The SPAR part of the Sales Framework: The enablers of a successful sales function for SMEs and Startups.

Alex Henneberg

January 2025

The SPEAR sales framework has been designed to help SMES and Startups address issues such as:

• How to get more, higher quality, leads
• Identifying and pursuing the right opportunities
• Losing deals you could/should have won
• Long sales cycle times, with you giving ever-greater concessions to win a deal
• How to present your proposition so your prospect thinks it’s as great as you do
• Wasting time chasing the wrong opportunities; being ghosted.
• Building a scalable sales process.

It’s a blueprint for a successful sales function, as summarised in Diagram 1 below:

The SPEAR framework comprises five core elements (Strategy, Plan, Engagement, Accelerators and Orchestration).  It is the SPAR enablers (Strategy, Planning, Accelerators and Orchestration) that enable consistent and prolonged sales success.

These enablers (summarised below) give SMEs and Startups opportunities to differentiate and maximise their resources, by having:

• an aligned sales and business Strategy with well-defined target customers and KPIs
• a robust and appropriately resourced sales Plan
• compelling collateral, a strong sales process and modern sales methods that accelerate wins, and
• an appropriate CRM system and automation tools.

Strategy: Identifying and Positioning

Sales Strategy should be aligned with your business strategy (so salespeople are not selling propositions you can’t deliver, or to customers your propositions is not suitable for, or you are not yet targeting).  

Three key sales strategy activities are:

• Identifying your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) and Ideal Target Customer (ITC) (seeDiagram 2)

• Articulating your value proposition.  Ie what pain points you address for your target customers, how you address/solve their challenges and the measurable benefit your proposition will give them.
• Setting targets and budgets.  Understand your sales and business goals and set a baseline for the volume and value of leads/prospects you are likely to need at each stage of the pipeline in order to meet those objectives.  You can then track, monitor, compare and see how you can improve these metrics over time.

Diagram 3 shows an example baseline funnel and conversion metrics.

Planning: Structuring Your Sales Efforts

The Planning function is typically the responsibility of management, which in the case of a Startup is likely to be the founder.

Key tasks include:

• Sales forecasting (calculated from your funnel conversion metrics) to input to your business plan and support future resourcing plans.
• Reviewing at what stage a dedicated sales resource should be employed and what to look for in a salesperson
• Implementing a compensation plan that incentivises performance and aligns with your business objectives.

Accelerators  

SMEs and StartUps can benefit from investment in three supporting capabilities and assets (“Accelerators”).  These are intended to improve win rates, reduce time spent on deals that are likely to be lost, and support the retention and development of sales talent.

1. Sales Enablement  - resources, tools, training and content that helps salespeople engage with buyers more effectively and close more deals.  This means developing compelling and personalised sales collateral, investing in learning basic sales skills and implementing some automated technology, notably a CRM system.
2. Sales Process – the 6 Engagement stages outlined in the SPEAR blueprint are an excellent start; the next step is to agree the definitions of each stage and the rules and criteria for continuing to invest in a sale as it goes through (or not) the stages of this sales process.
3. Sales Methods – there are numerous excellent methods that help salespeople with tips and techniques for qualifying and accelerating a deal through the process, giving you the greatest opportunity to win.  These methods include Sandler, NEAT, SPIN, Challenger, Powerbase and SNAP.  The SPEAR webinars provide a summary and comparison of these methods so that SMEs and Startups may take a view as to which, or which parts, may be useful for them.

Orchestration: Enhancing and Streamlining the Sales Process

Automation tools are essential in today’s sales environment, managing repetitive tasks, improving productivity and providing AI-enhanced insights and sales support.

Tools typically fit into one of three categories, although some combine all three.

1. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) CRM tools help businesses manage interactions with current and potential customers.  They are at the heart of your customer management and sales process as they store customer data, track sales interactions and automate various marketing and sales processes. Key features include contact management, sales pipeline tracking, task automation, and reporting.
2. Sales Enablement Sales enablement tools provide sales teams with the resources, training, and content they need to close deals effectively. They help organise sales content, o\er training programmes and track sales performance. They aim to improve sales productivity, shorten sales cycles and increase win rates by ensuring sales people have the right tools and information at their disposal.
3. Revenue Orchestration Revenue orchestration tools take a holistic approach to managing the entire customer journey, from lead generation to post-sale support. They align sales, marketing, and customer success teams to optimise revenue growth. These tools focus on data and analytics to understand customer behaviour, improve lead generation and enhance customer retention.

While many tools focus on one or two tasks (eg lead management; document management) some offer integrated solutions combining CRM, sales enablement and revenue orchestration features.

Diagram 4 below provides an overview of key sales orchestration functions that SMEs may wish to explore in order to maximise the value and efficiency of their sales team.

Summary

StartUp founders are typically highly skilled and passionate solution creators, with a strong technical or design background in their sector.  However, their sales experience and techniques may not match their other areas of expertise.  Indeed, an understandable enthusiasm for their product or service may fall flat with prospective customers, who are motivated by suppliers who take the time to understand their own problems and challenges.

The SPEAR sales framework is based on best-in-class enterprise sales tools, processes and techniques, tailored to make them relevant, scalable and actionable by StartUps and SMEs.  Investing in appropriate parts of this framework will mean you:

• Give yourself the best chance of success
• Do justice to the products and services you’ve created
• Win over more prospects, who will thereby benefit from being your customer.

To discover more and for help in setting up an effective sales function for your organisation, please contact me at alex@spear-sales.com or view my website at www.spear-sales.com.

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