Cosgrove Partners

While leading a team is a privilege, it can also often feel like a heavy responsibility. Managing the balance between maintaining engaged happy employees and driving accountability and performance can be challenging! Oftentimes, this results in leaders allowing for individual contributors to deploy their own unique approaches to selling, planning, prospecting etc. While reps should be able to use their own charm or charisma to augment a well-formed value proposition, the secret to scale resides in consistent practices that are carried out by leadership. CP’s Sales Effectiveness Assessment identifies common gaps or opportunities for improvement in leadership styles to better equip managers with the proper tools and resources to lead their teams effectively while also driving employee engagement. We'll end this series by spreading a little joy and positivity at the end of the week. Tag an amazing sales leader in the comments who deserves some recognition!

Without formalized processes and documentation, it is nearly impossible for leadership to evaluate the overall effectiveness or productivity of a sales team. Some activities or administrative tasks drive value and others do not, effective sales organizations free up time for sellers to focus on the highest impact activities and opportunities to ultimately drive performance. Without clarity and visibility, teams tend to resort to operating off “gut feeling” or going back to what has always been comfortable. Data allows us to drive out ambiguity and measure productivity to drive performance. 

There is nothing more frustrating for highly energetic sales people than having to spend time on menial administrative tasks. But, businesses in all industries have experienced the challenge of investing in an expensive CRM solution only to watch team members creatively avoid having to record and document information… While it is important to maximize field time for sellers, implementing the proper processes for tracking leads, managing a pipeline, monitoring competitive intel and identifying new opportunities allows for visibility that ultimately drives performance. Without a process that is consistently followed, the team may enjoy “seasons” of success but longevity is not accomplished. In our next post we will discuss PRODUCTIVITY which allows for you to evaluate which tasks can be eliminated and what to prioritize to drive results. What are some key processes you have in place that make a visible impact?

Enabling performance and harmony amongst your team (and cross-functional departments) is pivotal in running an effective sales team. Elements such as job descriptions, roles and responsibilities, and communication expectations may feel like HR tasks but these have a direct impact on team performance. Ensuring sales reps understand what is expected of them, how to interact with cross-functional teams and matching expectations to individual aptitudes is imperative. Without clarity on the organizational structure of your sales department your customer experience declines, employee harmony is compromised and ultimately opportunities for growth (revenue and talent) are wasted. Do you have a success story that exemplifies this? Share in the comments!

Strong sales and marketing messaging is hinged on the ability to effectively differentiate. If a customer is not able to clearly understand why partnering with you is significantly different from their current provider or a competitor, they are left with comparing the one common denominator they realize: PRICE. Your value proposition must be defensible and it must be able to be proven. CP Tip: Rather than relying on promises of “relationship selling” or better service, aim to tailor your value proposition and sales collateral around data-backed proof points that cannot be disputed.

While sales success is primarily measured by revenue, long term success and sustainable growth require a strong foundation. After all, teams are not scaled on the back of charismatic sales people or new product offerings. The ability to perform over time requires identifying the current obstacles your team faces and implementing the proper strategies, tactics and business practices to overcome barriers and achieve consistent long-term performance. Poor performance in one area of selling can have a compound effect that results in meaningful impact to overall execution. Over the course of this week, we're looking forward to diving into each barrier in our Sales Effectiveness Framework as well as the common symptoms that teams experience when these barriers are not addressed. We encourage you to follow along!

Did you know CP's industry analysis shows the average independent commercial laundry's customer base is only 40% penetrated with their service or product offerings? That is a significant amount of incremental revenue waiting to be added to stops you are already making on your normal routes! Our proprietary approach to segmentation and penetration analysis enables CP clients to prioritize the most valuable opportunities for growth in both existing and prospective customers. Learn more about how CP empowers commercial laundries: https://lnkd.in/gr6EvAz8 #CommercialLaundry #RevenueGrowth

In many industries “Marketing” is simply thought of as creative website design, SEO, and other lead generation tactics… While these methods can drive activity, without a formalized Go-To-Market strategy, that aligns marketing insights with sales activity, the impact and ROI of these efforts often fall short of delivering true value. Unfortunately, all customers and opportunities are NOT created equal and chasing unqualified leads is time consuming and frustrating. In highly commoditized or competitive industries, success hinges on defensible differentiation and the art of execution. At CP we leverage a proven framework that prioritizes impactful marketing strategies at each stage of the customer journey that enable sales execution.

The commercial laundry industry is not exempt of the challenging landscape that exists today in human resources. Now more than ever, investing in a people strategy is crucial to the success of an organization. The question remains... How do you create a business case for your people strategy? CP Partner, Katie Cosgrove, walks us through why this matters in TRSA | Association for Linen, Uniform and Facility Services Industry's Textile Services July issue. You can read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gdt8xFMx

Do you know how much incremental revenue is available in your existing customer base? What about potential revenue in your market that you're not enjoying? CP can help you answer those questions through our proven data analysis approach in our GTM Framework. Learn more in the slides below! ⬇️