The foundation of modern sales excellence.
Executive Summary
In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, traditional approaches to sales process design no longer deliver the results organizations need. The complexity of modern buying behaviors, coupled with technological advancement and increasing market competition, demands a more sophisticated approach. RevEng's Skills-Based Sales Process Framework represents a fundamental shift in how organizations design, implement, and optimize their sales operations, placing skills and capabilities at the center of process design rather than treating them as an afterthought.
The traditional approach to sales process design typically begins with mapping stages and activities, defining metrics, and then training teams to execute. While this method served organizations well in more predictable markets, today's dynamic environment requires a different approach. Modern buying committees have expanded to include 6-10 members on average, with 80% of B2B buying decisions made before engaging with sales. This fundamental shift in buyer behavior means that sales processes must be built around the capabilities needed to navigate complex, non-linear buying journeys.
Traditional process design often fails because it emphasizes what needs to happen without adequately addressing how teams will develop the capabilities to execute effectively. This leads to implementation gaps, poor adoption, and ultimately, suboptimal results. Moreover, fixed processes struggle to accommodate the rapid changes in buyer behavior and market conditions that characterize today's business environment.
The foundation of effective sales process design lies in understanding that processes don't execute themselves—people do. By placing skills at the center of process design, organizations create a framework that not only guides what needs to happen but ensures teams have the capabilities to execute effectively.
Consider the common sales process stage of "Discovery." Traditional approaches might define the activities and deliverables for this stage: conduct customer research, schedule initial meeting, complete needs assessment template. A skills-based approach goes deeper, identifying the specific capabilities required for effective discovery:
• Business acumen to understand customer challenges
• Research skills to identify relevant insights
• Communication abilities to engage effectively with diverse stakeholders
This shift in focus creates a more robust foundation for process design, enabling organizations to:
Build More Effective Teams
By clearly defining the skills needed at each stage, organizations can better hire, train, and develop their sales teams. This leads to faster onboarding, more effective execution, and better results.
Create Sustainable Processes
When processes are built around skills, they become more adaptable. Teams can handle non-standard situations and adjust their approach based on customer needs while still maintaining consistency in outcomes.
Drive Continuous Improvement
Understanding the relationship between skills and process execution enables more effective coaching and performance management, creating a cycle of continuous improvement.
RevEng's Skills-Based Sales Process Framework begins with our Growth Excellence Model (GEM), which ensures comprehensive coverage of all elements required for commercial success. This foundation enables organizations to create processes that align with their overall commercial strategy while developing the specific capabilities needed for execution.
At its core, effective sales process design must answer three fundamental questions:
Traditional approaches often stop at the second question. Our framework ensures organizations address all three, creating a comprehensive approach to process design and implementation.
The integration of skills-based process design with overall commercial strategy is crucial for success. This begins with a clear understanding of your market position, value proposition, and target customer segments. These strategic elements inform both the process design and the specific skills required for effective execution.
For example, an organization selling complex technical solutions to enterprise customers requires different processes—and therefore different skills—than one focused on high-velocity transactions in the SMB market. Our framework helps organizations align their processes and skill requirements with their strategic positioning and goals.
In today's digital environment, technology plays a crucial role in both process execution and skill development. Our framework addresses this through integrated technology strategy that supports both process execution and capability development.
Modern CRM systems, for instance, should do more than just track activities and opportunities. They should guide sellers through processes while simultaneously supporting skill development through integrated learning and coaching tools. This integration of process guidance and skill development creates a more effective and sustainable approach to sales execution.
Implementing a skills-based sales process requires a structured yet flexible approach. RevEng's 4D methodology—Diagnose, Design, Deploy, and Decode—provides this framework while ensuring organizations maintain focus on both process excellence and skill development throughout the transformation journey.
The journey begins with a comprehensive assessment of current capabilities and performance. This goes beyond traditional process analysis to understand not just what is happening in the sales organization, but why it's happening and what capabilities influence performance.
Key areas of diagnostic focus include:
This diagnostic phase often reveals surprising insights. For instance, what might appear as a process adherence issue often turns out to be a skill gap—sellers aren't skipping steps because they're resistant to the process, but because they lack the confidence or capability to execute certain activities effectively.
The design phase focuses on creating an integrated framework that connects process requirements with skill development. This integration is crucial for success, as it ensures that process design decisions are grounded in the reality of current capabilities while providing a clear pathway for skill development.
During this phase, organizations work to:
Define Critical Capabilities
Identify the essential skills required for success at each stage of the sales process. This includes both fundamental selling skills and company-specific capabilities needed to sell your particular solutions effectively.
Create Development Pathways
Establish clear progression paths that show how sellers can develop from basic proficiency to mastery. This helps drive adoption by showing sellers not just what they need to do, but how they can improve their capabilities over time.
Align Technology and Tools
Design systems and tools that support both process execution and skill development. This might include CRM configurations that guide sellers through processes while providing just-in-time learning resources and coaching support.
Deployment focuses on bringing the designed framework to life within the organization. This phase is critical for success and requires careful attention to both process implementation and skill development.
Effective deployment typically follows a phased approach:
Initial Launch
• Focus on core processes and fundamental skills
• Emphasize manager enablement and coaching capability
• Establish baseline metrics and success criteria
Capability Building
The next phase focuses on systematic skill development across the organization. This includes structured training programs, coaching frameworks, and regular reinforcement activities. Key to success is ensuring that skill development is tied directly to process execution—learning shouldn't happen in isolation but should be integrated into daily work.
Technology Integration
With foundational elements in place, organizations can then focus on optimizing their technology stack to support both process execution and ongoing skill development. This includes:
CRM optimization for process guidance
Integration of learning and coaching tools
Implementation of analytics and reporting capabilities
The Decode phase represents our commitment to continuous improvement and adaptation. In today's dynamic business environment, neither processes nor skills can remain static. Organizations must continuously monitor, learn, and evolve their approach based on results and changing market conditions.
Key elements of effective decoding include:
Performance Monitoring
Beyond traditional sales metrics, organizations need to track skill development and its impact on process execution. This provides insights into what's working and what needs adjustment.
Systematic Learning
Regular reviews of process effectiveness and skill application help identify areas for improvement and adaptation. This might include:
Analysis of successful vs. unsuccessful deals
Identification of skill gaps impacting performance
Assessment of process adoption and adaptation patterns
Continuous Optimization
Based on insights gathered, organizations can make targeted improvements to both processes and skill development programs. This creates a virtuous cycle of improvement that helps organizations stay ahead of market changes and evolving customer needs.