Your Sales Management Guru

You Don’t Just Hire a Sales Team–You Build It

Developing a great sales organization involves more than just bringing the right people on board. It requires providing the right opportunities and creating the right culture.

 By Ken Thoreson

(This is an excerpt from my latest book: Your Sales Management Guru’s Guide to:  “Leading High Performance Sales Teams”)  

 Recently, in speaking to two prospective clients, I heard the same complaint that I hear over and over from sales executives: “My turnover rate is huge.”

They’re not alone in their concerns. Consider these facts:

• In one Manpower Inc. survey of nearly 33,000 employers worldwide, U.S. and Canadian respondents both ranked “sales representative” as the job they were having most trouble filling.

• Nearly 25 percent of the nearly 2,200 sales executives surveyed in another major study reported that turnover had increased during the previous year.

Hiring the right talent is critical in building successful sales teams. Studies show that, if you bring in the wrong salesperson, you lose up to four times the cost of that person’s annual salary and benefits in missed opportunities, management time, fee’s and other factors. (If you’re experiencing turnover, you may find Acumen’s book Hiring a High-Performance Sales Team a valuable resource.)

 Building Your Team: Beyond Hiring

However, hiring is just one part of the equation. It’s also important to develop and retain your salespeople. Here are a few suggestions for achieving those goals:

• Buff up the “B” team. Obviously, you have a limited number of “A-level” salespeople. So it makes sense to invest some effort in grooming the B-level team members who seem most likely to be able to move up to the top tier.

If you’re recruiting regularly, you’ll have a constant pipeline of top talent available to keep enhancing the quality of your team. Conducting interviews regularly will improve your ability to identify both the winners and the runners-up—that is, the B-team players with strong potential.

Don’t waste time on salespeople who are C-level or below. Many sales managers spend too much valuable time attempting to save poor performers or trying to make their money back on their hiring mistakes. Instead, focus on providing B-level players with the management, coaching and training they need to advance.

 Emphasize education. Design a comprehensive orientation and training program to ensure that new hires hit the ground running–and that they keep moving forward.

We typically advise our clients to establish a three-week on-boarding plan for new hires. That effort typically includes having new employees do everything from reading past proposals to learning to use the customer relationship management (CRM) system and other technologies to making presentations to multiple people, including the president. Managers or assisting salespeople should sign off on each item on each employee’s new hire plan.

The plan should also include a 90-day list of planned objectives. While those objectives will be unique for each organization, they might include pipeline values, revenue goals, sales calls goals and proposals delivered. Having predefined objectives allows all involved to know whether each new hire is on track or requires some additional education.  

• Create a sales-oriented culture. From conducting numerous exit interviews, we’ve found that many top salespeople leave their jobs not because they’re dissatisfied with compensation, but because they’re frustrated by sales management. Typically, that frustration stems from a culture that blocks sales success via lack of support, poorly designed sales processes and inefficient internal policies that make it difficult to add new clients, generate proposals, process orders or even calculate commissions. Some organizations call this as “sales prevention.”

Recognizing success goes a long way in building a strong sales culture. Offering contests, awards and yearly incentive trips–and maintaining a fun environment—are all important ways to provide that acknowledge.

Sales leaders serious about improving performance should work hard to implement all three suggestions, helping B-level players move up while developing training programs and a culture that encourages and reward success.

 Building Your Team: Working with Company Leadership

Another critical step in building that culture is making sure that your company’s leadership views sales development as a top priority.

That’s not necessarily a given. Many companies’ management teams view their sales divisions as cost centers. In reality, those divisions are profit centers. For that reason, executives should be doing everything possible to help their salespeople execute brilliantly. Again, companies serious about gaining competitive advantage should emphasize developing, mentoring and coaching their sales teams in the same way that they focus on building certification levels for their delivery teams.

Executives from smaller companies often tell us that, unlike their counterparts at larger enterprises, they don’t have the resources to undertake professional-level development projects. (My typical response is: “That’s why you’re still a small company.”) In reality, though, effective sales, training and retention efforts are especially critical for small businesses. Cash flow and decreased sales can have a much bigger impact on monthly profitability for small businesses than for large companies, which can usually better weather a few bumps.

