4 Reasons Sales Teams Fail to Meet Quotas & How Sales Automation Can Help

When sales teams fail to meet quotas, managers begin analyzing data. When comparing individual performance, sales managers may find that one rep is struggling to hit goals, or the numbers may indicate the whole team is missing the mark. Either way, managers must consider the reasons for poor performance. Following are four reasons your sales team may have trouble closing a deal. 1. Poor value messaging Your sales team should know your value message – that is, how to articulate to customers the ways your product or service solves a problem. But often, value messaging is inconsistent within sales teams, and it isn’t shared with other departments. Anyone who has interactions with a prospect or customer should know all the key points of your value messaging. Reps should know how to answer questions about what makes your product different from others. 2. Lack of training An analysis conducted by Economic Modeling Specialists found that sales degree programs may not be readily available at most colleges. Colleges that offer sales degrees are outnumbered 6-to-1 by the number of schools offering psychology degrees, even though sales careers outnumber psychology careers. That means there are many entry-level sales representatives who have no formal sales training. Managers must allocate adequate budget for on-the-job training. Even employees who have a sales degree will need to continue education on best practices, trends and emerging technology applicable to their jobs. 3. No formal process According to CSO Insight’s 2014 Sales Performance Optimization report, a direct correlation exists between your sales process and quota attainment. Formal processes that are monitored and measured result in higher quota attainment – and the least amount of forecasting losses – when compared to teams that have no process or an informal process. 4. No visibility into what's working  Without sales performance measurement tools like sales automation solutions, sales reps only know what's working when they close a deal. But one closed deal does not provide you with all of the insight you need to replicate the process. With sales automation solutions, sales teams and managers are able to analyze their past and current performance to develop optimized cadences based on the entire team's success. When sales teams aren't meeting quotas, it could be that your reps are under-performing because they don’t have the right tools. Sales automation is a crucial component to your sales team's success. It will help you standardize your sales process and make data-driven decisions about what's working and what's not. An investment in sales automation is an investment in improving your sales team performance. To find out more about your sales performance tools that can help your team reach their quotas, read our white paper, “Understanding Your SDR Needs: Identifying Your Input and Output.” Fill out the form below to download your copy: To learn more about our sales automation solution can help your sales team consistently meet their goals, watch our demo now.