1. UNDERSTAND UNCERTAINTY’S IMPACT ON BUYERS Macroeconomic uncertainty is caus- ing buying teams to re-evaluate, scrutinize, and adjust their purchase decisions. When economic changes alter buying dynamics, then old segmentation strategies, account tiering, and coverage models no longer align sales resources to the best growth opportunities. When examining the sales cover- age model, knowing when to make changes is as important as knowing what changes to make. Watch for four changes in buying behavior that signal it might be time to update coverage models: • Reduction in lead volume. This is one of the earliest indicators to adjust your coverage model. A drastic change in lead volume can signify that buyers’ needs have changed and that existing messaging no longer resonates or builds urgency to buy.
• Changes in cycle length. Lon- ger sales cycles can indicate that buyers’ priorities have shifted and that sellers are struggling to build consensus and show how product/ solutions align to updated buyer priorities. Shorter sales cycles can be a sign that changing needs are coming into better alignment with your value proposition.
• New signoff requirements. New executive signoff require- ments often accompany chang- es in the buying organization’s personnel, strategic direction, or financial situation.
• Shifts in win-loss data. Consoli- dated win-loss data from sales, marketing, product, and success provides the clearest sign of how buying dynamics are shifting and how it is impacting deal success. Creating an adaptive sales organi-
zation requires sales leaders to get off their back foot and be proactive rather than reactive in understanding how un- certainty is changing customer needs. This means leveraging a technology- augmented approach to deliver
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Hold fast to dreams, for if dreams die, life is a broken-winged bird that cannot fly. LANGSTON HUGHES
valuable customer engagements in variable environments and create a more buyer-centric operating model.
2. IDENTIFY THE RIGHT ADJUSTMENTS It’s easy to fall into “analysis paralysis” and procrastinate necessary coverage model changes. This often leads to underperformance. When the market changes, timely changes are more beneficial than waiting too long to make the perfect adjustments. Provide clear guardrails and direct
the sales strategy leader to work with analytics teams to provide data and modeling in three areas: revenue growth potential, buyer engagement channels, and coverage expenses. One of the first and most important
things to do is have sales analytics (re)-estimate the market opportu- nity using the recent quarter data and forecasts by product offerings, customer segment, sales channel, and geographic region. Adjust for tradi- tionally high-value accounts hit hard- est by economic disruptions. Assump- tions made for customer segments and individual accounts should be layered into territory design decisions when assessing revenue potential. Next, sales analytics should report on shifts in buyers’ interaction chan- nels. This goes beyond simply looking at lead volume indicators to funda- mentally understanding how buyers are choosing to engage with sellers. Recent Gartner research shows that 75% of B2B buyers prefer a rep-free experience, and 68% made a recent significant purchase without traditional rep assistance. As buyers opt for digital interactions, this directly impacts terri- tory design and sales force sizing. Last, use forecasts about revenue
growth potential and buyer engage- ment channels to help your analytics
teams evaluate how potential cover- age changes would impact coverage costs, seller attrition, and ultimately commercial performance.
3. ESTABLISH KEY PERFOR- MANCE INDICATORS It’s critical to create a system to moni- tor and respond to any new develop- ments that impact your coverage mod- el while eliminating unnecessary time on re-evaluating the entire market. This system should focus on near-term scenario planning and does not need to be complicated to be effective. Create a basic feedback system that
does the following three things: • Identify triggers. Create a list of internal changes (e.g., changes in lead volume) and external triggers (e.g., interest rates) that could invalidate the sales cover- age changes.
• Monitor business performance. Regularly update performance reporting to include forecast ac- curacy as well as dedicated moni- toring to spot trigger events.
• Preset alternatives. Have plans in place for when a trigger oc- curs, such as automatic changes to coverage ratios and account tiering when triggers to revenue growth potential and buyer en- gagement occur. Achieving growth targets depends on having a coverage model that aligns with expected enterprise results. This requires alignment across sales strategy, customer segmenta- tion and tiering, organization and role design, deployment, and territory management. Continuous monitoring ensures the model is optimized and meets customer needs.
Craig Riley is the chief of research for the Gartner for Sales Practice.
SELLING POWER SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2023 | 39 © 2023 SELLING POWER. CALL 1-800-752-7355 FOR REPRINT PERMISSION.
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