A turnkey solution for integrating Force Management methodologies into Salesforce
MANAGER BEST PRACTICES
Setting the right expectations
It is critical that as soon as your sellers complete their CoM/MEDDPICC training they understand exactly how you expect them to apply Opportunity Manager® to their opportunities. For best rep adoption, make sure you’ve set clear expectations for your reps on day one. Here are some of the considerations:
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Do you want reps to use Opportunity Manager (OM) for every deal, or only specific types of deals? Examples of selection criteria might be deals above a certain price, Enterprise/Strategic vs. Commercial/SMB opportunities, and/or long complex sales cycles vs. transactional. You may also want to consider the timeframe you’d like reps to complete the components of OM. For example, in their first week of utilizing OM, consider having reps complete 25% of their deal entries, then 50% by the next week, and so on by using the built-in alerts functionality.
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Consider which OM fields you would expect to be completed at the exit of each stage, and how often you’d expect them to update the included information. As an example, you would expect a seller to have uncovered the Before Scenario/Negative Consequences/After scenario/PBOs by the end of the Discovery stage. You may also want to consider setting an expectation on how frequently reps are taking their Guided Assessments. For example, you may ask reps to complete their Guided Assessments once during each stage of the sales process.
Narrow your focus
Instead of expecting your reps to begin entering all required deals into Opportunity Manager right away, try having them start with 3-5 critical deals instead. We suggest working with your reps to help identify these deals, which will also give you great insight into the details of the deal. Increase these expectations periodically until it’s become a part of your rep's standard operating rhythm.
Add value, not stress
Your reps are learning a lot, seemingly all at once. They are attending our live Training, adopting a new methodology, and now learning a new app. Remind them that there is no “perfect score” while taking the guided assessments; a 30% score during Discovery is not the same as a 30% during Proposal. It is never about hitting a perfect 100%, but instead, it’s about using the score and supporting information to help them provide value to their customers throughout the sales process and beyond. Be sure to coach your reps on quality over quantity when entering information into the app. Inputting “bad” information just to check the boxes makes things more complicated for themselves, and you as their manager since the gaps to coach on will be harder to identify. If you provide your reps with great coaching using the information they’ve included in the app, reps will continue to use the app over and over.
Build internal proof points
Socialize the bright spots! Share experiences where reps had a “quick win” while using the app, where reps have been able to expand or recover a deal because they’ve utilized the app, and share when you were able to provide excellent feedback that made a difference to a rep’s deal based on the details they’d provided within the app. Highlight early adopters’ successes in team meetings, or allow them to present their successes from using the app themselves.
Make it a part of your operating rhythm
Don’t just make this a part of your rep's operating rhythm but make it a part of your own too. In order to be able to effectively coach reps within Opportunity Manager, you’ll need to be a master of the methodology yourself. Leverage our supporting content within Ascender that’s been created just for managers, for this purpose. However you decide to approach the training and methodology, your reps will follow. It’s important that as the manager, you do your homework first. If your rep takes the time to fill in the details of their deal into Opportunity Manager, you need to take the time to read the information and be prepared to discuss it with your reps during deal reviews or sales process conversations.