September 28th, 2009
After eight days and six cities, I hope to make sure this message is clear: It's been a busy week! I missed last week's blog because of some of that travel, but I hope you used that time to contemplate the ideas in the post on sales compensation planning for 2010 -- it's a critical component for building a high-performance and self-managed sales team.
Another very critical component in creating a high-performance team is attracting and selecting the right level of talent. Hiring correctly is the No. 1 problem in the channel.
While the jury is still out on the Minnesota Vikings and their recruitment of Brett Favre, Sunday's game proved the value of having a person on your team who has the right experience and can make things happen.
Let's recap: With two seconds remaining, Brett scrambled and hit a receiver in the back of the end zone. It was a come-from-behind win over the San Francisco 49ers. He said in post-game comments, "I kept telling myself and my teammates that we can still win this game." He accomplished a similar victory as a backup quarterback in his first game as a Green Bay Packer and has continued this pattern throughout his career more than 40 times.
So, here's a situation where the Vikings had two quarterbacks competing for the starting job, but they recruited Favre before the season started because he's proven that he's one of the best.
Sports analogies are cliché, but here's my point: Recruiting must be a constant focus of sales management. At this time of year, many top performers are assessing their current employer and asking if they are positioned with a winner, if the frustrations of the past year or two have been worthwhile, and what progress they made professionally.
If you're not constantly seeking new and better talent, you will find that the top sales talent may not be looking in your direction when positions open up. We always tell clients that they need to develop a marketing campaign to recruit talent as well as to find prospects.
Favre came out of retirement. Likewise, with the general business environment, remember that there is also talent available due to cut backs, layoffs and some people opting to retire earlier.
In our book, "Recruiting and Hiring a High Performance Sales Team," I suggest that for every one salesperson you hire, you need to interview five and that a minimum of three people interview each person. I can't get into a complete recruiting, interviewing and hiring process in this blog, so here's one nugget to take away: Building a recruiting machine with a defined interviewing process will help you take the emotion out of hiring and help you select the winners required to make your organization a super team.
Our Web site has a free video on hiring smart and it's there that you can also get our On Line Sales Manager's Tool Kit that includes a complete interviewing kit as well as a three-week, New-Hire On boarding training schedule.
Ken Thoreson, President of Acumen Management Group Ltd., "operationalizes" sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 12 years, our consulting, advisory, and platform services have illuminated, motivated, and rejuvenated the sales efforts for partners throughout North America. Move up and move ahead! Acumen Management provides keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance. 3f4qb8v9ge
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September 15th, 2009
It takes time to get it right. From sales leaders to executives, everyone must be focused on exceeding the end of year sales quotas and budgets — alas, it is mid-September and October will be quickly on top of you. Over the next few weeks I will be discussing the components that all companies must begin to work on during the 2010 budgetary and business/sales planning process.
The first step in overall business planning is to have the management team determine what percentages of overall revenue will come from net new clients vs. existing clients by product/service or practice area. Once that exercise is completed, then all budgets, marketing plans and sales compensation planning can begin.
The sales management process in developing sales compensation can be complex, yet the goal must always be to create a program that is simple to understand and administer.
The ultimate concept in sales force compensation is to ensure that the salesperson’s and sales management’s plans are in alignment with each other and, most importantly, in alignment with the objectives or goals of the organization.
You can take a free sales compensation assessment on Acumen’s Website. It will help you judge the effectiveness of your existing sales compensation plan. Once that process is completed, the sales management process must begin: Determining acceptable levels of cost of sales; determining a QTD objective; an accelerated or ramp plan based upon sales or margin, or both? Will there be special bonuses for reaching certain objectives? Perhaps a team bonus plan? What sales contests will you run (see my earlier post for ideas).
For more sales compensation, ideas, go here. Depending upon your needs as a sales leader, that link will also provide you access to 22 other articles on sales management we have published.
On our Website and in our store we have a DVD and a book, “Building Sales Compensation Plans that Work!” My recommendation is to start early, work through various scenarios and, most importantly, look for the holes. Looking for the holes means, once you have narrowed down your plan, go and test it, present it to others and let fresh eyes try to find the weak spots in it.
Strategic sales management must focus on increasing the sales performance of your team. Hiring will help and training is a must, but a well thought out sales compensation plan will add the right fuel to mixture.
Ken@AcumenMgmt.com
Posted in Sales Compensation, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Management Planning, Sales Management Training | Comments Off
September 8th, 2009
After seven days of recovering from minor foot surgery, I was pondering what others were doing this weekend that I couldn’t: golfing, boating, grilling, hiking and partying with friends. Well I did do some partying with friends but it was more like hobbling.
As I relaxed reading four books and watching movies, my mind would drift as to what I should be doing and what other sales managers must be thinking about — facing the next four months.
Last week, I filmed two video webcasts, “Building Predictable Revenue” and “Hire, Train and Re-Train High Performers.” With that experience fresh in my mind, I wanted to provide a quick “sprint to the finish” blog that all executives and sales leaders should keep in mind for the next few months:
Focus on the short-term sales results. We have spent numerous blogs and Acumen newsletters on what that means. Simply put, resources must be applied to strategize and tactically execute brilliantly on all aspects of the sales process. “Think creatively and acts accordingly.” Do you have a copy of Acumen’s sales strategy guidebook? Check out our store on the Acumen Web site.
Plan for 2010. Yes, recruiting top performers that can impact 2010 is also a priority. College football recruiting falls within a two-year window — finding the players that will impact your team for next year is critical. Top salespeople are now evaluating their current business relationships and levels of satisfaction. Do they know you want them?
Focus on lead generation. Building pipeline levels now is critical, not only to have a good fourth quarter, but to ensure you start 2010 with a lot of potential sales activity. Our economy is not hot, but increasing your sales opportunities will result in sales results.
Have fun. Our sales teams might be tired — mentally and physically — as well as we might be. It is the job of the sales leader to be a catalyst for change and continuous improvement. You must realize that each day, each week and each month for the next four months is your opportunity to create optimism, encourage your team, build belief and increase the energy of your entire organization to achieve your company’s objectives.
Lastly, if you have not set a yearly sales incentive trip for your team (entire company team or sales team), NOW is the time to announce a sales trip, set the goals, energize your entire team and focus on exceeding your goals.
Realistic optimism is critical now for increasing the speed you sell your way out of this economic situation. The winners are those capturing market share and overtaking their competitors.
Build predictable revenue for 2010. If you have not received our “Top 40 Actions Sales Managers Need to Execute for Predictive Revenue,” send me an e-mail.
Ken Thoreson is managing director of the Acumen Management Group Ltd., a North American consulting organization focused on improving sales management functions within growing and transitional organizations internationally. Ken also motivates organizations with enlightening keynotes
Posted in Keynote Programs, Sales Kick Off Meeting, sales leadership, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Planning, Sales Management Training, Sales Training | Comments Off
