In 2016, the best athletes are nothing without data. Take Tom Brady, the New England Patriots QB: he analyzes every movement of his body using motion tracking, looking for the “most nuanced movements,” just to improve his symmetry. These small optimizations, only available through precise data tracking, make him the best version of himself. From that comes power, and from that comes speed, and from that comes winning.
Like pro athletes, sales reps are only made better through data. The better understanding they have of the overall sales process they are involved in, and their own, personal sales techniques and characteristics, the better able they are to give prospective customers what they want and close out opportunities.
Yet, collecting and collating data isn’t exactly at the forefront of their minds. They don’t want to be updating their CRM, and they definitely don’t want to be tracking their progress in an Excel spreadsheet—they want to be on the phone, making deals, and earning revenue. Data collection is a chore for sales reps.
But if they could see the value of the data they are recording, they might change their minds. That’s where sales operations come in.
In the words of Steve McKenzie, VP of Sales at InsightSquared, “Sales enablement is the process by which we turn our reps into the best versions of themselves.”
Through the process of sales enablement, the ops team can help connect the dots for sales teams between the overall process and more closed won deals. Sales ops plays a crucial role in empowering sales teams with the information they need to make informed decisions, and focus their energy where it counts. Once reps can see how optimizing conversion rates, optimizing quotas, and managing their pipeline effectively are the key to their personal success, as well as the success of the company, then buy-in will be 100%.