Sales calls aren’t what they used to be. For starters, salespeople are interacting with customers who are armed with heaps of prior research, thanks to the availability of digital and in-person channels. Today’s salespeople are also encountering greater numbers of people they need to influence at customer organizations and are being asked to sell new types of complex, digital products. As a result, the average buying cycle is longer, making it harder to forecast customer demand and use it to set goals.
To achieve growth in this changing and challenging selling environment, many companies have made important changes, like the creation of new digital channels, the addition of specialized roles, and the adoption of team-based selling. There is another crucial shift, however, that tends to be overlooked. Fully addressing today’s complexities necessitates the development of new, thoughtful compensation models that provide clear motivation for how a salesforce can continue to sell effectively.