The takeaway: Building a strong sales organization requires developing programs dedicated to each salesperson’s short-term success and long-term growth—and it requires doing so in a positive culture that rewards achievement. Such efforts will help all team members reach their potential and go a long way toward keeping them on board.

 BONUS: a free web cast on “Hiring a High Performance Sales Team   https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/347130472

 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.

 Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com    www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

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Posted in Books, Recruiting, sales leadership, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Systems, Sales Management Training | 1 Comment »

Executive Toughness

 This week’s blog is a book review:  Executive Toughness: The Mental Training Program to Increase your Leadership Performance by Dr. Jason Selk published by McGraw Hill.  Why am I adding this to my blog site?  My objective in addressing sales leadership issues is to provide you ideas, tools and concepts to increase your professionalism. I like to read a business book focused on some aspect of my profession, then I will switch to another form of book for personal fun. I believe your sales teams and you should have a personal development plan.  You need to add this book to your library! 

 After writing four books myself, I found “Executive Toughness” a terrific read that a new manager or any experienced business leader can find something new or an aspect of their life to improve upon. 

As I was reading this book I realized my next blog would contain a brief review and it should be a must read. As each page flew by, I found myself underlining sentences, circling ideas and folding over pages as concepts and tools were introduced.  Dr. Selk opens each new idea with a story of a person that defines his message, I liked the way he personalized the concepts that the reader could relate to. His conversations and stories with the famed Coach John Madden were terrific.  Before I cover the topics, the one aspect of the book I really thought was a great concept was at the conclusion of each section where Dr. Self was making a point, he included tools where the reader could begin to build their own personal “training” program.  This allowed the reader not only to read and understand the topic, but to put the information into their Personalized Action Plan! 

The topics of the book that I really enjoyed were: 

• Accountability: The Process of Achievement (readers of this blog know my feelings on “accountability, discipline and control”.
• Self-Evaluation: Look into the mirror everyday
• Improving Execution and Consistency: in our sales leadership workshops I discuss that execution is the key element that in high performance sales organizations…
• The Mental Work: “100 seconds a day keeps failure away.”  This section pays for the book!
• Optimism: Overcoming All Obstacles:   Becoming relentless and unremitting action.

 And to make the book even better, the last 12 pages gives you the Handbook to move forward with your personalize program.  As in my keynote program: Gourmet Living: a recipe for personal and professional success, Dr. Selk hits the point, you must be personally in balance and know what you want and you must take action to achieve high performance.

 Buy it, read it and take action, you will be a better person because of it. 

Ken Thoreson, President of Acumen Management, “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 14 years, our consulting, advisory, and platform services have illuminated, motivated, and rejuvenated the sales efforts for partners throughout North America. His latest book: “Leading High Performance Sales Teams” provides 40 chapters for sales leaders.

  Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.  Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com

 Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Books, Leadership Management, sales leadership, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Training | 1 Comment »

A Sales Manager’s Recipe: What’s Cooking in 2012?

Last week after a keynote program called Gourmet Living, an attendee came up to me afterwards and discussed her challenges as a sales manager.  The last three years have been tough and she was looking for new ideas for 2012 to excite her team and also to simply change up the routine.

Since my keynote program had been about creating a Menu for Your Life with many metaphors around cooking I  started thinking about what her sales management recipe should be, for about 30 minutes we discussed a variety of ideas. So if 2011 left a bad taste in your mouth, use the following ingredients to create a new recipe to make 2012 your best year ever.

Become a Detective: In sales management workshops we always talk about “inspect what you expect”.  Once a week; review your sales teams CRM system to ensure they are using it properly and casually ask each team member about their certain activities within their key accounts.  Once they know you are actually reviewing their accounts they will be more precise and begin to be more accurate. Next, make two extra sales calls per month with each sales rep.  Validate they can sell your firm and they are using the proper sales tools. These actions are not micro-management, they are designed to provide you greater opportunities to coach and grow your team.

Reduce Fatigue:  Recognize your sales team might be tired or somewhat challenged based upon the last three years of tight budgets and stress.  Fire them up with new products or packaging/pricing, change the game with new times for sales and sales training meetings-even re-arrange the sales offices.  Once a month, take your sales team on a “field trip” to visit a customer, let the customer “sell” your team on your products/services.

