A simple growth formula

Assuming that a business has a compelling product (or service), and the ability to execute flawlessly, then growth is simple. All that business must do is out-communicate its competitors (spread the news)!

Now, some communication can be automated. Advertising, online activities and the like. But once mass communication hits diminishing returns, direct outreach is often required. (Salespeople, in other words.)

Once a business reaches diminishing returns, it will maximize growth by ensuring that its sales team participates in more selling conversations than its competitors’ teams do, when adjusted for marketshare.

Why a larger sales team is not required

Note, what moves the needle here is selling conversations.Not salespeople.

If a business wants to participate in more than its fair share of selling conversations, it has two choices. Hire more salespeople. Or, figure out how to get its existing sales team to perform more selling conversations.

The latter is where the true potential is. A typical salesperson spends only a tiny percentage (single digits) of their time engaged in selling conversations. The balance of their time is dedicated to customer service, administration, prospecting, project management, and the like.

Freeing salespeople to sell

The direction of the solution, then, is to remove ALL responsibilities from salespeople, other than selling conversations. This requires upgrades to other organizational functions: customer service, marketing and engineering. It also requires a rethink of salespeople’s traditional autonomous mode of operation.

Conceptually simple. Complex to execute.