It’s a common situation for commercial teams: they don’t want to miss an opportunity, so they overcompensate by having far too many active bets.
Recent research by SBI found that nearly two-thirds of CEOs have contingency plans, their thinking being that if they hedge their bets, they’ll have a better chance at some wins.
It’s not a good strategy. Too many targets make it almost impossible for commercial teams to focus.
The better option? Inventory your bets, then concentrate on the ones that you’re most likely to win.
In the present business environment, where there is still a level of uncertainty, the better informed your commercial team is, the more prepared they will be to make a compelling case to prospective buyers.
In Q1 2023, CEOs reported to SBI that demand was slowing (How Companies Are Achieving and Sustaining Commercial Momentum in 2023). But that’s been not the case for all companies – not at all.
The fact is, those who have been experiencing real sale momentum in 2023 have done so by taking definitive, methodical, resolute action first.
How to inventory your best bets
Inventorying your best bets starts by establishing a detailed fact base based on the KPIs for five key go-to-market functions:
- sales and marketing productivity;
- sales and marketing plan;
- market positioning;
- revenue goals; and
- customers and prospects.
Each of these should include hard data about the company’s past performance, forward-looking beliefs, and the company’s level of revenue growth maturity. The idea is to help ensure the commercial team is armed with all the measurable, objective, empirical evidence about your company to help them formulate and act on a winning go-to-market strategy.
With a fact base they know they can rely on, your commercial team can then proceed to determine your best bets, developing a solid business case for each one. These bets then become the new basis for reallocating resources to help accelerate growth going forward.
Ultimately, it’s about being better prepared to meet (and even exceed) the current needs of your customers and prospects. It may seem counter-intuitive to narrow your focus in order to achieve bigger wins, but it is a proven strategy. And as we enter annual planning season, now is the time to do the work.
Learn more about inventorying your strategic bets and use the provided template. (Note: clicking the template link will automatically download an Excel file. If you'd like the template emailed to you instead, email us.)
