STAMFORD, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--As the global coronavirus pandemic rises, chief sales officers (CSOs) and senior sales leaders must prepare their organizations to manage risk and take fast action, according to Gartner, Inc.
New research shows that sales organizations need a plan built around both tactical and strategic best practices. By extending risk management planning beyond the sales organization, to include the customer ecosystem and the supply chain, the sales force will be positioned to outperform competitors when the crisis passes.
“The COVID-19 outbreak is the latest reminder that sales organizations have unique challenges that arise during large-scale disruptions to business,” said Steve Herz, senior director analyst in Gartner’s Sales Practice. “Handled appropriately, such crises — whether health pandemics, natural disasters or other uncontrollable acts — represent tremendous downside risks, but also long-term opportunities.”
“Global disease pandemics like COVID-19 threaten more than internal commercial activities, so sales leaders must scope their planning efforts for such disruptions beyond the sales organization,” added Maria Boulden, vice president and executive partner for the Gartner Sales Practice.
Gartner recommends CSOs and sales leaders focus their planning on three key objectives to address the risks associated with the coronavirus outbreak:
Prepare for Risks to the Sales Organization, Customers and the Supply Chain
Internally, sales leaders need to communicate the importance of keeping the sales organization safe, and proactively manage sales compensation plans and quotas. Externally, sales leaders need to prepare for softening of demand and longer sales cycles, and plan for the inevitable order cancellations. Equally important in many industries are the risks to the supply chain and available inventory, as many sales are not considered complete until the product or service is delivered to the customer.
Plan for Rapid, Precise Execution
Gartner recommends sales leaders create rules for response governance and efficient decision making that are relevant to the unique challenges the sales organization will face. During a crisis, consistent messaging, transparency and communication discipline are indispensable to help instill confidence and reinforce new governance processes. Sales leaders must also create metrics to track sales activities, to identify new issues and to track whether emergency policies and priorities are being adhered to.
Strengthen the Sales Organization’s Competitive Position Before and After the Crisis
While taking action to reduce the immediate impact of coronavirus disruptions, CSOs must also understand how their choices can strengthen the sales force’s competitive position when the crisis subsides. Priority No. 1 should be investing in customer relationships and channel partnerships. To do this, sales leaders should look to increase and reward loyal customer and channel partnerships, and help equip customers, channel partners and suppliers to succeed during the crisis.
In addition, sales leaders can make choices about managing internal disruption that strengthen the sales culture and protect team morale during such crises. How CSOs lead now will set the tone and pace for a powerful and career-making experience for everyone in the sales function.
Additional information on what sales leaders should be doing amid the coronavirus outbreak is available to Gartner for Sales Leaders clients in the report “Prepare for Coronavirus Disruption to the Sales Organization.”
Learn more about how to lead organizations through the disruption of coronavirus in the Gartner coronavirus resource center, a collection of complimentary Gartner research and webinars to help organizations respond, manage, and prepare for the rapid spread and global impact of COVID-19.
About the Gartner CSO & Sales Leaders Conference
Sales leaders face unprecedented changes in customer expectations, technology and the talent needed to drive results. At the Gartner CSO & Sales Leaders Conference, taking place October 6-8, 2020 in Las Vegas, sales leaders will learn from the latest research and Gartner experts covering sales talent, customer buying behavior, sales enablement and sales operations. Follow news and updates from the event on Twitter at #GartnerSales.
About Gartner for Sales Leaders
Gartner for Sales Leaders provides heads of sales and their teams with the insights, advice and tools they need to address mission-critical priorities amid mounting pressures to drive growth through new and existing customers. With extensive qualitative and quantitative research, Gartner for Sales Leaders helps sales teams combat commoditization and price-based purchasing, develop critical manager and seller skills, elevate the value of sales interactions, unlock existing growth potential, and optimize sales force enablement. Follow news and updates from the Gartner Sales Practice on Twitter and LinkedIn using #GartnerSales.
About Gartner
Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT) is the world’s leading research and advisory company and a member of the S&P 500. We equip business leaders with indispensable insights, advice and tools to achieve their mission-critical priorities today and build the successful organizations of tomorrow.
Our unmatched combination of expert-led, practitioner-sourced and data-driven research steers clients toward the right decisions on the issues that matter most. We are a trusted advisor and objective resource for more than 15,000 enterprises in more than 100 countries — across all major functions, in every industry and enterprise size. To learn more about how we help decision makers fuel the future of business, visit gartner.com.
