Evidence

What we typically find

In most organisations, the first baseline finding in a Sales Reset programme confirms the current absence of focus by salespeople on evidence of outcome achievement.

Not poor scores. No scores. No record of whether customer outcomes were defined in proposals, how precisely, in whose language, or whether delivery colleagues and partners agreed they were achievable before the commitment was made.

The system simply doesn't ask. Proposals are reviewed for commercial terms, pricing, and competitive positioning. Whether the customer's expected outcomes are sufficiently well-defined, measurable, and deliverable is rarely part of the conversation.

This isn't a failure of individuals. It's a consequence of a sales system designed to secure signatures rather than define outcomes. The absence is the most powerful evidence that something needs to change, and it's available before the programme begins.

What we measure

Outcome definition quality. Are customer outcomes defined in sales proposals? How precisely? In the customer's language or in generic terms? Without clearly defined outcomes at the point of sale, it is impossible to assess outcome achievement.

Proposal quality. Co-created proposals, signed off by delivery colleagues and partners before commitment, are documentary evidence of aligned outcomes. Proposals drafted internally and sent cold reveal the absence of that alignment.

Stakeholder breadth. How many stakeholders are engaged per opportunity, at what seniority level, and from which functions? Are delivery colleagues and partners involved before commitment, or do they inherit requirements afterwards?

Sales performance. Win rates, deal values, margins, pipeline conversion, forecast accuracy, renewal and expansion revenue. The baseline allows you to see which ones move and by how much.

Outcome achievement. Are customers achieving what they expected? This is the most important measure and the one that takes the longest to answer. Within a 90-day pilot, early indicators become visible. Over subsequent quarters, the picture becomes increasingly clear.

The role of evidence in Sales Reset

Inside the organisation, the same question. Team leaders ask: What evidence do we have that this opportunity is genuine? Senior leaders ask: What evidence do we have that these sales pipelines give us confidence to invest?

Design it into the purchase from the outset. How will impact be measured? When? By whom? When customers realise you intend to return and gather evidence of outcomes achieved, the quality of the conversation changes.

AI is embedded in every aspect of evidence. Capture, synthesis, scoring, reporting, and emerging insight.  The approach is practical because AI makes it sustainable.

This is harder than it sounds. Few organisations rigorously gather post-sale evidence of the outcomes achieved. But if you can't measure it afterwards, it probably wasn't defined precisely enough at the start.