Find Creative Dust:  Read a book on creativity and share it with your team.  The truly great salespeople are the most creative and it is true that creativity can be learned!  As a sales manager, creative sales strategies will push you over your quota-get your entire team into a creativity fix.

Become an SOB:   That is a Student of the Business. Invest in sales management training, books, DVD’s. Create your own network of other sales managers where you can discuss ideas, learn what is working for others and explore new sales management concepts. Push yourself to become a professional in 2012, consider visiting other offices and view how their sales managers run their sales teams. At our website you will find free video’s on “hiring and training salespeople” and other articles I have written on sales management, you might also go back and skim through our blog to look for other ideas.

While these are just a few ideas, I would enjoy reading your reactions or other recipes for success below.  As a team of readers, let’s build up a complete for each as we work to make 2012 a feast we will always remember.

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. Ken’s latest book is “Leading High Performance Sales Teams”.

Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com

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Posted in Books, Keynote Programs, Leadership Management, Sales Kick Off Meeting, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Systems, Sales Management Training | 2 Comments »

It’s Time to Vote

This is your opportunity to contribute and vote for the top sales and marketing thought leaders, software tools and resources.

I am delighted to announce that the 2011 Top Sales & Marketing Awards finalists have been chosen, and the voting polls in all fourteen categories are open – http://www.topsalesawards.com

You will need to register to vote – but only once – and you will also be able to vote once in each category every 24 hours. The polls will be open until midnight (Eastern) on Friday December 9th.

The live online awards ceremony takes place on Thursday December 15th, from 12 noon (Eastern) The competition in every section is of the very highest quality, and I am looking forward to an intriguing contest.

I have been nominated in 2 categories; I have been nominated and made it through the finals of the Top Sales & Marketing Book category: “Success Simplified” and in the Top Sales & Marketing Blog Post category and voting has begun: http://www.topsalesawards.com

Please take a few minutes to vote and let your associates know too!

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!

Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com

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Posted in Books, Sales Management Training | 1 Comment »

Sales Leadership: Ten 2012 Sales Kick-off Meeting Idea’s

 While working with a client last week it became obvious that we are moving into the time to  prepare 2012 budgets, new compensation plans and something most sales manager’s don’t take enough time in developing;  their 2012 Sales Kick Off meeting.  

Already many larger organizations are booking their sales conferences for the first quarter where they will invite their sales teams, vendors, resellers/partners to hear their plans to make 2012 the “best year ever”.  Keynote speakers, breakout sessions, new marketing plans and product demonstrations will all be coordinated to increase enthusiasm, salesperson belief and excitement that the new year will bring.  I know this because I am booked for five events already.  However just because larger organizations are planning their formal conferences it doesn’t mean as a sales leader you shouldn’t be planning an event for your sales organization.

A yearly sales kick-off meeting can be organized as an off-site/overnight 2 day program or as simply as a ¾ to a ½ day event.  You should schedule them no later than mid-February. However the basics of any sales kickoff event should include the following planning ideas. These ideas’s are not in any order of priority.

1. 1.      You should announce theme for the new year. This should be a positive statement of your major objectives and something that can be reinforced throughout the year.  “Be Brilliant on the Basics” or Nike’s: Just Do It! Are two examples, comment below on your ideas for your sales theme for the year!
2. 2.      Include time for sales training on sales skills. You might hand out a sales training book, as a gift to each salesperson, this will be your first quarter “must read” book. You can use the book for extended sales training during your meetings. Also roll out your first quarter sales training plans.
3. 3.      Announce a first quarter sales contest. (see previous blogs for ideas)
4. 4.      Announce a 2012 yearly sales contest; this should be a big prize for exceeding the salesperson’s quota. Examples include:  a trip to a resort, a cruise or a trip to an island.  Remember these kinds of incentive programs are not expenses but paid out of incremental revenues/profits. The roll out should include written rules and pictures of the location, etc. See my book: Creating High Performance Sales Compensation Plans, for idea’s on sales contests. www.AcumenManagement.com
5. 5.      Describe and show your marketing plans for the first six months. This will show the salespeople how your organization is planning to support the sales team.
6. 6.      Schedule the president of your company to give a short message on his/her philosophy on sales and the culture of your organization.
7. 7.      You may or may not announce your new compensation plan at this event; it all depends upon the degree of change you are making. With minor changes, it’s a great time, with major changes schedule a separate meeting.  HINT: Do not roll out the new compensation plan as the last topic of the meeting; schedule it early in the afternoon, if your event is a full day meeting.
8. 8.      Make sure you make the meeting fun!   As the sales leader work on activities that create the right culture and teamwork, create a game that everyone participates in during the event.
9. 9.      Make sure each salesperson presents their “Business Plans” for the year, based upon the number of salespeople this can be done by breakouts into regions, smaller groups or as a single group. These business plans include not only forecasts but personal commitments to activity levels and professional growth.
10. 10.  Bring in an outside speaker. This could include a customer telling of their satisfaction with your firm, a sales trainer or a motivational message that propels your team to excellence. See for more idea’s: www.AcumenManagement.com

