Right now a lot of CEOs are staring down the barrel of their 2012 revenue target.   Board commitments are made and it’s time to make it happen.  Many of them are also realizing that major changes are needed in their sales model if they want to get there.

When It’s Time to Go Big With Your Sales Transformation

At some point the incremental sales changes that have been tried year after year must be abandoned in favor of a significant sales transformation.  It means more than just replacing the sales leader, tweaking the compensation plan, hiring a couple new reps and expecting results to leap forward.  So if big change is needed, where do you start?

Making Big Sales Changes Require Top Level Commitment

  • Realize it’s nearly impossible to make gradual, subtle changes and still have the opportunity to impact this year’s revenue.
  • It’s also not uncommon that slow change loses momentum and the old way of doing things creeps back in.
  • Lastly, it takes a lack of fear and political fallout – and that can only happen when the change is driven from the top down.

CEOs drive this kind of company sales transformation by getting intimately involved with the sales model and staying in the middle of the effort until it’s running smoothly.  If you’re a CEO facing your own sales transformation, don’t be timid about it.  Brace yourself for the usual resistance from the old school’ers on the sales team and maintain your vision for the sales model you know your company needs.

At the end of the year you will thank yourself!