Did you know you can do a little dynamic books? Lots of teams take a hybrid approach and apply some dynamic books principles without going all in. This might be the right approach for you.
But first, why should you even think about a hybrid dynamic books approach?
Because your year may depend on it.
Why now?
Pipeline generation is down in 2023, by as much as 50%.
Sales cycles are longer. And not just a few days longer - they're taking 20-40% longer this year.
Win rates are down. Many companies are seeing win rates decrease to 17-20%.
What does all this mean?
There are just over 6 months left in the year. If you have any chance of hitting your targets for the year, you need more pipeline coverage and you need it now. Many of the sales leaders we talk to are now aiming for 4x - 6x pipeline coverage to make up for slower, harder sales cycles.
Where are you going to find that new pipeline?
One of the benefits of a dynamic books approach is better coverage of your addressable market. You can uncover underserved segments, reallocate accounts to reps with capacity, and just generally make better use of your quota capacity to increase pipeline. It's the perfect flexible approach to thrive in our current economic climate.
But we know you may not be ready to adopt a full dynamic books model across your sales team. And we’re not asking you to. Did you know our Bookbuilder software allows you to improve your team's market coverage without making a full move to dynamic books?
Taking a hybrid approach to dynamic books
A number of Gradient Works customers take a hybrid approach. Some use a fully dynamic model for some teams while other teams still used a fixed book.
Which sales teams need a fixed book? You may have field sales reps who need to travel to be in the same room with prospects. You may have reps with channel partner relationships. You may have enterprise reps with a book of named accounts. You may just have a team that isn't ready for a big change right now.
But even if you want to keep some - or even all - of your teams on fixed books, you can move some teams to dynamic books or adopt some of the dynamic books principles without a lot of change to your current process. Here are some options.
1. Roll out dynamic books to one team
Some teams decide to adopt dynamic books on just one team to start. This can be a team that's used to change, a team that really needs some help, or a team that's already doing some parts of dynamic books and is ready to dive in further.
For example, Omnipresent uses Bookbuilder for their outbound SDR team. Quantive uses it for their hybrid inbound/outbound BDRs. Both companies have seen huge increases in top of funnel pipeline creation. Omnipresent created 16% more new opportunities after making the switch. Quantive created more opportunities per BDR than ever.
2. Analyze and improve account coverage
Gradient Works Bookbuilder includes account coverage intelligence that any sales team can use, even if they have static books. It helps teams find opportunities for deeper account penetration, uncover high-potential accounts, and diagnose inefficient rep behaviors.
Beekeeper uses Bookbuilder to identify reps with imbalanced books and redistribute those accounts to other reps who are hungry for new accounts. They also use it to understand where deals are moving well and where deals are stalling, and then reallocate rep accounts based on the accounts that are more likely to move forward. With that, they've been able to create pipeline from market segments that are performing better right now.
3. Give reps a hybrid book
Some companies choose to give sales reps a hybrid book, with some accounts that are static and remain in their name, while other accounts flow in and out in a dynamic books process.
For example, one company we work with has a robust channel sales program. They've opted to continue to distribute partner accounts equitably within each rep's region and keep those lists static. Then they also use dynamic books on other new business accounts that don't come in from channel partners. They hold reps accountable on staying engaged with the channel accounts in their book, while also giving them eligibility to work non-channel accounts within their region. This allows them full coverage of the channel accounts, with the flexibility to adapt to market conditions.
Some dynamic books is better than no dynamic books
Right now, you still have time salvage this year. Don't waste any more time giving good reps bad accounts. A dynamic books approach can and will help you increase your pipeline coverage now, when it has the biggest impact on Q3 and Q4 results.
Dynamic books addresses problems like:
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Inequitable opportunity and attainment among reps, where some hit quota every month while others sometimes do and sometimes don't.
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Some reps are overfed with too many accounts to reasonably work while others are underfed.
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Reps struggle to prioritize accounts, wasting quota capacity on accounts that will never convert.
With even some of the principles of dynamic books, teams can:
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Monitor account coverage and account penetration to understand how reps are covering your high-priority segments.
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Limit ownership capacity to just the accounts you want reps to work (and that they are able to fully work).
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Allow reps to return unworkable accounts and get high-potential accounts in exchange.
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Show reps exactly where to spend their time. If reps aren't spending their time efficiently, sales leaders can quickly repurpose quota capacity to cover high-priority segments.
So, let's talk! While there's still time to recover in 2023. Start with a demo?
By the way, sources for the stats above can be found here.
