When you envision a successful salesperson, what comes to mind? For most people, it’s an image of a good-looking, fast-talking, articulate man or woman. This perception has been around for a good long while but, like with most stereotypes, it’s not always accurate. In fact, many of the top salespeople in high-growth organizations share something else in common: sales market fit. Here’s what that is and why it’s way more important than looking suave and perfecting a pitch.
Sales Market Fit Can Make or Break Your Revenue
Most professionals have heard of product market fit, but what about sales market fit? The term isn’t quite so prevalent, is it? While definitions may vary, it generally refers to the alignment between a company’s sales process and the needs and preferences of its target market. It is the point at which an organization has developed an efficient and effective sales process that resonates with its target market, and that generates consistent and scalable revenue growth.
So, how do you achieve sales market fit? First, sellers have to know the industry and roles they’re selling into, from a variety of angles, in order to be successful. They need to speak their audience’s language. This requires knowing your ideal customer profile (ICP) and who you’re selling to, so you can figure out what will connect with them. For example, someone who is selling to engineers must be detail-oriented and able to go deep into the subject matter. If they’re not, they won’t connect with their audience and won’t get results.
Second, sellers who can go deep into a market transform from being a salesperson into a true industry expert. This is a good thing. After all, most people don’t want to talk to salespeople. But, they’re much more eager to talk to salespeople who fit, and have become synonymous with, a market. It shifts the entire relationship into a more positive dynamic that focuses on value rather than sales alone.
Reframe Pipeline Over a Lifetime
Part of sales market fit is also understanding the scope of the sales process. Traditionally, salespeople may have viewed buyers as the short-term means to an end. They needed one more sale to meet their quota, so they’d push on the prospect who seemed the most ready to buy. Once the transaction was complete, the relationship was over, unless or until they could get a repeat sale.
Today, successful sellers view customers less transactionally and more in terms of their lifetime value. Short-sighted sales folks who are still stuck in the old mindset often feel like they’re owed a sale after spending time with a prospect. But the best salespeople who keep their eyes on lifetime value appreciate that a sale might come now or it might come later. Even if a purchase isn’t made this quarter or this year, it still could happen. As such, they work to preserve the relationship and respect the buyer and their timeline.
Since sales folks with sales market fit are committed to the market they play into, they’ll more naturally build a pipeline for life. After all, this commitment to the market and positioning as a consultant allows the sellers to think, talk and run their sales cycle like a business person rather than a salesperson. It’s a value heavy approach that drives better business outcomes in the long-term.
Emotional Intelligence is a Must-Have
What sales market fit really comes down, beyond relevant knowledge, is emotional intelligence. Salespeople must have the ability to recognize, understand and manage their own emotions, as well as to perceive and respond to the emotions of others in a positive and effective way. Emotional intelligence encompasses a range of skills, including self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills – and it’s the most valuable currency for sellers.
In fact, the most successful salespeople, especially in startups, are those who can relate to the human beings they’re selling to and seek to fill needs, not just push deals. An undervalued, but enormously important, trait of a good seller is staying emotionally in tune with their audience and responding in kind.
When your sales team is focused on building relationships over the long-term, emotionally connecting with their audience and achieving true sales market fit, there’s no limit to the success they can achieve. So, if you’ve been struggling to make sales, consider these factors and where your salespeople may be falling short.
It’s also helpful to keep all of this in mind when you hire new sales folks. The more robust your team’s emotional intelligence is, the better your sales market fit – and the better your outcomes. It’s really that linear.
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