This is your time to bring a coordinated program that sets the tone for the new year. Make sure you take the time to do it right.  What additional ideas do you have? 

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!

Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Books, Keynote Programs, Sales Kick Off Meeting, Sales Management Planning, Sales Training | 2 Comments »

Corporate Entrepreneurship: Good for both small and large business

My reading pattern normally is to read a “business book” then switch to a “fun book” and then back to a business book; this routine allows me to read a diverse number of books and keeps me current and thinking creatively.    The latest business book I finished is titled:  Corporate Entrepreneurship: How to create a thriving entrepreneurial spirit throughout your company.

While the book is aimed at corporate America, as I read through the content I easily saw the importance of the book for small business.  Over twenty years ago I was working for a small business in Minneapolis, during that period of time I had an idea for a business that was related but not directly aligned with the small business’s main focus-selling software and computers to small business. My idea was to create a software testing laboratory that would validate software prior to it being released by the software developers-lower the number of bugs and improve profits.   Without getting into more details that software testing business has survived and prospered and while it is no longer a part of the original small business, it is thriving.  Within that same original small business, a specialized software product was developed and a separate focus started that lead to it becoming the number one software product within its vertical market!

As I read this book many of the challenges I faced within the small business aligned with the issues  the authors Robert Hisrich and Claudine Kearney  brought up, even as early as the Preface:  ….involves overcoming inertia, rigidity, rules and regulations…to create something new-a new way of doing something, new systems…. As a business and sales management consultant for the past 14 years I have witnessed many organizations attempting to add new business opportunities within their current structure-only to run into the same obstacles. This book would assist any leader at any level of organization improve their ability to adapt and take advantage of potential new opportunities without disrupting their current business models. 

I have also observed many organizations that jump into something new too quickly. The authors provide in the first chapter a process to help both the organizations leadership and the entrepreneur or adventurer to identify and evaluate the potential of the opportunity. This is well written, with great tools and excellent for any level of business. As in my personal experience, the owner of the business encouraged creativity; chapter two identifies specifically leadership’s role in promoting, facilitating and supporting entrepreneurial activity. One of the best chapters I felt covered “The Internal Politics of Venturing”.   Let me say this again; this book is an excellent read for both small and large business leaders, in any organization the political drama can drain business opportunities.  The other chapters I found very interesting were on compensation within a corporate entrepreneurial environment and funding the venture.

I found the content straight forward, easy to read, with great examples from organizations like Apple. What I really came away with is a an excellent read for any level of large corporate management that wants to create a challenging environment   and needs  to create a playbook for innovation- this book will provide that.  For small business owners this book will layout a process to assist you in making better decisions, improve your new business ventures and create an atmosphere of success.

 My favorite quote is: Take advantage of the opportunity of a lifetime, during the lifetime of the opportunity.  Corporate Entrepreneurship, from McGraw Hill: Hisrich and Kearney will help get there!

Acumen Management Group Ltd. “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 14 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!

Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Books, Leadership Management, sales leadership | 1 Comment »

Align Sales Compensation with Your Goals
A compensation plan that works

 Note: This weeks blog is a excerpt from my new book: “Creating High Performance Sales Teams”

When it comes to how businesses pay their salespeople, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach. That’s especially true for any company that is diverse. Each has its own business, margins and mix of products and services. Some pay commission based on sales, while others only pay on margin; still others blend both with incentives and special bonus plans.

No matter which approach you use, success depends on awareness. Your sales management team must understand your company’s overall goals and structure compensation to align with them. In short, sales compensation should be not just a tactical focus for your organization, but a strategic one as well.

Sizing It Up
Compensation plans shouldn’t be developed in a vacuum. You and your sales leaders need a solid grasp of your overall industry and your organization’s place in it. You’ll need to factor in variables such as new product launches and major promotions, as well as consider your personnel structure.

You should also address these questions: Is your company a start-up or an established business? Are your sales goals orders- or bookings-based? How long are your delivery cycles? What are your objectives: to secure new clients, increase average order size, reduce selling expenses? Do you want to open new vertical markets, focus on the profitable aspects of your business or increase certain activities, such as cold calling? Each answer will help them design a compensation plan tailored to your company’s specific needs.

Finally, take a hard look at your sales organization. Take the time to set goals and analyze gaps. For instance, do you need to attract new representatives to make C-level sales calls? Do you want to retain employees to build a long-term, client-based sales team, or is rapid turnover acceptable because it provides new blood? Such considerations also play into compensation planning.

Understanding Cost of Sales
Of course, you can reduce selling costs and enhance profits by capping sales compensation, but in the long run you get what you pay for. If you hire good salespeople and compensate them poorly, expect high turnover, which comes with costs of its own. A sales plan that compensates strong performance will allow you to attract the best salespeople — and retain them as well.

Calculating the cost of sales (CoS) is an important part of planning a compensation package. For a quick CoS ratio, simply take an individual’s salary plus commissions earned at 100 percent of quota and potential bonus opportunities, then divide by that person’s revenues to obtain the percentage. For example, if a salesperson earns $150,000 in total compensation and sells $1.5 million of products and services, his CoS is 10 percent. A more sophisticated approach adds in marketing expenses, corporate overhead, direct expenses paid to the salesperson and expenses related to sales support costs.

Once you have determined an acceptable CoS range, you can fine-tune the commission plan. If you sell Microsoft offerings, services and other more product-focused solutions, it’s critical to find a blended CoS, which takes into consideration the margins of service and lower margins of product sales. That can allow you to achieve the desired CoS within your compensation framework.

Examining the Options
Compensation plans vary widely, but all should include “accelerators,” that is, increased commission rates for employees who achieve target sales levels. Following are a few common examples of different plan structures:

• Profit-Based: Commission rates change as margin levels increase. These plans are generally based on invoice, product or monthly averages of margin generation.
• Revenue/Quota: Compensation is based on sheer volume achieved over the previous sales period or on a percentage of a quota achievement.
• Balanced: Compensation is based on margin, revenue and a third component, such as quota attainment.
• Team: Bonuses go to all team members when quarter-to-date (QTD) sales goals are achieved.

Let’s examine which types of plans work best in which scenarios. If your company has high revenue-growth objectives in a boom market with little competition, use a plan with aggressive accelerators. Another option involves offering higher base salaries and lower commissions. An advantage to this approach: You may not need reps with top-notch sales skills because, in this case, they’re primarily order-takers.

The situation changes in a slower-growing market with many competitors. Here, you might adopt a “protect-and-grow” revenue objective to play defense against rivals, while using a margin-based plan to upgrade accounts. The idea is to gear compensation to account for growth while providing bonuses for new accounts.

If your company’s goal is to grow revenue and focus on new account conversion programs, choose a plan focused on the percentage of sales growth quarter over quarter or annually over named accounts. Certainly, using a quota-based compensation plan can achieve this objective, too. This scenario requires strong sales compensation with quarterly bonus emphasis on revenue gains from new business.

