Enterprise Sales Template

Before implementing an enterprise sales motion, it’s essential to understand the unique challenges and opportunities presented by enterprise sales and whether it’s compatible with your broader go-to-market (GTM). At its core, the enterprise sales motion is a targeted B2B sales strategy that is completely tailored to meet the specific needs of larger corporations.

To effectively engage with enterprise-level clients, sales representatives must take a deliberate approach to building relationships. This involves taking the time to get to know the prospect and identify their pain points through a series of strategic questions. In the enterprise sales model, representatives must connect with multiple stakeholders, as purchasing decisions are typically made by committee.

By tailoring sales strategies to the unique needs of larger corporations, sales teams can better navigate complex purchasing processes and build stronger relationships with key decision-makers. As a result, companies can unlock new opportunities for growth and success in the B2B marketplace.

Typical enterprise sales cycles tend to last between six and 12 months, resulting in more profitable outcomes. With that being said, extended and complex B2B sales cycles can present unique challenges of their own to sales representatives, requiring buy-in from stakeholders with internal influence. As such, the average Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) is significantly higher with enterprise sales, however, the payoff in terms of revenue is significantly greater than self-service, SMB (small-medium business), or mid-market sales motions.

Like with any sales strategy, there are a number of metrics your business can measure the success of its enterprise sales process. These include but are not limited to:

• Closed Won Revenue: The total revenue generated from deals that have been successfully closed by the sales team.
• Number of Closed Won Deals: The total number of deals that have been successfully closed by the sales team.
• Win Rates: The percentage of deals that have been successfully closed out of the total number of deals in the pipeline.
• Average Contract Value: The average value of a contract that is signed by the customer. This metric helps the sales team understand the typical deal size they can expect to close.
• Expansion/Contraction/Retention: These metrics refer to different stages of the customer lifecycle. Expansion represents the growth of the customer’s business and their need for additional products/services. Contraction refers to a decrease in demand for products/services. Retention refers to the ability to keep customers over time.
• Sales & Marketing Qualified Leads: Sales qualified leads (SQLs) are those prospects who have been identified by the sales team as having a high likelihood of converting into paying customers. Marketing qualified leads (MQLs) are those prospects who have shown interest in the company’s products/services but may not yet be ready to buy.
• Sales Pipeline Volume & Multiple: The sales pipeline is the total value of all deals that the sales team is currently pursuing. Pipeline multiple refers to the ratio between the value of the pipeline and the quota assigned to the sales team.
• Sales Velocity: A measure of how quickly deals are moving through the sales pipeline from initial contact to close. It is calculated by dividing the total revenue generated by the average length of the sales cycle.

An enterprise sales motion is an effective way to increase revenue because enterprise-level customers tend to have larger budgets and are willing to spend more on products and services that meet their needs. 

By working with large-scale companies, the enterprise sales motion can help reduce churn rates because enterprise-level customers are often more stable and reliable than SMBs. 

Plus, enterprise-level customers tend to have more complex and specific needs, the enterprise sales motion requires sales representatives to work closely with them to develop customized solutions that meet their requirements. This level of engagement can lead to improved customer satisfaction as they feel heard and valued by the company they are working with.

When implementing an enterprise Sales motion, it is important to build a team that embraces the enterprise mindset. Typical enterprise sales teams include a sales director, account executives, solution engineers, customer success, and sales development or market development reps. 

As enterprise-level deals involve longer sales cycles, between six and 12 months on average, each member of your sales team will have a key role to play throughout the four stages of this sales process. From prospecting and territory planning to identifying pain points and devising solutions, the Enterprise Sales process requires your team to work seamlessly with multiple stakeholders and decision-makers. 

There are a few challenges when implementing the Enterprise Sales model. For one, the sales cycles are longer, fluctuating between six months and one year. Simply put, the longer it takes to close a deal, the more time the prospect has to run into roadblocks or get a deal shot down by a senior leader. Long sales cycles require leadership buy-in, alignment, and patience given it will take time to see results. 

In addition, closing enterprise-level deals requires your sales representatives to communicate the value of the solution to multiple stakeholders – in many instances, up to 10 at a time, each with varied objectives and perspectives. Your sales team should be ready to handle any objections and be able to identify the stakeholders with the most internal influence. Enterprise-level deals require sales representatives to build credibility and influence at both the director and VP level, connecting with multiple decision-makers simultaneously. 

Finally, implementing the enterprise sales process requires territory planning and significant client research. This will ultimately help organize your sales team’s efforts, ensuring your representatives are on the same page and do not outbound the same accounts.