Marketing & Sales

Five actions to boost your

sales organization’s resilience
Efforts to squeeze out additional sales could be more profitably invested in
the sales force. Here’s how to raise morale, build capabilities, and position
your team for recovery.

by Bertil Chappuis, Daniel Law, Maria Valdivieso, Ben Vonwiller

© Getty Images

July 2020
 As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to unfold, realistic expectations (which will, of course, vary
many sales leaders are facing a tough choice: by sector).
drive as many sales as possible today or prepare
for the future. Most sales leaders are trying to do Given the uncertainty around economic recovery,
both, of course, but the intense pressures they’re companies should consider basing their new
feeling as economies around the world pull back targets on a set of different scenarios.³ This
create an urgency to focus on the short term. approach will allow rapid and realistic adjustments
to revenue expectations as scenarios shift in
That sense of urgency has led some companies response to leading indicators and milestones
to try to recapture lost revenues by increasing such as the reopening of key markets.
targets for their sales teams. Since many of
these targets are unrealistic, they can further Once companies define the range of scenarios
demoralize sales teams that are already reeling and the revenues achievable in each, they should
from the leap to remote selling. This state of then break them down into realistic sales targets
affairs has exacerbated a tendency among sales for business units and individuals. If possible,
leaders to focus on short-term performance in business-unit sales plans should be adjusted from
meeting targets and forecasts, achieving growth, the bottom up to identify territories and accounts
and closing deals. with the most revenue potential. Similarly,
individual performance plans and development
We believe sales leaders could better use goals should be updated to motivate sales reps to
this time as an opportunity to invest in their a reasonable level of performance while holding
sales teams. By thoughtfully building up their them accountable for their performance.
psychological health and capabilities, sales
leaders can ensure that their teams are ready 2. Rethink bonuses and incentives
to leap ahead of competitors as the economy Many sales reps receive a significant portion
recovers. Research and experience back this of their remuneration from commissions. A
up. Recent McKinsey research into and analysis prolonged downturn will inevitably hit their
of the performance and growth strategies of income. Companies can help by doing two things:
approximately 2,000 companies between 2007 first, provide immediate financial security, and
and 2017 reinforces how critical it is to stay second, realign incentives for the longer term.
focused on through-cycle growth.¹ This is true
not only to ensure long-term survival but also to For example, a consumer-services company
generate total returns to shareholders (TRS) of 8 has more than 2,000 reps whose entire income
percent compared with their peers, who stay at is derived from commissions. The company
about zero.² rapidly deployed an emergency pay program that
provided a percentage of monthly prorated pay
To support their teams and get ready for the based on last year’s earnings to offer security and
recovery, we recommend leaders take these five reduce both anxiety and the potential for attrition.
actions: By guaranteeing earnings, the company was able
to retain its valuable sales force.
1. Reset and adjust expectations around
scenarios Additionally, companies can shift their reward
COVID-19 has had a significant impact on systems toward behaviors that will support the
2020 revenue targets. Sales leaders need to recovery process. For example, in the financial
acknowledge that meeting the original targets services industry, clients may not be readily
may be almost impossible and then set more signing up for new financial products during

1
Martin Hirt, Kevin Laczkowski, and Mihir Mysore, “Bubbles pop, downturns stop,” McKinsey Quarterly, May 2019, McKinsey.com.
² Rebecca Doherty and Anna Koivuniemi, “Rev up your growth engine: Lessons from through-cycle outperformers,” May 2020, McKinsey.com.
3
For our latest perspectives, see “COVID-19: Implications for business,” McKinsey.com, June 2020.

2 Five actions to boost your sales organization’s resilience

this period of uncertainty. Financial services practices by deploying a large-scale capability-
companies can shift a greater portion of their building program focused on developing reps’
incentive systems to reward new client leads skills around digital technologies. The company
(rather than new customers). This ensures that rapidly put in place a cross-functional team
the front of the sales funnel is fully loaded with of experts from learning, communications,
qualified leads that are ready to be converted and product management, and sales to develop
helps keep reps optimistic for the next phase. virtual learning modules and journeys tailored
to reps in every layer of the sales organization.
3. Invest in sales-force capabilities for the This training program helped reps adapt to the
recovery digital channels their customers were using and
The vast majority of B2B companies have shifted capitalize on demand to realize record sales over
their go-to-market (GTM) model during COVID-19 the last quarter.⁶
toward digital and remote selling. Two-thirds of
B2B decision makers surveyed believe that their 4. Revamp tools and processes to support your
new model is as effective, if not more so, than salespeople
previous models. Looking ahead, B2B companies In a recent survey, B2B buyers indicated that
expect digital interactions to be two to three times they value three things above all from sellers:
more important to their customers than traditional speed, transparency, and expertise.⁷ Sales
sales interactions.⁴ leaders should therefore take the time to realign
their sales operations (tools, systems, and
With this profound shift to digital, companies processes) to equip their sales force to deliver on
need to be thoughtful about what skills their reps these needs.
need to succeed in this digital remote reality. In
fact, some 77 percent of leaders indicated that For companies that have switched to virtual
retraining salespeople was very or moderately selling, codifying successful sales plays can help
important, according to recent McKinsey sales reps across the organization learn quickly
research.⁵ Investing time and money in building up and put into practice what works. For example,
their skills tells sales reps unequivocally that they even in the world of remote selling, the sales
are important and valued, while also priming them play for selling life insurance to a tech-savvy
to succeed in the digitally driven recovery. young professional would be very different from
the one for a baby boomer who may not be as
One critical area of focus is around using data comfortable with digital platforms. Consultative
and insights to make better selling decisions. selling for the former may fully revolve around
Some companies are investing in training their digital collaboration tools such as Box and Zoom,
reps on how to use AI tools, for example, that while the latter may involve physically mailing
provide next-product-to-buy recommendations marketing materials and following up with
so they can better cross-sell or upsell. Others are phone calls.
choosing to retrain field sales reps so they can
adopt inside sales roles and provide customers Additionally, companies should realign sales
with technical consultative expertise via their processes so that the sales force can replicate
website’s chat function. them at scale. For example, virtual sales require
the same discipline and standardization as
One financial-planning firm has found great face-to-face sales. Sales leaders should set
success in using this time to modernize its sales expectations on what the standard operating