Tailoring Tips
Here are a few final considerations to keep in mind as you customize your compensation plan:

• In new organizations focused on expanding within existing markets, the compensation plan will differ dramatically from that of an established company in the same industry. A mature, market-dominant company that receives a large percentage of its revenues from a small, loyal customer base can offer lower commissions and, perhaps, lower overall salaries. But a newcomer to an existing market probably needs to offer higher compensation to attract top-performing salespeople who can build a strong customer base.
• New organizations in new markets need compensation plans reflecting the volatile environment, usually with higher-than- average base pay.
• Companies in transition or undergoing a turnaround typically experience a higher CoS ratio; they may be best served by flexible plans incorporating morale- and team-building components.
• Organizations positioned for high growth should develop plans covering brief, six-month periods. This will let management test theories and change direction while allowing the sales team to adjust accordingly.

No question about it: Creating an effective sales compensation plan is hard work, but the effort typically pays off in both improved sales performance and achievement of your corporate goals.

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. You can reach him at ken@acumenmgmt.com

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Posted in Books, Sales Compensation, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Management Systems | 1 Comment »

Sprint to the Finish—–It’s that time of year…

A shaky banking industry. Roller-coaster days on Wall Street.  Budgets being cut. Purchasing decisions being delayed.

With that economic domino effect affecting us all as 2011 begins to wind down, ending the year on a high note will be more challenging than ever. At Acumen, we’ve been offering the following advice to our clients and their sales teams:

Keep it in perspective. Recognize that if you are in the information technology sector, it is the best place to be in tough economic times. You sell what’s especially in demand right now: Solutions that can increase efficiency, cut costs and enhance customer relationships.

• Stay optimistic. Remember that clients and prospects are seeking help and you’re in a position to both reassure and assist them.
• Work harder. (Sorry, but that’s what’s needed.) Try to stretch yourself both in terms of attracting new customers and better serving existing ones. Sell professionally; execute brilliantly.

Meanwhile, the standard end-of-year scenario still applies, too. As always, this is when accelerated compensation programs kick in. More importantly, it’s when many management bonus systems take effect, rewarding executives for driving certain levels of pretax income to the bottom line or attaining their revenue targets.  and it’s no wonder that, just like every year at this time, sales teams feel like they’re in the last 100 yards of a big race.

Following are five additional steps to help you stay out in front as you approach the 2011 finish line:

1. Count the days. In the same way that consumers track holiday shopping days, know how long you’ve got left to sell this year. Doing the countdown adds urgency to the process for you and your prospects. (Hint: How can you use the remaining weekends to boost business?)

2. Consider all your resources. Can you turn to colleagues to strategize about opportunities and develop winning tactics? How about doing site visits? Can an existing client or a vendor contact help create credibility with prospects?

3. Plot-closing strategies. Think about why prospects need your solution and exactly how they’ll benefit from implementing it, whether it’s generating revenues, improving productivity or better serving customers. Then figure out a reason for them to act now. You may have a sense of urgency driven by end-of-year deadlines for quotas or bonuses, but you need to show prospects how moving forward at this point will benefit them.

4. Make contact twice weekly. Never let a week slip by between meetings with prospects. If you see them on Tuesday, see them again on Thursday. Stop by at a convenient time-but always have a valuable reason to visit, such as providing an implementation plan or a reference letter.

5. Keep prospecting. Sales organizations often drain their pipelines by the end of December. January may be strong with leftover business, but February, March and April typically lag. It’s important to ensure that marketing and prospecting levels remain constantly focused on future pipeline development. We recommend that you take your calendar and block out specific times for prospecting between now and year’s end.

One last tip for coping with today’s economy: In the downturn following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, I developed a short personal motto that successfully reinforced the need to keep moving forward. It was: “Take action. Stay positive.”  I suggest that you develop a similar slogan to help you navigate these difficult times. Having a strong foundation can make all the difference in how you end the year and position yourself for 2012.

Ken Thoreson. “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 clients throughout North America. Move up and move ahead!

Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.     

Ken@AcumenMgmt.com                   Website:  www.AcumenManagement.com

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Books, Sales Kick Off Meeting, sales leadership, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Training | Comments Off

THE ESSENCE OF EDUCATION

By Ken Thoreson

This blog is from a chapter in my latest book: “Leading High Performance Teams” I thought you would enjoy it. As we move into the final months of the year ensuring your sales teams are more professional is critical to exceeding your goals. www.AcumenManagement.com

Developing well-coordinated training programs for new salespeople and existing salespeople alike can provide tremendous ROI.   

