Sales Engagement: Isn’t It Finally Time for a Holistic Systematic Approach That Starts With Meaning?

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• Increasing numbers of people want to have minimal contact with salespeople and prefer a self-service approach.
• People do far more research before making a purchase than ever before.
• There is a much greater interest in working with salespeople who can add value by providing useful information than in dealing with high-pressure salespeople.
• Despite the clear change in customer demands, the sales industry has changed remarkably little.
• Salespeople generally do far more talking than they do listening.
• There is still too much focus on selling, and not enough on helping.
• The best salespeople today become as or even more knowledgeable about the business than their clients, so that they have the credibility to provide useful information and get the attention of the buyer, yet companies build high levels of turnover into their management model, losing valuable knowledge without any measurement of the cost.
• It’s time to once and for all stop selling and start helping.
• The brand of sales is in a sort of a renaissance because the pandemic fostered a greater interest in entrepreneurialism and self-reliance, which requires the ability to sell.
• More people are recognizing the relative independence and high pay of business-to-business and other salespeople.
• When people feel a sense of purpose and value in what they are selling, they find the work enjoyable.
• Great sales leaders have the ability to create a sense of meaning and purpose.
• They create a culture in which people feel valued, supported, and mentored.
• They have commitment to sales enablement—a system for training individuals on the professional skills and business knowledge needed to become trusted advisor and to provide them with the information and other tools to stand out.
• There systematic approach that looks at the entire sales department and process holistically to understand all the factors that influence sales success and retention.
• They have strategic approach that aligns marketing and sales.
• They have respect for the value of experience—the average tenure of salespeople is not too much longer than the two years or more it can take to reach peak sales performance at an organization.

• The need to listen to the needs of prospects has never carried greater weight because the natural impulse of many people is to avoid talking with salespeople. 
• On an initial call, salespeople generally should speak no longer than is necessary to substantiate why the prospect should be open to sharing his or her key issues.
• If a salesperson does not feel sufficiently informed with solutions to the issues raised in the call, he or she should take good notes and have the confidence to explain to the prospect that it will be necessary to get back later with specific recommendations.
• The best sales management is holistic and uses a strategic approach to enhance sales performance increasingly known as Sales Enablement.
• The best incentive programs not only recognize the top performers but also the middle-60%; they emphasize the actions needed to achieve goals as well as the results, so that they make sure they promote constructive behaviors and work collaboratively with everyone in the organization who touches the sales process.
• Creating an intrapreneurial culture not only creates a sense of purpose and meaning but also gives the sales team the motivation to look for innovations, better processes, and to take more personal ownership of sales forecasts, making quota setting more realistic.

• Founded in 2008, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance provides outreach, learning and certification in Enterprise Engagement, an implementation process for the “S” or Social of Stakeholder Capitalism and Human Capital Management and measurement of engagement across the organization.
• The Enterprise Engagement Alliance provides a training and certification program for business leaders, practitioners, and solution providers, as well as executive briefings and human capital gap analyses for senior leaders.
• The EEA produces an education program for CFOs for the CFO.University training program on Human Capital Management.
• Join the EEA to become a leader in the implementation of the “S” of ESG and Stakeholder Capitalism. 

• The ESM information portal and The Enterprise Engagement Advisors Network solution provider marketplace cover all aspects of stakeholder engagement, and the EEA information library lists dozens of resources.
• The RRN information portal and Brand Media Coalition marketplace address the use of brands for gifting, incentives, recognition, and promotions. The BMC information library provides information and research resources.

• Enterprise Engagement for CEOs: The Little Blue Book for People-Centric Capitalists. A quick guide for CEOs.
• Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap 5th Edition implementation guide. A comprehensive textbook for practitioners, academics, and students.

• Organizations of all types develop strategic Stakeholder Capitalism and Enterprise Engagement processes and human capital management and reporting strategies; conduct human capital gap analyses; design and implement strategic human capital management and reporting plans that address DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion), and assist with managed outsourcing of engagement products and services.
• Human resources, sales and marketing solution providers profit from the emerging discipline of human capital management and ROI of engagement through training and marketing services.
• Investors make sense of human capital reporting by public companies.
• Buyers and sellers of companies in the engagement space or business owners or buyers who seek to account for human capital in their mergers and acquistions. 

Click here for complete information on Enterprise Engagement Alliance benefits and to join.