Modern Sales Playbooks and Sales Software Tools: Are They Over-Hyped?

In this modern age, society wants to keep reinventing the wheel and FAST, it seems, as the world keeps evolving at a much quicker rate than what was experienced in the first decade and a half in the 21st century and beyond.

When I think about what the CEO’s of Enterprise-Software B2B SaaS companies are doing with regards to new modern ways of building a winning culture, I am drawn to similar changes one can see in the sports world as it relates to using analytics. Analytics is a tremendous-evolved way of measuring performance but does this modern ability also dwarf progress because CEOs and managers mis-understand its purpose?

Let us start with a “shiny object” called the sales playbook. The term “playbook” is thrown around by CEOs to the point where I believe there is less emphasis on the impact the playbook should make and more emphasis on making sure one exists. This way of thinking can dwarf progress if the sales playbook is not used properly. A sales playbook template is supposed to function as a guide for sellers and any customer-facing person who serves a role in helping their company sell something.

You can fill up the sales playbook template with all the messaging and audibles you want regarding deal scenarios, but every situation still requires the sales leader to ponder all the possibilities and coach the seller. If you leave the playbook to act on its own or, inadvertently, infer that what is written into this template is gospel, a seller may make the wrong audible.

My point is that a playbook is a guide, but it misses the nuance that is critical to discern whether an opportunity may be real or not and, if real, what specific steps should be taken to cultivate the deal to closing in a forecastable timeline.

The expression “be careful what you wish for” comes to mind because a CEO could make the mistake of relying on a playbook instead of relying on “talking out” every possible- deal-situation. I would never put too much detail into a playbook but rather advise a CEO to start with an outline and to add deal situations to the playbook over-time. First get 6 to 12 wins under your belt!

The data that comes over-time from many wins and losses will allow management to make better informed decisions but in and of itself the playbook SHOULD-NOT-BE-HYPED to be the catch all answer to teaching sellers how to find, cultivate and win business.

If you build the playbook too soon it may have the opposite effect on creating a winning culture. Sales cycles can change, and deal situations can permeate as time goes on after experiencing at least 6 to 12 wins and more.

 Get enough wins before creating something that takes on the look and feel of a one-size fits all approach. This reminds me of the movie, “Field of Dreams” when Kevin Costner says, “build it and they will come.”  Well, the deals will not come if you build the playbook too-soon!!!!

Moving on to the next shiny object; “sales software tools” …. Great for automating the business development effort but CEOs should not get too excited about how many stakeholders open an email message or accept a LinkedIn invitation.

 Just like with the sales playbook, the sales software tools do not help the seller do the most important thing- SELL!!  They enable for, hopefully, greater access to stakeholders at more companies but it is a “false sense of reality” to believe the “clicks” or “open” emails by prospective buyers on business development communications tells you a stakeholder is genuinely interested. Interest in your offering comes ONLY from SMART Messaging, a REAL need and FOLLOW-UP.

 If you truly know who the stakeholders are that will buy from you and why, it is that compelled messaging coupled with the seller’s follow-up skills that will determine the seller’s success in finding and securing business.

The bottom line is to not miss the nuance, do not forget to manage, do not forget to process all the angles, and consider all the audibles. If you allow yourself to drive the playbook, instead of the playbook driving you and you make sure your messaging is perfect before leveraging your automated sales software tool, your CRM will be full of forecasted deals that close in the timelines you expect them to.