The SPEAR Sales Framework: A blueprint for setting up a successful sales function for SMEs and Startups.
Alex Henneberg
January 2025
Startup founder? Someone in an SME responsible for revenue and sales? If so, you’ll no doubt have faced one of these challenges:
- 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.
The SPEAR sales framework has been designed to help SMES and Startups address these issues. 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). The first two and last two (“SPAR” components) support the core Engagement process. Engagement sits at the heart of SPEAR - indeed, the sales function in general. It includes the sales skills needed to interact successfully with prospects and customers at each stage of the sales process, as you find, qualify, progress and close sales. These skills are critical in improving conversion rates and are clearly an important factor in overcoming the challenges listed above.
However, it is the SPAR enablers (Strategy, Planning, Accelerators and Orchestration) that enable consistent and prolonged sales success.This holistic view of the sales function sets the SPEAR framework apart from many other programmes, which often focus just on the Engagement process. While these skills are clearly important for salespeople to develop, as a StartUp or SME founder/Director looking to scale your sales function, get consistent results and to continuously improve your sales results, you also need to invest in the “SPAR” enablers.
These enablers 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.
Implementing the SPEAR blueprint will enable you to win more business by:
- Engaging with prospects and customers effectively and efficiently, using collateral and insights that create value and build trust
- Creating a selling experience that is simple, more personalised and more rewarding for you and your customers.
- Ensuring your specific value proposition is aligned with your target market
Please see my website (www.spear-sales.com) for further detail on how to set up your.
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.
