Things are going well. Revenue is growing and clients are flocking. Soon, your company won’t have the resources or staff to handle the increasing business. If action isn’t taken, this could become a problem – fast!
At some point in every successful company’s lifetime, they must face the task of scaling sales.
What does it mean to “scale sales”?
Try to say that 5 times fast!
Scaling sales is more than just a challenging tongue twister: it’s a challenging, ongoing endeavor to upsize the company’s capacity as business grows.
Sales scale meaning in businesses corresponds with hiring more employees, establishing more teams, and expanding resources like office space, materials, and software to be able to accommodate the growing staff and growing output.
All of this should be done in a cost-sustainable manner.
The difference between growth vs. scaling
Growth is a metric that measures a company’s increase in revenue, output, and capital over a fixed period of time.
Scaling isn’t a metric: It’s the process of adjusting for this growth with the goal in mind of growing further.
Growth may be taken into account when scaling in sales.
When is it time to scale up sales?
When to start scaling up is a critical decision for every business in its early days. Scaling a sales team too early can result in expanding costs beyond means. Alternatively, scaling too late means you might not be able to scale revenue.
If one or more of these apply to your company, it might be time to scale your sales.
- The company is observing a shortening sales cycle.
- The original goals are too attainable for the sales team.
- There are more than enough leads for each rep to satisfy their quota based on closing ratio.
- Customers are being turned down due to lack of resources to serve them.
- Customers are buying the product even before key features are implemented.
- Finally, if a sales scale will only come with minimal risks, you are ready to scale.
Scaling sales tips
Before we get into the steps, there are a few important ideas to keep in mind while formulating a scale up strategy.
- Stay composed. Teams must see that management is staying ahead of the change and uncertainty, or else morale will fall.
- Take advantage of remote selling. The COVID-19 pandemic has normalized this, so why not go along with it? Letting sellers work remotely means less costs associated with running an office.
- Treat sellers like team members. Being commission based, sales reps work on their own. Keep them involved in team activities, too, without showing special treatment.
- Keep on coaching. Leading isn’t just about forecasting. Growing sales organizations require regular, individual coaching so reps can improve performance.
- Remember retention. New customers are a driving force of scale in business, but retaining clients is equally important. Invest in customer support and make sure reps are checking in.
How to scale sales
How to scale a sales team isn’t just hiring more people and expanding the office. Tackle these core scaling sales pillars to ensure the basics are covered.
Establish a repeatable sales process
If there isn’t already one, be sure to create a structured sales process so that during onboarding new reps can learn exactly what should be done. This helps them understand which activities generate the most revenue and therefore which to focus on. An established sales process helps companies scale more efficiently by preventing wasted time. Take into consideration KPIs, pipeline stages, and lead qualification criteria.
Set milestones
Identify milestones to keep the sales strategy on track and measure success. Depending on quarterly and annual goals, companies might choose to set monthly milestones to meet along the way. Set milestones early on to more effectively scale for sale strategy. Focus on activity-based selling by explicitly defining which activities sellers should carry out to meet these milestones rather than just setting the milestones to loom over their heads.
Hire the right people
The average salesperson turnover rate is 27%, so choose wisely. Don’t wait until you’re desperate to hire, or you’ll hire out of desperation; at the same time, don’t fall into a hiring limbo. Be proactive by watching for the signs above that it’s time for team scaling. Analyze what roles are needed and then choose staff based on soft skills and how they fit into the existing work culture.
Harness data
Track metrics of sales and scaling progress. Unlock insights about customers. Uncover wasted expenses and identify ways to scale with minimal investment. Find faulty internal processes that might keep you from scaling successfully or impede customer satisfaction. 60% of companies around the world recognize that data analytics are essential to the sales process and cost efficiency. Data is especially important when it comes to how to scale b2b sales due to their more complicated nature.
Use sales scaling software
Software allows teams to automate manual administrative tasks that would otherwise be time-consuming, like CRM. The right technology stack also offers data insights and visualization of the sales process to identify bottlenecks and make sure nothing slips through the cracks. Sales leaders and managers can even track team progress and pinpoint struggle areas to help them better coach new staff.
Sales scaling software
If that all sounds easier said than done, it’s actually just as easily done! The road to building such a competent tech stack is by implementing software that covers multiple functions. Revenue Grid empowers organizations to scale for sales revenue with features like…
- Team analytics to coach reps digitally and scale the activities that sell best
- Revenue Signals that alert sellers of the next steps and of anything going wrong
- Pipeline visibility dashboard for real-time insight into every deal
- CRM and email integration with automatic data capture
- Data based forecasting so you know how to scale and when
…and a lot more! With so many factors in play, scaling sales can be an uncertain or messy time – but with Revenue Grid it doesn’t have to be.