Where Does Your Revenue Really Come From?

I have a question for you. Do you really know where your revenue comes from?

Most businesses can probably answer that question pretty quickly. It’s obvious, right?

Not so fast.Recently, we’ve been involved in a very large sales reorganization. There are three sales teams, a channel sales team, a field sales team and an inside sales team. It was always assumed that the field sales team was the main revenue engine. After all, they were the ones going out, finding leads and closing business.

But, we uncovered something interesting…

They are NOT the actual revenue engine.

The real revenue engine, as it turns out, is the inside sales team! They’re the ones getting all the calls, the emails, the requests for quotes and they’re also the ones following up on all of these inquiries. We discovered that the field sales team was still critical, but they’re forecasting business for 12-24 months out. They’re absolutely important for building a future sales funnel, but the actual revenue engine of the organization was a group that was considered more of a customer service team than a sales team. Isn’t that incredible?

Not surprisingly, the organization wants to now elevate the role that the inside sales team plays. They’re excited about this increased focus on them because identifying how critical they are to their revenue completely changes their approach and offers new opportunities for the entire company.

Does my initial question make you want to think again?

It’s yet another reminder to operate your business based on facts, not assumptions. Take a look at your organization and make sure you’re not making a wrong assumption.

Be 100% certain what your true revenue engine is and structure, reward, and pay that engine accordingly.

What’s another common assumption organizations and business owners make about their revenue? Let me know in the comments below!