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Demystifying Sales For Professional Services

2nd February 2023 No Comments

More and more of the leaders we speak to in professional services firms recognise the importance of enhancing sales capability as they pursue growth during challenging economic circumstances. In the past the language used has typically dressed sales up as something else…. client origination, business development, practice growth etc. But this is no more.

Individuals too also recognise the need to develop their sales capability if they are to be successful. However, being open to the idea of “sales” isn’t necessarily the same as feeling equipped and capable to carry out this critical element of the role. Firms are typically very good at communicating the requirements to progress as a leader, articulated through bespoke frameworks and values statements that create clarity, and they put a lot of effort into supporting new and emerging leaders. However, provision is more patchy and ad-hoc when it comes to developing B2B sales capability. There are very few sales frameworks out there and training, when it takes place, tends to focus more on the sales process than the person and the behaviours and attributes required to be successful in strategic sales.

That is changing as clients recognise the importance of nurturing and retaining their people, in the context of the scarcity and expense of finding top talent in the market, if they are to achieve the growth they seek. Today we are seeing firms create training academies and defined career paths for sales professionals, in a manner similar to leadership development programmes, that provide their client-facing teams with clearly-signposted opportunities for progression.

At Bloojam, we work with clients to ensure that they have a clear understanding of the key drivers, behaviours and attributes that drive superior B2B sales performance. Successful organisations are able to apply this knowledge to promote and hire people who want to be on that journey and to develop them once in the role. Using such a blueprint helps to demystify B2B sales for both the individual role holder and supports organisations to supercharge the performance of their client-facing teams.

Sarah Clapperton is a Director at Bloojam Consulting and a Chartered Business Psychologist, with 20 years’ experience working in selection and development. She specialises in working with leaders and senior salespeople.

Bloojam Consulting offers a range of robust recruitment and development tools and interventions, including the Acuity for Strategic Sales suite of psychometric assessment and development tools.

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How HR Can Influence Business Leaders To Develop Their People

23rd June 2020 No Comments
Helping HR To Speak The Language Of Business

When we see HR leaders and Sales leaders together around the table it can be interesting to hear the different language being used.

HR professionals often talk in people terms such as ‘talent’ ‘personal development’ and ‘engagement’.  They often see the value of robust selection and development practices in terms such as ‘talent pipeline’, ‘succession planning’ and ‘future leaders’.

Sales leaders often talk in terms of ‘targets’, ‘revenue’ and ‘sales performance’.

But, these are essentially two sides of the same coin.  Drawing a line between the two will help you to make the business case for using robust assessments for selection and development.   Here are some ways to support your argument for more ‘people’ focused activities that all business leaders can buy into.

  1. Reduce the risks and costs of wrong decisions

A good assessment process tells you more information about an individual than you can ever get in an interview alone. For example, an expert-led discussion with them about psychometric survey results will give you an invaluable insight into a person’s strengths, preferences, values, drivers and areas for development.

Armed with this rich information, you can make informed decisions about whether a candidate will perform well against the critical job criteria, whether your employee is ready for the next level of role or how to best spend your training budget to meet the specific needs of a team or department.

  1. Show me the money

A powerful business case will demonstrate the return on investment based on identifying the costs associated with poor selection or promotion decisions.

Questions to consider include:

  • How much does the recruitment / selection process cost?
  • How much does it cost to train someone in the new role?
  • How much does it cost the business while they are getting up to speed?
  • How much does it cost in re-training or performance management if a team member is underperforming?
  • What impact does it have on others if someone is underperforming? E.g. colleagues “carrying” their work, re-training them or becoming demotivated themselves; managers demotivating their team; a leader getting the direction wrong for the whole business.

Based on the answers to these questions, you’ll find that the cost of a robust selection process is a drop in the ocean in comparison. Click here for a useful ROI calculator to get you started.

  1. Provide the evidence

If you want to add even more weight to your business case, a validation study will link the results of the assessment method to key performance indicators in the role.  Take the example of a sales team; if you can identify which elements of personality and behaviour will drive sales performance then you can show the associated increase in income to the business if everyone was recruited against this profile. To see an example of how this has been done click here for more information.

  1. Hone your training budget

Using personality questionnaires, 360 surveys and other tools shows that as a business you are willing to invest in your people and their professional development. Using these as part of a development process can create a culture of self-awareness and self-development that didn’t previously exist. It can also provide team, department and organisational level themes that need to be addressed, thereby enabling you to make the best use of the training budget rather than taking a more costly “sheep dip” approach. Providing cost saving figures for your business leaders will again support your argument and help you to achieve your people aims.

In summary, an objective business case outlining the costs of getting it wrong and the value of getting it right can speak the language of senior peers and the C-Suite, helping HR leaders reach their own objectives while bringing other business leaders with them.

Sarah is a Chartered Business Psychologist and a Director of Bloojam Consulting.  With 20 years’ experience working in selection and development, she is passionate about using evidence-based approaches to add demonstrable value to both the individual and the organisation.