How to Build a Technology Sales Team

1. Market Position. You have to understand where you fit in the market. You will not be successful trying to be all things to all people. You may be good at a lot of things, but that does not mean you should do them all. Are you the low-cost leader? Do you have a premium-priced, value-packed product? Do you serve the small business market (they prefer to be called "Commercial" - a $300 million dollar company does not consider themselves a small business and neither did a $25 million company I worked with) or the Enterprise space? How you answer these questions will determine the right mix between inside and outside sales teams, potential use of strategic channel partners, and the right lead-generating marketing strategies to deploy.

2. Market Opportunity. What is the total value of the sector you are in? One company I worked with had the serious goal to be a $1 billion company, but they were only in a $400 million market! Furthermore, what is the opportunity, not just the total market opportunity, for your company within that sector? What market share do you want to own? In markets that are heating up, it is a land grab. There is usually no clear leader so the name of the game is market share. The company that dominates market share, whether their product is good or not, usually wins the game. Case in point - Microsoft vs. Apple. What industries present the greatest opportunity for you? Young industries must educate the market on how their solution solves their problems. Know what problem you solve and who owns that problem! Only sell to people who buy. Do not spend the time, money, and energy convincing people of their need for your product. That is not how to grow exponentially. The results of doing a deep-dive on this issue will determine if you target various industries with specific messaging or align the sales team vertically. In most cases, I do not recommend aligning Commercial sales teams vertically; however, it is possible to do so for Enterprise if the complexity of the product significantly varies by vertical. If you have a simple product or the same product/solution for all market sectors, you do not need a vertically-aligned sales team, you need market-specific marketing messaging.

3. Value Proposition. What makes you unique? Who are your competitors? How do you stack up against them - from a feature/function and strategic perspective? Why should they choose you, your product, and your company over another? What most companies fail to consider is the biggest competitor facing most businesses today - Do Nothing! "Do Nothing" steals more sales, stalls more deals, and impacts revenue projections and forecasting more than any single factor. How do you sell against that competitor? The mistake most companies make is that they are so in love with their product that they spew all the features and functionality onto the prospect - they show up and throw up. Prospects that have "Do Nothing" as an option will not be sold by features and functions. Facts tell; stories sell. You have to share the benefits and the results that those features translate into. The fitness industry doesn't spend so much time wowing you with how amazing a particular machine is; rather, they invest their time telling you about how you will look, how toned you will be, and how much weight you will lose as a result of using their product. They sell the benefits more than the features.