By Ken Thoreson

In working with clients, we at Acumen Management often find that sales-training programs suffer from problems such as inadequate new-employee orientation, sporadic and unfocused ongoing training  and nonexistent or ineffective role-playing scenarios. Many clients also lack any type of coaching or mentoring in the field, during or after routine sales calls.

The good news: Sales- training programs don’t have to be sophisticated or expensive. To ensure success, you need only a few basic components: a comprehensive plan that spells out your training program’s goals and components, a clear ongoing process and, above all, effective execution.

A Comprehensive Plan
Your plan should contain an outline for initial employee training on functional job requirements, company product and service offerings and corporate benefits, along with recurring plans for training existing employees.

Many organizations’ training plans are missing one key factor: making sure that employee interest and motivation levels remain high. This process, which involves helping team members commit to the organization and align their personal and professional interests, is known as “re-recruiting.”

The perfect opportunity to set a lasting tone is when new employees join your company. If you have customer letters of reference, have the newcomers read them. If you have awards, explain how you earned them. All new employees should have lunch or a meeting with the person at the highest level in their divisions; in smaller companies, that would be the president. Commitment, loyalty and the right attitude will begin to develop at these sessions. 

At Acumen, we believe in creating a detailed three-week new-hire training plan. Each week is broken down into specific training and knowledge-transfer components— with homework! The plan must cover everything, including:

• ·         Legal documents
• ·         Marketing case studies
• ·         Using the phone, fax machine and customer relationship management (CRM) system
• ·         Presenting and selling your organization via its brochures and PowerPoint presentations
• ·         Scheduled lunch meetings with key executives

… and more, based on your organization’s specific needs.

It’s critical that you clearly define each element of your training program and that the people responsible for each area sign off as each new hire has successfully completed the training.

 A Clear Long-Term Process
To ensure success, your training plan should be designed so that you’re continually updating your team’s abilities. The plan should cover the following areas: sales skills, product and services knowledge, company operations, industry awareness and, if appropriate, understanding of key vertical markets. 

Plan and organize your sales meetings for the entire quarter. Develop a comprehensive plan for repeatedly touching on each of the elements listed above over the course of the quarter (although not necessarily addressing all of them at each event).

The plan should also include personalized six-month programs that allow salespeople to set their own goals. This process helps ensure that individual and corporate goals are fully aligned. One of my clients requires its salespeople to attain several certification levels each year. In one instance, the salesperson has 15 minutes to review a case study before walking into a room where an actor plays the role of the client. Three independent professionals evaluate the salesperson’s performance, which may be videotaped for later review. The salesperson must receive a passing grade before moving on to the next level.

Effective Execution
To get your training program off the ground, first develop a written three-month sales training plan. Include a mandatory, predefined schedule; emphasize that employees must schedule their other meetings around it. Assign sales team members to present most training topics (if salespeople have to train others on a topic, you can be sure they’ll know the material cold). Schedule sessions with outside trainers at least once per quarter. Establishing a short-term plan and agenda ensures that you address current issues while meeting the goals for providing ongoing training.

Bottom line: Employees are a critical asset. Most software systems have regular maintenance check-ups and support agreements to keep them at current levels. Your employees require at least as much attention. Keeping your employees’ personal and professional objectives aligned with your corporate goals through training and re-recruiting will ultimately result in huge dividends. 

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!

Ken  provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Books, sales leadership, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Planning, Sales Management Training, Sales Training | Comments Off

Sales Leadership: Be a Positive Force 

It’s been a tough past few weeks; it’s been hard to listen to the chaos in Washington DC, the impact on the US stock market, continuing war issues and the lack of strong economic growth.  Last week I wrote about the summer blahs and sales leadership’s responsibility, it included an idea to “pump up your mental power”.   Believe me; I was really excited to travel this week.

