Revenues are flat and you’ve tried everything to bump them – technology, consultants, sales training, incentives – but nothing has worked. Sound familiar? That was the dilemma facing V12 Group, a direct marketing services firm. They reached a revenue plateau and everything they tried to move off the plateau failed to get the results they wanted. Then they implemented a sales production system. Within seven months, they saw a 108 percent increase in pipeline opportunities and a 96 percent increase in average deal size. V12 not only got the upward jolt in revenues it sought but a 39 percent decrease in sales expenses as well.

V12 Group is not alone. Razi Imam, CEO of Landslide Technologies, says his organization has taken a hard look at companies that have deployed sales production systems and found that in the first quarter after the system is deployed, growth in revenues is about 60 percent. In the next quarter, it’s about 150 percent.

Much like mass production in the auto industry, a sales production system rolls out "mass production" capability to every one of your sales reps, Imam said at a recent Webinar entitled, "How to Use Sales Process to Build a Sales Production System." It takes the best practices of your "A" players and rolls it out to every rep on your team, walking them through every step of the sales process, from first contact to final contract. There are four layers to a sales production system:

Layer #1: CRM. The core of a sales production system is your CRM system. Keep in mind, says Imam, that your CRM system is not a sales tool; it’s simply a database. Many organizations mistakenly believe that CRM is the key to boosting sales. It’s not, says Imam.

Layer #2: Process. This layer, wrapped around your CRM technology, is about the creation of processes based on your organic best practices. Each of your "A" players has a no-fail way to accomplish sales tasks like prospecting, referral gathering, qualifying, probing for pain, presenting, and so on. Identify and formalize these practices and you’ll have the foundation for the process layer of your sales production system.

Layer #3: Tools. This is the layer that drives consistent behavior of your salespeople. It’s what enables "mass production" capability by giving reps the tools they need to qualify leads, research customers, negotiate price, present an ROI analysis, and have effective conversations with prospects at the right points in the sales process. Average reps often struggle with knowing what conversations to have when. This "tools layer" of your sales production system will guide them so they know what to say and when to say it.

Layer #4: Interaction. Most reps prefer to spend their time in this final layer, interacting with clients. This layer includes the tools required for effective interaction – email, Web access, VIP assist, Web meetings, cell phones, and so on – as well as incorporates understanding of a customer’s problems, where he or she is in the buy cycle, and other interaction-driven elements.

A sales production system gives you an "assembly line" view of your sales team, enabling you to see everything from the raw materials to the finished product, says Imam. Its reports and analytics enable managers to see where every rep stands with every opportunity, the tools he or she has used, the conversations they’ve had, and so on. "There’s no guesswork," says Imam. There’s no leap of faith between getting an opportunity in the pipeline and closing the sale. Which means, in the end, that more sales get closed.

To learn more, visit www.landslide.com.