Your Sales Management Guru

Sales Leadership: Making Monday’s Marvelous

In past blogs I have commented on eating pizza, Gourmet Living and many ideas that are designed to improve the operations, culture and productivity of your sales team –as well as you the sales manager.  As I am sitting the airport, on this Monday morning, on my way to New York City to speak at an event it occurred to me that those first two or three hours on Monday morning are critical to set the tone for the week. However, as a sales leader you need to be prepared before that alarm goes off on Monday.

On Sunday afternoon I printed off my boarding passes and that evening I packed a bag, packed up my computer/business folders and placed them in my car along with my overcoat. I had also set aside my clothing for Monday and after a final packing of few items, I was on my way.  A short 30 minute drive and I was easily in the airport and through screening.  That organization made it easy for me to focus on the work for the week and time to prepare without a hectic event that may have started off my week on a negative note. 

So the question is… are you and each of your salespeople prepared for the week?

Several months ago I wrote a blog on “Sunday Night Sales Management”, while I may not suggest you call each of your salespeople every Sunday night as my first sales manager use to do, (see blog for details), you can set the tone several ways. These are not in priority order.

Start on Friday afternoon.  Depending upon the maturity level of your sales team, many organizations hold their “Monday morning sales meeting” on Friday afternoon. Everyone can discuss the past week and review their plans for the coming week.  This will reinforce the need for activity, planning and on Monday everyone is ready to go. You might the time to simply review everyone’s schedule for the coming week with a brief one on one also.

Start over the weekend.  Take minutes and simply scan CRM/Calendaring and review each salesperson’s planned activity and key prospect activity. By sending a few emails to each of your salespeople over the weekend, they will come to realize they will need to be prepared for Monday and following week. Inspect what you expect!

Start on Monday morning.  If you have a Monday morning sales meeting, be prepared. Have your information ready, make the meeting worthwhile, positive and set the tone for your desired culture.  Be organized.  If you would like a copy of my “Sales Managers Sales Meeting Agenda’, contact me. Ken@AcumenMgmt.com

 The rest of the morning be active, upbeat and accessible; don’t lock yourself up in other management meetings or be out of the office.  Get everyone feeling “beat” and help them find the rhythm.  Your goal is to make Tuesday Terrific, Wednesday Wonderful, Thursday Tremendous and Friday Fabulous.

 Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 13 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

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Leadership Management, Sales Kick Off Meeting, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Management Training | Comments Off

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

www.Acumenmanagement.com  Blog: www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com 3f4qb8v9ge

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

Sales Management Thought Leadership:  efficient effectiveness

As an Eagle Scout I can discuss the topic of “Be Prepared” easily and based upon this past Sunday it even has more credibility. Sunday was “Boom’s Day” the largest fireworks display in the U.S  occurs each Labor Day weekend in Knoxville, TN-so what does that mean?  An estimated 400,000 people flock to the river front to watch the event; boats on the river, people lined up on the docks,  roads and every home, parking lot and condo packed with friends and neighbors.  As this was my first time to witness 45 minutes of noise, color and lots of OOOh’s and Ahhh’s I had to be prepared. Did I mention the potential of rain?

For two weeks, prior to Sunday,  I asked everyone about the event; where to park, when to arrive, double checked my reservations for my dinner cruise and thought of what to pack in my knap sack.  The good news was I found a parking spot in the first ramp I drove into, arriving at 2:30pm allowed my friends and I to casually walk thru Market Square, stop for  refreshments and sushi and then walk the 10 blocks to the river walk and boat launch. When the rain came we had hats’, ponchos, umbrellas and at 9:30pm when the show began, the rain stopped. On the walk back to the car, I took out my flashlight and the four of us made it home by 1am.  A great evening to remember.

What does this have to do with sales management?  As a manager you must be prepared-at all times for almost any event.  The best plan is to have a plan and to consider what might go wrong or what could impact your ability to exceed your objectives.  I have simply listed below a series of topics for your consideration and for you to double check against your plan or lack of plan.

Do you have a plan?

       If you lose a salesperson

       If your sales team needs sales training

       To increase the sales culture of your team

       To increase your networking/partnering function

       That generates excitement for your products/services

       To say thank you to your support team

       That increases your level of professionalism/education

       To create a sales contest that drives revenue

       That adds net new customers to your base

       That drives the necessary sales leads for each month

       To say thank you to your existing customer base

       To increase your public relations exposure within your community or market

       That will increase/improve your vendor relations

       To improve your CRM effectiveness

       If your computer systems fail or are destroyed

 That’s enough for now, but if I missed anything, comment below, let’s build a complete list for the future.

HINT:  this is a great idea for your next management meeting, simply begin by asking each of the departmental managers about their problems or contingency issues that arise on a day to day basis or what might occur if a disaster of any kind happens-then ask them for their plan.

 Why is this critically important today?  In any kind of business environment,  the organization that operates the most efficiently generally out performs their competition, in more challenging times a focus on efficient effectiveness must become the mantra for the day.

Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 13 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 Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

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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

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Sales Leadership: Improving your Won/Lost Results

Last week I was speaking to a group of executives about improving their Business Planning process by increasing their consideration of: strategic issues, market dynamics and resource/employee development.  One of the other elements in effective business planning  is holding a formal quarterly review process where the management team evaluates the quality of business execution and the operations, marketing and sales scorecards. During the session I revealed a variety of metrics we use to assist our clients on improving their sales and profits.   The first sales related metric I recommend is the Won/Lost ratio, this is the number of proposals delivered vs the number of opportunity’s won. This is measured by your sales team and by individual salesperson.

The reason this ratio is important is it will tell  sales leadership if your salesperson is qualifying properly, delivering enough proposals or has other sales related issues. From this ratio you can also begin to build the balance of your pipeline metrics, working backwards in your funnel.  However, that is not our topic today.

What can improve your won/lost ratios?  Better pre-call planning.  Let me summarize a few questions the sales manager and salesperson can use to improve their preparation, if you would like our Pre Call Planning Sales Worksheet, simply send me an email, it is part of our On Line Sales Management Tool Kit, Ken@AcumenMgmt.com

Consider each of these issues as you plan your sales call:

• What is he/she in charge of or expected to manage? How will your solution affect the
• What does he/she want to achieve? How does she/he, measure success? How are they evaluated?
• What is considered a success on this proposal?
• What external factors or industry trends might make it more difficult to reach their goals?
• What likely strategies and initiatives are in place to help achieve their objectives?
• What likely issues does the organization face that could prevent goal achievement?
• Who are the peers? Subordinates, superiors, outsiders whom they frequently interact? Who has formal power or informal power?
• What’s their status quo relevant to your product/service/solution? What would it take to overcome status quo?
• What is the personality style of each of the individuals on the call?
• How will I open the call?  What is the objective of the call? How will I close the call?

While these are just a few of questions a professional must consider prior to any sales call, it is also important to recognize that sales conditions can change at any time and constant reviews of your sales strategies will sharpen your skills but more importantly increase your won/lost ratio.  The bottom line:  increasing won/lost ratios mean an increase in commissions, need any more encouragement?

Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 13 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

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Management Planning, Sales Management Systems, Sales Management Training | 2 Comments »

Sales Management:  “benchmark your business”

During the past three weeks I have visited three partner organizations, each of varying sizes in revenue, products/services offered and operational effectiveness. I also had a wonderful conversation with a fourth organization discussing new hire on-boarding issues, profitability and lead management.  All of these organizations had issues in common, unique challenges and various management frustrations. One of the great opportunities I have had over the past 20+ years is to work with, speak to and consult with hundreds of organizations. This experience has provided me a great level of knowledge on which to base my consulting recommendations and to create the variety of tools that are used by thousands of individuals.

Because of this physical experience, one of the fundamental recommendations I make to clients and non clients alike is to physically visit other organizations and actually view how other companies operate.  This is called: Benchmarking’ or as the definition states: a point of reference for a measurement. There are many executive peer groups where individuals meet and discuss common business challenges, hold each other accountable and some even compare financial metrics. In some peer group situations business leaders are from the same industry and some groups are made up of general business leaders. All of these kinds of groups are excellent sources of information.  Our own Sales Management Board of Advisors program is similar, with the unique concept that the Boards are made up of individuals who are focused on sales management issues, i.e. sales managers, sales directors and VP’s of Sales.  While all of these groups share information and learning is accomplished, the challenge that most of these groups cannot achieve is to help the participants truly understand “how” someone else’s business operates.

I like to recommend that at least once a year, the management team from an organization visit on site another company and spend the day with on site management team and operations staff at their “benchmarking” company.  During the onsite visit, you will actually see how other organizations physically managed their CRM systems, train salespeople, deliver their solutions and how their office is actually physically organized. You generally can’t get this hands on viewpoint simply having executives speaking to each other at conferences or meeting in a group environment.  Obviously you will see both the goods and bad’s during these events; this is the important aspect of the onsite benchmark meeting.  The agenda and key topics to be covered during must be carefully planned.  These events should be coordinated with a group meeting at the beginning of the day, with one on one manger shadowing during the day, with a group wrap up session at the end of the day where everyone can share their findings. While the investment can be large, the payoff will be huge. In every session we have coordinated both organizations have benefited from the experience.  Openness and an attitude of sharing are critical.

Your challenge for the next five months, find your “point of measurement” and dare to compare. It will make your business planning for 2012 a real experience.

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

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Management Planning, Sales Management Training | Comments Off

Sales Leadership; Be  Prepared

As an Eagle Scout, I have always considered the Boy Scout motto of “Be Prepared” in all aspects of my life, this past week as the South felt the destructive power of massive tornadoes and rain it was a difficult time for many with many challenges to come.  I was in Kansas working with a client, while wife was at our home in Eastern Tennessee facing the storm alone.  The good news for us was we did not suffer any real damage; during many phone calls between us we discussed the situation and developed action plans, i.e. moving to our lower level, taking cell phones, batteries, radios, water and blankets. We also discussed the actions that had to be done outside the home during the short breaks between the four storms that hit us that evening, I was watching live radar and she was working the various issues; positioning the generator if we lost power, cleaning the drains that kept being blocked with leaves, sticks and grass and protecting portions of the house from raising water. In the end, it all worked, thank fully.  Sales leaders face challenges every day and being prepared as much as you can be is critical success factor/CSF.

