The Wall Street Journal reports that corporate sales profits are down for the fourth consecutive quarter. The attached Business Journal article from Gallupsuggests that it’s because B2B companies are doing it wrong!
Business-to-business firms are focused on increasing market share and ramping up mergers and acquisitions. Gallup recommends that, to help their customers grow and generate more organic growth for themselves, B2B companies must develop a sales strategy that differentiates them.
Gallup quotes CSO Insights, who reports that just 58% of sales reps are meeting their quotas, and 71% of customers are at risk of taking their business elsewhere.
How do we encourage sales reps to become trusted advisors to clients, close more business, and retain more clients? And then how do we ensure that we keep those salespeople who own the client relationship? One proven way is to use sales and channel incentive strategies.
Best-in-Class companies with defined Sales Incentive Programs see a 14.8% higher team quota attainment and 5.9% higher customer retention rate than those who do not use incentive programs to drive performance.
This same study of Best-in-Class companies finds that the companies who outsource the management of incentive programs show higher lead conversion rates (30.4% v. 23.9%) and lower average sales cycles (4.2 months v. 5.3 months).
Best-in-Class firms are also 94% more likely to offer peer-to-peer and public recognition. When internal and external sales partners feel valued and recognized, they are less likely to seek other opportunities.
Are your profits showing signs of anemia? A professionally-designed B2B channel incentive program might be just the transfusion you need to drive sales performance.