4
“How B2B decision makers are responding to the coronavirus crisis,” May 2020, McKinsey.com.
5
Kyle Hawke, Matt Jochim, Rowan Mawa, Juliana Pflugfelder, Raj Luthra, Abhiskek Shirali, Yu Ueda, and Megan Wells, “Reset and reallocate
SG&A in the next normal,” June 2020, McKinsey.com.
6
Matt Diemond, Michael Drory, Daniel Law, and Maria Valdivieso, “The five things sales-growth winners do to invest in their people,” October
2018, McKinsey.com.
7
Christopher Angevine, Candace Lun Plotkin, and Jennifer Stanley, “The secret to making it in the digital sales world: The human touch,” May
2018, McKinsey.com.

Five actions to boost your sales organization’s resilience 3

 model should be in this new environment, literally get ahead of their sales force’s concerns by being
spelling out what Monday to Friday should look transparent about the company’s overall outlook
like for reps—for example, how much time they and by sharing and celebrating wins. It is important
should spend generating new leads and how much to be authentic and keep communications from
connecting with existing customers. Sales leaders becoming rote and stale, particularly as remote
can also help reps master the details of the virtual working persists. One sales leader we know has
sales process through active coaching about, for implemented multiple “Ask Me Anything” sessions
example, how best to use social platforms such where the sales force can get updates on the
as LinkedIn to generate leads, or how to use sales business and ask absolutely anything. Questions
materials to follow up a virtual meeting in order to can be difficult, but leadership has been clear
increase conversion rates. Many companies have that this commitment to transparency has built up
also adopted virtual ride-alongs, which actually confidence among sales reps.
allows managers to support more people than the
real thing in pre-COVID-19 days. Additionally, sales leaders should take the
opportunity to connect with their sales teams on a
Given the advances in sales technology, sales personal level. For many, COVID-19 has impacted
leaders also need to equip their reps with the their livelihood. Leaders can support their sales
tools to drive better decisions. For example, the teams by having one-to-one touchpoints via email,
increased use of inside sales as well as remote and phone, or Zoom. For example, the leaders of one
digital channels has made it more critical than ever financial-services organization we know blocked
to ensure that customer-relationship management out time to call each employee to check in, listen,
(CRM) is up-to-date and clean. Companies should and nurture. This not only provided employees
consider investing in CRM modules that can with affirmation of their value but also allowed
automate data population and enrich CRM data leadership to have “ears on the ground” and hear
with insights from external databases (for example, news from the front lines. In many cases, these
intelligence on key stakeholders). calls can include coaching to help salespeople
improve their performance. And don’t forget to
5. Provide leadership with vision and clarity try to have fun. Informal get-togethers or inviting
It may be a cliché to say that leadership is outside speakers to talk about topics unrelated to
crucial in a crisis, but too often sales leaders business are important to maintaining morale.
fall short. The best sales leaders focus not only
on communicating a clear vision of where the
organization needs to go but also on demonstrating
a commitment to their people. Communication is The economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis has
particularly important now, when those working slashed demand. Sales leaders need to actively
from home can feel isolated and disconnected. balance both short- and long-term performance.
Keeping the sales organization focused and But in managing around the current crisis,
energized is crucial for laying the foundation for they need to have a clear understanding of the
performance heading into the recovery. diminishing returns of some short-term activities,
and instead invest in their people so they’re ready
Sales leaders should take pains to communicate at for the recovery.
a strategic as well as personal level. Leaders can

Bertil Chappuis is a senior partner in McKinsey’s Silicon Valley office, Daniel Law is an associate partner in the Houston
office, Maria Valdivieso is a partner in the Miami office, and Ben Vonwiller is a partner in the New York office.

Copyright © 2020 McKinsey & Company. All rights reserved.

4 Five actions to boost your sales organization’s resilience