Is your Sales Evangelist ready for the long and challenging task of helping people see why you have created your offering?

Have you prepared them for the journey? 

Is there education complete? 

Is the process from A to Sale documented and clear? 

Have the seen what the industry has to offer?

When you ask the typical founder of a company, or the VP of Sales in a growing company these questions, rarely, if ever are they able to look you straight in the eye and answer “Yes”. What is more common is an explanation on how they do not see the value in on or two points, or that they possess a “hands off” management style. The main reason this is usually over looked is two fold:

1.     No one thinks they have the time

2.     Most founders and senior executives do not know what to provide

So, let me break down these four points and clearly outline what is needed to build this type of tool kit. There is a fifth, point, and if you hired well it is there. If not, you will never be able too teach it, as only life’s lessons, or a natural desire brings about this attribute. It is a willingness to learn and apply that learning. That said:

1.     Preparation for the Journey – It is critical that the education of a sales evangelist starts with a brief visit to the think tank that created your brilliant offering. Then, they must understand what happened to get this idea to market. Finally, they must understand how you convinced anyone to a) give you some money and b) buy your product. Even if your process was wrong or archaic, at some level it worked and has to be understood.

2.     What do I mean by a complete education? The rep must understand a few key things:

a.     The people that will use the product. What type of buyers will they face? What are the triggers that will engage a prospect in conversation? What is happening in the industry or marketplace they are focused on? All of these questions should be answered thoroughly. It is also important to understand their “buzz” words and how they do business.

b.    The Sales Evangelist is a business person first, and someone selling a product second. They must understand what is happening in the world around them, and most of all the industry they work in. This means their own industry, but also the industry they sell to. How do rising gas prices impact their prospects? If you sell to truckers, a lot.

c.     The offering does something. How does it do it? Why does it do it? Why does it do it that way? While you do not want your sales team giving long winded product pitches, or data dumps on features, the more they know about what they are selling, the easier to handle objections or tough questions.

3.     A defined sales process is the difference between mediocre and great. This is where most emerging companies and actually many large companies make the most mistakes. By do not having a clearly defined way of accomplishing sales objectives there are several areas that opportunity is lost:

a.     Ramping up of new employees. With out a proven path to follow, most sales people will take months learning something that could take days.

b.    Time from lead to sales. Usually a sales cycle is cut in half with the proper steps in place.

c.     Lead cultivation and opportunity quantity. It is much harder to manage the leads and mature them without having some clear steps as to what move people from one stage to the next

d.    Forecasting accuracy. Without a clear understanding of a buying and selling process, and aligning them at every stage, the forecast is left to a crystal ball and your sales team’s “gut”.

e.     Coaching to a plan. Without process, coaching becomes near impossible as you spend most of your time trying to manage what people are doing and how they are doing it, instead of addressing their ability to act on the plan.

4.     The industry, from status quo to competition. The Sales Evangelist must, and I say MUST understand what is out there. Starting with how most people are doing it today, all the way to your best competition. Many people say to me, “But, Karl, no one does what we do, it is too new.” My response is always the same; they are doing something to manage what your offering provides, even if it is ignoring the problem. In most cases you have a better way, but without understanding where they are and how that compares to the norm, you will always fail to convert.

The Sales Evangelist’s image must be that of a professor and business partner rolled into one. Without that security in taking a leap of faith, the prospect rarely becomes the customer.