Sales Support: The Not-So-Secret Weapon of a High-Performing Revenue Engine
In today‘s hyper-competitive B2B landscape, the organizations that consistently crush their numbers have one thing in common: they view sales not as an isolated function, but as a team sport that requires support from across the business.
While capable reps are critical, modern selling is just too complex for any one person or department to do it all. Between increased buyer expectations, longer sales cycles, and ever-evolving products and markets, sales teams need backup to bring their A-game.
Enter sales support – a diverse mix of people, processes and tools, all working together behind the scenes to drive more efficient and effective selling. Far from just administrative or logistical help, the best sales support is strategic and proactive, focused on empowering reps to build relationships, tailor solutions, and create value at every touchpoint.
What Does Modern Sales Support Look Like?
The scope and shape of sales support can vary widely depending on the company‘s size, industry, and go-to-market model. But the ultimate goal is always the same: to enable reps to spend more time actively selling and less time getting bogged down in the details.
Some common sales support functions include:
Lead Generation & Prospecting
Researching and identifying potential accounts, building prospect lists, gathering contact info, and leveraging technology for outreach.
Sales Enablement
Creating content and collateral to aid the sales process, such as demo decks, ROI calculators, competitive battle cards, customer case studies, and email templates.
RFP & Proposal Support
Responding to requests for proposals, coordinating input from subject matter experts, developing pricing and contract terms, and finalizing the proposal.
Order Processing & Billing
Managing the purchase process from quote to cash, including configuring orders, drawing up contracts, invoicing, and collecting payment.
Customer Onboarding & Training
Getting new customers set up for success with the product or service, including implementation, data migration, user training, and adoption support.
Account Management & Customer Success
Nurturing customer relationships post-sale, driving product usage and value realization, handling renewals and expansions, and managing escalations.
Reporting & Analytics
Tracking and analyzing key sales metrics, generating forecasts and pipeline reports, and delivering actionable insights to sales leadership.
Of course, this is just a sampling – the list could go on and on. But you get the picture. Modern sales support is much more than just a few admins or ops specialists. It‘s an ecosystem of cross-functional players working together to maximize sales productivity and performance.
The Case for Company-Wide Sales Support
If you‘re not convinced yet, consider these eye-opening statistics:
• Sales reps spend just 33% of their time actually selling, with the rest eaten up by administrative tasks, research, and content development. (Source)
• Organizations with tightly aligned sales and marketing teams see 36% higher customer retention and 38% higher sales win rates. (Source)
• 60% of companies that surpassed revenue targets have a dedicated sales enablement function, compared to just 30% that missed their goals. (Source)
• After implementing a new sales support strategy, Salesforce increased its lead volume by 104%, lead-to-opportunity conversion rate by 44%, and opportunity-to-close rate by 40%. (Source)
The data is clear: getting the whole company involved in sales support isn‘t just nice to have – it‘s a strategic necessity for driving growth and remaining competitive.
But what does it actually look like in practice? Let‘s dive into some specific ways each department can step up.
Marketing‘s Role in Sales Support
As the vanguard of pipeline generation, marketing has a huge impact on sales success. Some key support areas include:
• Developing buyer personas and ideal customer profiles
• Producing educational content to attract and nurture leads
• Scoring and qualifying leads before routing to sales
• Equipping reps with targeted content for each buying stage
• Aligning with sales on key messaging and value propositions
By focusing on quality over quantity and proactively equipping reps, marketing can tee up more productive sales conversations from the first touch.
Product Management‘s Role in Sales Support
As the experts on the ins and outs of the offering, product management is uniquely positioned to help reps articulate value and handle objections. They can support by:
• Training reps on key features, use cases, and differentiators
• Joining sales calls to give in-depth demos or answer technical questions
• Gathering input from sales to inform the product roadmap
• Developing sales enablement content like demo videos and leave-behinds
• Partnering with sales engineers to customize solutions for strategic deals
By working closely with sales, product teams can ensure reps are positioned as trusted advisors who deeply understand the buyer‘s needs.
Customer Success‘ Role in Sales Support
Especially in SaaS and other recurring revenue models, landing the initial deal is just the beginning. Customer success plays a vital role in the ongoing customer relationship and securing future growth. They can aid sales by:
• Managing the post-sale transition to ensure a smooth handoff
• Driving product adoption and helping the customer realize value
• Gathering customer feedback to inform sales messaging and case studies
• Identifying expansion and cross-sell opportunities
• Partnering on renewal conversations and handling pricing negotiations
By teaming up with sales, CS can help turn one-time buyers into profitable, long-term partnerships.
Other Departments‘ Roles in Sales Support
While not an exhaustive list, here are a few more ways the broader business can support sales:
• Finance: Assist with billing, collections, and revenue forecasting
• Legal: Streamline contract review and mitigate deal risks
• HR: Help recruit and onboard top sales talent
• IT: Implement and optimize the sales tech stack
• Executive Leadership: Champion a customer-centric culture
At the end of the day, when everyone rallies around generating revenue, the rising tide lifts all boats.
Making the Shift: A Tactical Guide
If your organization has been operating in silos with sales as a lone wolf, making the transition to a team selling approach can feel daunting. But it doesn‘t have to be a massive overhaul all at once. Here are some pragmatic steps to get started:
-
Secure executive buy-in.
Without leadership on board, any initiative will be an uphill battle. Present the business case for sales support with an emphasis on revenue impact. -
Assess current state.
Audit what sales support looks like today, from people to processes to technology. Identify gaps, inefficiencies and quick wins. -
Define your sales support vision.
Paint a picture of how you want the future state to look and feel. What does an ideal customer experience look like? An ideal selling motion? Document and socialize it. -
Break down barriers.
Look for ways to increase transparency and collaboration across teams. Can you align incentives? Integrate datasets? Co-locate key players? -
Start small and iterate.
Pick one or two high-impact support plays to implement first, like deal desk or sales content. Learn and evolve from there vs. trying to boil the ocean. -
Celebrate the wins.
Spotlight early success stories and recognize those who exemplify a one-team mentality. A little recognition goes a long way in driving adoption.
Overcoming Obstacles
Moving to a cross-functional sales support model is a big shift, so naturally it comes with some challenges. Common issues that may crop up include:
• Lack of bandwidth or competing priorities
• Unclear roles and responsibilities
• Misaligned incentives and metrics
• Poor communication and visibility
• Resistance to change
To overcome these hurdles, focus on building alignment, processes, and infrastructure:
• Develop a sales support charter with input from all stakeholders
• Create clear SLAs between teams
• Determine leading and lagging indicators of success
• Invest in tools that enable transparency and collaboration
• Communicate wins early and often to build momentum
It won‘t happen overnight, but with the right planning and change management, you can successfully make the shift.
The Bottom Line
In 2024 and beyond, companies simply can‘t afford to treat sales as a siloed function. Buyers are too savvy, the stakes are too high. Sales teams need the full force of their colleagues to act as strategic advisors and deliver maximum customer value.
By making sales support a shared responsibility, organizations can drive better outcomes across the board: more closed deals, more satisfied customers, and more empowered employees. It‘s not just a nice-to-have – it‘s the future of selling.
Is your company ready to join the revenue revolution? If not, you may find yourself left behind.
