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The Art and Science of the Perfect Sales Handoff
llrpartners.com
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Scheduling the handoff is complicated, and with inexperienced SDRs setting meetings at one end and RSMs with unpredictable schedules at the other, it’s easy to slip into chaos. Ensuring a smooth handoff requires rigorous training for SDRs and the use of advanced calendaring to guide the handoff schedule. “Most SDRs don’t realize that if they’re in New York and they book a 10 a.m. appointment for a prospect in California, it converts to 7 a.m. in the local time zone.” Beyond mastering time zones, SDRs need to be supported with advanced calendaring that provides a structured, guided process for booking RSMs with busy, unpredictable schedules. Before we redesigned our processes a few years ago, our SDRs would use Google Earth to see what opportunities might be down the street from a meeting they just booked. That kind of hunt-and-peck method has a very low rate of return. Now we use Salesvue to optimize our sales campaigns so that our SDRs schedule appointments based on sales priorities, best practices and optimal cadences rather than what shows up on Google. We also collect intel from the field so that SDRs have a more realistic understanding of the travel conditions. Knowing those granular details help SDRs schedule RSMs in ways that make their lives easier and reduce the number of missed or late appointments.
At Eyewitness Surveillance, we overcame this issue by breaking down the silos and ensuring that both groups have opportunities to learn together—and from each other—on a regular basis through various check-ins and training sessions. For example, we instituted a weekly “scrap talk” to enable the outside sales rep who specializes in metals and recycling to share his expertise with the SDRs who are reaching out and booking meetings with prospects in this important vertical for our video surveillance, access control and intrusion solutions. “Our SDRs are now able to establish credibility by demonstrating that they understand the industry trends and realities affecting the prospect and and tailoring the discussion about our solutions to the prospect’s goals and priorities.” Similarly, we ensure that our RSMs and SDRs attend the same product training sessions so that everyone hears the same message. Because RSMs have such unpredictable schedules, we record the sessions and store them in our learning management system so that they’re available on demand.
The perfect sales handoff requires both cultural alignment and logistical coordination, and getting it right is both an art and a science. “The sales process is made up of handoff points, and each point is an opportunity to build trust with a prospect—or lose it.” The High Cost of a Bad Sales Handoff
The High Cost of a Bad Sales Handoff “In terms of hard costs, it lowers your conversion rate by reducing the number of prospects who progress from one stage to the other.” A poor sales handoff also has soft costs. If the timing and scheduling are wrong or if the sales rep seems unprepared, you run the risk of losing credibility with the prospect and being put at a disadvantage from the very beginning of the process. It can also widen cultural divide between the sales development team and the outside sales team, creating even more friction and lack of coordination.
The High Cost of a Bad Sales Handoff “Those hours spent researching, calling, emailing and qualifying prospects are wasted if they don’t culminate in a meeting.” A poor sales handoff also has soft costs. If the timing and scheduling are wrong or if the sales rep seems unprepared, you run the risk of losing credibility with the prospect and being put at a disadvantage from the very beginning of the process. It can also widen cultural divide between the sales development team and the outside sales team, creating even more friction and lack of coordination.
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