Can a Sales Playbook Benefit Your Inside Sales Team?

Sales Acceleration Technology is creating a buzz. Sales acceleration technologies can help companies shorten the selling cycle and accelerate growth. However, if the sales process is too complex or even broken, then adding technology to the mix isn't always the answer. So how can sales leaders identify process problems and make technology investments even more productive?

In a recent Bridge Group survey, Improving Sales Productivity was the number one goal for sales executives in the high-technology sector. Documenting the sales process and creating a sales playbook is one tool to move toward a more productive sales process.

Learn 3 steps to improving sales engagement. Read this blog.

In our recent webinar, Creating an Outbound Calling Playbook, we asked our attendees a survey question:

Who is using a Sales Playbook? (We had 45 responses)

• 76% said they were not using Sales Playbooks
• 24% of the respondents were using Sales Playbooks

Sales playbooks and documented sales processes have been around for many years. Early technology leaders like IBM and Xerox were known for having extensive sales processes well before the term sales playbook came into vogue.

Factors Driving the Need for Sales Playbooks

A recent whitepaper published by Sales Consulting firm The Alexander Group identified several factors that are driving the interest and/or need for sales playbooks:

• Increased buyer sophistication and accelerated buying processes
• Proliferation of multi-channel sales model
• Role specialization like inside sales, technical sales require greater coordination and collaboration complicate the process
• Reduction in new hire training and onboarding
• Reduction of quality coaching and mentoring by managers whose time is being diluted
• Over reliance on self-guided training methods
• Improvements in software and technology

Benefits of Using a Sales Playbook 

Clients who implement playbooks typically see engaged selling time increase by as much as 15 percent within the first six months of adoption.” 

Kyle Uebelhor, Director, The Alexander Group
The Power of Playbooks, Sponsored by Qvidien

Companies that document their sales process:

• 10% shorter average sales cycle
• 4% overall higher quota achievement
• 6.5%  increase in top line revenue growth

Types of Sales Playbooks

• Sales Process
• Coaching
• Jumpstart
• OnBoarding

Sales reps who depend on making outbound sales calls for prospecting, engaging and closing new business can accelerate the calling process using the ConnectLeader dialing platform. Learn more by visiting www.connectleader.com.