Sales Growth

Book Review- The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth

I just recently finished reading a really good book called “The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth” by Jack Daly and Dan Larson. It was on the recommendation of a potential client. She had read it and really enjoyed it.  I admit, with work, kids and Covid, now I am not reading as much as I used to. When I read, I tend to look for a diversion away from my main line of work so it was refreshing in a way to read Jack and Dan’s book. 

The book on hyper sales growth is an easy read and broken down simply into three main components including:

  • Sales growth best practices
  • How to be a better sales manager
  • How to hire the right people

For me and for the work we do at VA Partners, there were some components that were really relevant and some less so. So for this blog I have outlined some of the key aspects of the book that really resonated with me. Since I may skip a few sections, I may not do some parts of the book justice. But I will try to focus on key elements that will help your company reach its sales growth potential.

The book also has a great list of tools and resources that can be utilized by anyone in sales. It was nice to see how the tools and process methodology flow together.

Tip 1 – Focus on High Sales Growth and Payoff Activities:

  • The best sales people are focused on High Payoff Activities – these are the actions that drive the biggest results
    • Prospecting
    • Meetings with clients
    • Proposals
  • Continuously improving through a cycle of Learn, Practice, Perform, Improve
  • Look for areas that you need to improve and spend time on them

My comment – I absolutely agree with this.  In our business, we will look to leverage our inside sales specialists to do account and contact research for the sales team which frees up the sales teams’ time to do the calls, meetings, and proposals.

Tip 2: Smart Selling

  • People do not want to be sold…so your sales people should quit “selling” 
  • Build trusting relationships with your prospects & customers
  • Care more about the customer than about the sale – better sales people call on fewer customer and close more business
  • When selling, it is not just the “what” you are doing that matters but also the “why” you are doing it and “how” it is done

My comment – 100% in agreement.  I have always been a believer in “consultative selling” and really honestly trying to help someone with a business pain they have.  You need to care and operate with a high degree of personal and professional integrity in order to achieve high sales growth.  I know on the flip side that if the solution I am selling is not a fit, I will be the first one to admit it and even help them find something that can assist them.

Tip 3: It’s the People 

  • The best sales people are passionate and have a strong belief in the industry, company and products they represent
  • Active listening is key to success – people buy for reasons based on what is meaningful and relevant to them
  • Consistency and process is key
  • Do your research in advance of your call and meeting

My comment – passion sells and is infectious. Passion in not rooted in ego. It is most often rooted in your confidence in the product or solutions’ ability to truly help. In my experience, a passionate salesperson who believes in the product they are selling and is able to articulate relevant stories about successes other customers have had dealing with a similar business pain will win almost all the time. 

Tip 4: Process & Methodology   

  • Meeting plans are key to successful meetings – do your research, plan your questions and be sure they are probing questions
  • Sales CRM – keep track of your funnel and understand your conversion ratios and areas in the funnel that need work
  • Use your best customers and create target personas off them to help you improve your sales results
  • Follow up & follow up…and ensure there is quality to your touches – do something different, offer value
  • Stories sell – the more successful user case studies you have and you can articulate, the higher your % of close
  • Understand potential objections and practice handling them
  • Continually work on your value proposition

My comment – as the years go on and now I am at almost 20 years of selling, I believe that the process and methodology are more important now than ever before. It is the repeatable steps done time and time again, the focus on those “high payoff activities” and tracking them that leads to repeatable and scalable sales growth success. It is getting harder to get a hold of people, there are so many avenues of communication (email, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.) and even prospects and customers themselves are struggling under their own work loads, so having a process in place that helps manage the touches over time makes a ton of sense. Landing one big deal is one thing and may be just luck, but landing many big deals over time takes a methodical approach. 

As a growing company, there are many activities that need to be accomplished to move your business forward and maintain high sales growth. You and your team may not have the experience or time to do it yourself. An outsourced sales or marketing resource may be what is needed to help keep up revenue generation momentum.

If you’re looking for outsourced sales and marketing assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact us.  For great insight into startup sales and marketing, feel free to sign up for our newsletter or follow us on Twitter.

Book Review- The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth