Businesses must change their focus. The sales force must create value. Salespeople can no longer simply communicate information about the product the company provides. Salespeople must create value themselves. The only way to test whether or not salespeople are sufficiently creating value is to answer the following question from the point of view of your prospects and clients:
Would your prospects or clients pay for a sales call from your salespeople?
The question is not "Will they buy what your salespeople are selling?" but "Would they pay for the opportunity to have your salespeople make a sales call?" The point of this question is not to encourage you to start charging for sales calls (though we have helped several organizations do exactly this).
Imagine Business Development has studied the concept of value creation in depth. We teach our clients that if their actions don't create value, then their actions decrease value. This means that if your prospects and clients would not pay for a sales call, they view your sales process as reducing the value you offer. In essence, they buy from you in spite of your sales process.