I am in Anaheim, CA at the National Speakers Association Conference.  What a great time of the year  to be in a location with positive people, positive messages and everyone willing to assist in providing idea’s, tips and recommendations to help you grow your business. I have the opportunity to sit in on breakout sessions, discuss ideas one on one and listen to the top speakers in my profession, not only do I get to hear their programs, but also observe their techniques and styles.  It is a positive push in the right direction.  As readers of my blog have read below, my Thoreson Theorem or mantra is:  Stay positive, Take Action.  My keynote program stresses the need for everyone to consider their personal philosophy and in the times we live in and as sales leaders we must remain a positive force within our organizations.  What are you doing to increase the positives within your organization?  I would like to read your comments below or send me an email:  Ken@AcumenMgmt.com

 Need some personal help to increase your positive vibes or to pump up your team?

 All of this is why I wanted to share with you the information below; it describes my new book titled: Success Simplified:

 This book has it all!!!  It includes fourteen chapters on increasing your success quotient.

 Success Simplified has been written by the individuals who have learned the secrets to success. Where in one book can you learn from Dr.  Stephen Covey, Ken Thoreson, Dr. Tony Alessandra Patricia Fripp.

 Ever wonder why you feel like you’re on a treadmill, trying to go faster and juggling many different tasks while trying to please everyone? You’re not alone! These days it seems that everyone is trying to grab the gold ring but the carousel is  going too fast and it’s too complicated to and competent strategies to reach out and actually grasp it. Maybe it is a matter of redesigning success. We each have the opportunity to choose what success is for us. What if you took command and chose your own meaning of success so that you could love the life you live?

 The insights shared by the authors in this book have the capacity to not only inspire but transform your life. Take advantage of the valuable information they have provided. You’ll be glad you did!

 “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, then you will be successful.”

—Albert Schweitzer

 Based upon my meaningful keynote program, the reader will discover the importance of creating a personal theme for their lives, finding personal and professional balance, and creating the three ingredients to create a menu for life:  1) the passion of impact, 2) breaking out and becoming more creative and 3) being real and being more.

 This book has been designed for everyone; it will create dynamic changes in your life and the lives of those you touch. You can also learn more on my YouTube Channel.

 Ken Thoreson, author of the award-winning Your Sales Management Guru blog and book series for sales leaders, renowned consultant, speaker and contributor to many publications, teams with best-selling authors Stephen Covey (The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People), Dr. Tony Alessandra (The New Art of Managing People), and Patricia Fripp (award-winning professional keynote speaker) in a new book about achieving and assessing personal success. Thoreson was selected by Tennessee-based Insight Publishing’s nationwide search to be featured in the newest book in its highly successful Success Simplified: book series. The book also features other well-known authors and speakers, each offering time-tested strategies for defining and achieving success in frank, intimate interviews.

 Ken’s chapter, based on his popular keynote address and 13 years as a business consultant, features his Gourmet Living: “no-regrets, do-over recipe for success” and the importance of building a menu for life. “Each person is in charge of designing what their own success looks like to make sure they love the life they are living,” says Thoreson. “From our experiences, we are constantly learning how to take actions that help us achieve that success. I encourage everyone to ask themselves, ‘If you had your life to live to do over again, what would you do differently, if anything?’ While we cannot relive our lives, we can take action to change the way we are living.”

 The chapter discusses how to find personal and professional balance by aligning the individual’s soul with their company’s goals. “For those who manage people, it’s about taking the no-regrets to a personal level and helping them understand their own goals and recipe for success,” he explains.

 Thoreson waxes about the three essential ingredients for building a menu for life: the passion of impact; breaking out and eight ways to become more creative; and learning to be real and more. He also describes in detail the four critical roles that mentors, risk, work, and creativity play in achieving success.

The first three titles in Thoreson‘s series of “Your Sales Management Guru’s Guide” books also have recently been published. Your Sales Management Guru’s Guide to Leading High-Performance Sales Teams, Your Sales Management Guru’s Guide to Recruiting High-Performance Sales Teams, and Your Sales Management Guru’s Guide to Creating Sales Compensation Plans for High-Performance Teams can be ordered at http://www.yoursalesmanagementguru.salesgravy.com, Amazon.com

 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!

 Ken provides Keynotes, consulting services and products designed to improve business performance.           Ken@AcumenMgmt.com   www.AcumenManagement.com Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Books, Keynote Programs, Sales Kick Off Meeting, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Motivation, Uncategorized | Comments Off