Helen Fanucci, a sales leader with 25+ years in the high-tech industry and author of “Love Your Team: A Survival Guide for Sales Managers in a Hybrid World.” discusses the importance of trust in sales, effective targeting strategies, and the role of collaboration in team selling. Helen emphasizes the need for accountability, tough love in leadership, and the value of introducing oneself to the team.
“Trust is the currency of business, and in business-to-business sales, you really can’t be effective unless you can build trust with your customers.” – Helen Fanucci
Key Takeaways:
- Focus matters in sales. Sales leaders must clearly define their objectives and outcomes and have an intentional strategy for achieving them.
- Targeting the right customers is crucial. Instead of relying solely on job titles, sales teams should identify individuals accountable for solving the problems their product or service addresses.
- Building trust is essential in business-to-business sales. To establish client trust, sales leaders should leverage all available resources, including senior leadership.
- Collaboration is key to success in sales. Sales teams should work with other departments within the company to ensure a seamless customer experience and achieve better results.
- Holding people accountable is an act of love. Sales leaders must set clear expectations, provide support, and promptly address performance issues to help their team members succeed.
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Full Episode Article:
Title: “Targeting That Blows Your Targets Away”
Byline: By sales leadership and coaching experts Colleen Stanley and Steven Rosen with their guest speaker Helen Fanucci, a sales veteran with over 25 years of experience in the high-tech industry and an author of “Love Your Team: A Survival Guide for Sales Managers in a Hybrid World.”
Introduction
In the world of sales leadership, bridging the gap between knowing and doing is a constant challenge. Colleen Stanley and Steven Rosen explore this age-old challenge with their guest, Helen Fanucci. Helen, a seasoned sales leader with over 25 years of experience in the high-tech industry, shares her insights on what it takes to make a company successful in sales.
Targeting the Right Customers: A Strategic Approach
One of the key factors in sales success is targeting the right customers. Helen emphasizes the importance of focus and intentionality in the sales process. While revenue is the ultimate objective, having a clear plan and strategy for achieving that objective is crucial. This includes identifying the individuals within a company accountable for solving the problems your product or service addresses.
Helen suggests moving beyond traditional titles and looking at how companies represent their priorities through job postings and individual self-descriptions on platforms like LinkedIn. Using AI and search tools, sales leaders can leverage data to identify potential customers who align with their product or service offerings. Helen also emphasizes the importance of centralized list building to ensure consistency and effectiveness in targeting efforts.
Collaboration: The Key to Success
Collaboration is vital to sales leadership, both within the sales team and with internal departments. While salespeople may be accustomed to working independently, success in today’s complex sales environment requires a team approach. Helen highlights the need for sales leaders to mobilize resources within the company and foster collaboration across departments.
One of the challenges in collaboration is building trust with customers and internal teams. Helen emphasizes that trust is the currency of business, and without it, sales efforts will likely fall short. Sales leaders must ensure that their team members are effective communicators and can build trust with customers. This may involve leveraging the expertise of other team members, such as sales engineers or product managers, to provide a comprehensive solution to customers’ needs.
Holding Team Members Accountable: Tough Love as a Catalyst for Growth
Accountability is a critical aspect of sales leadership, and holding team members accountable is an act of love that drives growth and performance. Helen emphasizes the importance of setting clear expectations upfront and regularly assessing performance against those expectations. This includes monitoring pipeline coverage, forecast accuracy, and the effectiveness of communication and collaboration within the team.
While it may be tempting to overlook performance issues if a team member hits their numbers, Helen cautions against this approach. She believes that even high-performing individuals can hurt team dynamics and overall success if they are not aligned with the team’s values and expectations. Holding team members accountable, even if they are meeting their targets, ensures that everyone is working towards the same outcomes and goals.
Conclusion
Bridging the knowing and doing gap in sales leadership requires a strategic approach to targeting the right customers, fostering collaboration within the team and with internal departments, and holding team members accountable. Trust is the foundation of successful sales relationships, and sales leaders must prioritize building trust with customers and within their teams. By leveraging technology, data, and effective communication, sales leaders can drive growth and performance while creating a culture of accountability and collaboration.
