlines all the people and operations involved.

In this article, we will explore the sales model, its different types, the steps to building a sales model, and the importance of choosing the right model suitable for your business. 

So let's know more. 

What's A Sales Model?

The role and responsibility of a sales team influence the sales model employed by a business. The sales model is shaped by various factors, such as the products/services offered by the organization, the size of the sales team, the industry it operates in, and the revenue model adopted.

Considering these factors, the organization defines the model that best fits their selling. In addition, it must be noted that a sales model must always be consistently reconstructed to keep it up to date with the changing ways of the organization. 

What are the different Sales Models?

There are several ways organizations can approach sales. When the sales organization has a smaller sales team to manage, they allow sales reps to function in their style. This means that salesforce can be individualistic in their approach to clients and build relationships. The stress is on the result irrespective of the sales process or strategies the sales rep put into use. 

While a larger organization might already have created a well-defined sales model, clearly outlining the sales process, strategies, and techniques that must be employed, examples of Marketing funnel vs sales funnel could be observed in how the client is approached as a team rather than by an individual sales rep. Each member of the sales team has their own set of duties and responsibilities to ensure the sales pipeline is well curated for faster conversions.

Whatever the number of sales contact with the client, the expected result is to gain larger clients at the end of the sales process. 

So some of the most popular sales model types are:

• Inbound Sales: In this sales model, clients are attracted to the website through content creation, SEO strategies, digital marketing techniques, etc. 
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• Outbound Sales- In this sales approach, potential clients are reached out through prospecting like cold calling, and email campaigns. 
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• Account-based Sales- Accounts in sales mean organizations that are approached as potential customers. In this sales model, a direct B2B approach is taken for lead generation and closing of deals. 

Steps to Building a Sales Model

We have clarified that building a sales model is a very subjective decision that is based on the team, company, and industry. So here are a few steps you have to keep in mind while building your sales model. 

• Understand Your Product and Audience

Organizations in general and the sales team, in particular, must take a deep interest in understanding the demand for their product, their ideal customer persona, and the industry in which they play to choose what best suits their sales operations for sales results.  

• Incorporating Effective Sales Pipeline

When devising a sales compensation plan, it is essential for sales teams to accurately outline their sales pipeline. By explicitly identifying the different sales journeys, sales representatives gain a clear understanding of how to develop efficient sales strategies and effectively engage prospective clients, leveraging the insights provided by a sales growth tool, resulting in accelerated conversions.

• Tracking Customer Journey 

The purpose of implementing a sales pipeline in the sales process itself is to easily track the customer journey. Knowing where the contact is in the pipeline will help in personalizing the sales strategy which improves the chances of conversion. 

• Taking The Team Under Consideration

Incorporating a sales model in the sales process gives clarity to sales reps on the effectiveness of their efforts. Hence, you must understand each sales rep's potential, the team dynamics as well as your company structure to choose a model that works best for you and the team. 

• Refine Your Model

As mentioned above there are several factors that influence a sales model. So there is no one fit for all or one final model for the organization. As your company grows, and your position in the industry changes, your sales model also requires consistent upgrades. The sales model must be always put under scrutiny to check if it's as effective as it has always been. 

Choosing the Right Sales Model

There is a pool of options for you to choose from and decide what is the right sales model for your organization.  

If you have a competent salesforce who can individually work to achieve their sales quotas and effectively bring in new prospects and clients to your business, then you may choose an outbound sales model, aligning it with your sales and operations planning process to ensure seamless integration and strategic alignment across all facets of your business operations. 

If you are a well-established organization with an effective product that is high in demand, then clients will come in search of you through the inbound sales generated by content on the webpage. 

Or if you are a company with a large sales team then they can approach potential accounts in a systematic way as planned by the team in a step-by-step process. 

If you are confident that direct contact with the account or organization can successfully generate leads for you, then a string account-based sales is the best choice for you. 

There are several options and there is no one right way to get the work done. 

Especially in a fast-changing market, no one sales model template is the final answer to all your sales queries. It is bound to be subjected to constant refinement and upgrades so that it is compatible with your organizational and sales operations. 

Conclusion

The purpose of building and incorporating a sales model template in your business operations is to define the sales process and streamline operations for an effective result. 

Apart from organizing your sales process, sales models and theories also do the groundwork for incentive compensation management. Only when organizations have clarity in the structuring of their sales team and the way they go about their sales process, can a company plan out its sales compensation model. 

And it is an accepted fact that sales incentive compensation has a direct effect on sales performance management. 

Hence, building a sales model, directly and indirectly, impacts the everyday operation at all levels. 

To know more about incentive compensation, Book Demo with Kennect.