By Seth Kekessie
In The Knowland Buzz Volume 6, we asked, “What is your top barrier to grooming more Hunters in your sales organization?” and 44% said organizational metrics are too focused on RFP response rates.
In this survey, we are seeing a similar response rate at 47%, noting too much above-property focus on RFP response rates as the primary reason why selling group directly to planners is not the standard. If the industry believes this should be the new standard, the question then remains, how do we make the shift?
The solution is in a top-down commitment to this change. Unpack current metrics and set new ones for your sales teams. Identify someone on the team to be the champion of proactive selling to help hold others accountable.
Invest in resources to develop and train your sales staff into Hunters and invest in data solutions to support their direct-to-planner sales strategy. Revisit your bonus structure to support the change you want to see such as rewarding directly-sourced business over costly third-party sourced business.
Please click here for this edition of the Knowland Buzz.