Five changes to make to become a B2B sales operation

A good B2B sales operation is driven by data. And, if the numbers are not there, you need to create them. But how do you know what data your organization needs? The first step is understanding five key areas of performance measurement. To become more successful at selling to other businesses, some companies may need to make significant changes…

“Businesses are driven by data”

The first thing that struck me about this article was the title – it’s a bit of a mouthful!

Remember that the title needs to provide enough information for an interested reader to find out more, but be clear and concise enough that they can skim it quickly.

The most important thing to remember is that you should have a main point in the title. In this case, it’d be helpful if the article stated those five metrics upfront!

The first paragraph is okay – it’s an introduction and shows that this isn’t a sales pitch or advertisement. It also gets straight to the point with its key message: companies need data to increase their success at selling to other businesses.

What problems will they solve by doing so?

But, I’d love some more context as to why these changes need to happen – who is Tom Salonek? Why does he say they need to make these five changes?

I’m not overly keen on his choice of language either (“become”, or “make”). It feels like he’s trying to put pressure on the reader. The article may be better if it focused more on the benefits of changing rather than the “hard work” that might need to happen.

What makes a good sales operation?

The second paragraph has some good information – I like that Tom is giving us different types of data to measure, and why they’re important. But, again, I’d love to know where this information comes from! Who is he quoting? How do we know it’s reliable? And why does he say you should measure these specific things?

You also go off on a bit of a tangent with your last sentence (about email deliverability). What does that have to do with becoming better at selling to other businesses? Maybe that was your point all along, but it feels like you’re trying to push information about deliverability into the article where it doesn’t belong.

What are the five metrics every B2B company should measure?

The third paragraph is much better – you get straight to the point and explain what each metric is. Well done! You’ve also provided some good examples of how these data points might be collected. It’d be helpful if you included a little more context so readers understand why certain metrics are important to track. For example, how does knowing email engagement rates help improve sales?

 It’s also worth noting that “email marketing” isn’t one single metric – there are lots of different types out there, from open rates to click-throughs. It’s helpful to name all email marketing metrics when discussing what makes a good sales operation so readers understand the full picture.

What is deliverability?

The fourth paragraph is a bit of a misnomer – you’re not actually talking about B2B companies at all! You’re saying “Sellers” in general would benefit from having these data points available to them, but that seems like it could apply just as well to individual consumers or small businesses. I’d suggest removing this section and focusing on how B2B sellers can use this information more effectively.

Finally, the last paragraph offers some very useful insights – especially about contacting your customers! However, I’m not sure why the paragraph starts with “You may not want to hear this but…” – it suggests that the content not only might be controversial but also isn’t necessarily true. It’d be helpful if you could remove those assumptions and just present the facts as we know them.

At the end of the day…

It’s a great article overall, and I can see why readers would find it useful. However, what they really need is more context as well as actual data points! The article would benefit from quotes or research from experts in the field who have the appropriate authority on what makes good sales practices for B2B companies. That way it wouldn’t feel like sales tips from an outsider who doesn’t work directly in B2B sales or marketing.