Organization skills are important aspect of being prepared. While many times salespeople are less organized than many other job roles good sales management must be highly organized because of the random nature of various events that can be disruptive on a daily basis.  It is not unusual for sales leaders to walk into their offices on a daily basis and learn of: 1) a sales opportunity that might be lost, 2) an unscheduled  meeting with the President, 3) a salesperson leaving the company, 4) a customer problem that needs to be addressed immediately and a host of other topics. So what can a sales manager do to help themselves?

1)      Create a 90 day sales training plan, with dates, times, topics planned in advance

2)      Use an effective “to-do” list to maintain priorities. HINT:  I actually use sheet of paper with my short-term/high priority and longer term goals visible, I draw a line down the middle of the paper and list them on either side.

3)      Focus on effective communication, much time is lost with follow up when individuals were unclear as to your directions. Re-read your emails before sending, ask others to proof important documents to ensure there is “clarity” and at the end of a meeting, ask the other person for their understanding of the actions they are to take with deadlines.

4)      Always recruit!  Every 60 days place advertisements and interview constantly.

These are just a few tips on improving your preparedness, I always stress in my workshops and consulting that a proactive approach to sales management vs a reactive style will always  succeed.  What other idea’s do you have?

REMINDER OF IMPORTANT EVENT

One of the most exciting events…            The  Worlds Sales Success Conference

From May 9^th to the 13^th a series the world’s top sales experts will present a variety of programs designed to train and motivate your sales teams.

This conference, which represents the most ambitious online event of its type ever staged, with thirty five sessions presented by some of the world’s top sales experts, over five days, will be all about succeeding,  winning and exceeding expectations.

But this is more than a sales conference: Just four weeks after the Magnitude 9.0 Tohoku earthquake and a tsunami which delivered 46ft waves, we learn that the death toll is likely to top 25.000, and recovery is going to take not years, but possibly decades, maybe even a generation, at a cost of at least $250 billion.

This is an opportunity for anyone operating in the sales space to make a meaningful contribution to the Japanese Disaster Fund (via the Red Cross. Can I count on your support? Together we can make a worthwhile *contribution.

Register for my event and all my friends!

http://topsalesworld.com/salesConference/index.php

Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 13 years, our consulting, advisory, and platform services have illuminated, motivated, and rejuvenated the sales efforts for partner 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

www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

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

Sales Leadership: Ready for July & August?

I maybe already too late, hopefully you aren’t?  I often state that it is the salesperson’s responsibility to make quota not the sales managers, it is your responsibility to hire, train and put the salesperson in a position to win and exceed quota. Sales leadership means looking out 90 days or more to ensure you have the programs in place for success.

As we finish April, you should be conscious of pipeline values, business opportunities and activity levels to ensure you will exceed your July and August numbers.  It is this Summer time that many sales leaders are always worried about;  it’s the time when salespeople and prospects take vacations, enjoy summer’s more casual atmosphere  (especially in the North), and both pipelines, sales and sales activities dwindle. These months can impact your ability to exceed your quotas and revenues for those periods, as well as your September and October goals.   What to do?

1)      Beef up your sales activity focus to ensure summer pipelines are “more than full”.

2)      Plan sales contests for May and June that are based on volume and activity

3)      Develop a July & August mentality & environment that you are “not taking off those months” and that you expect your salespeople to attain their quotas.

4)      Create a “Customer Appreciation” summer event and offer special packages or discounts during a three week period.

5)      Develop a companywide summer contest that is focused on both current customer sales and new prospect leads. Hint: let your sales team serve a picnic lunch to your support and administrative teams for a kickoff event.

What other ideas do you have? Leave a comment so everyone can benefit and we can all enjoy a restful labor day. I have my plans already in shape for that day, do you?

Ken Thoreson “operationalizes” sales management systems and processes that pull revenue out of the doldrums into the fresh zone. During the past 13 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

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Posted in Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management, Sales Management Consulting, Sales Management Systems, Sales Management Training | 1 Comment »

High-Performance Sales Management

Building a strategic and effective sales management system is just like building anything else: It takes time, refinement and follow-through

In the 14 years that Acumen Management Group has been consulting with partners on their sales management challenges, we’ve seen IT trends (cloud anyone?) get a variety of scenarios recycled.

Sales concepts get recycled, too. Building a sales management process isn’t new, but it is being rediscovered as a linchpin for the success of many organizations. Sales management process is more conceptual, yet it’s still a tactical aspect of a partner organization.

In most partner organizations, sales training companies have focused on creating a sales process that follows their sales training curriculum and, if followed correctly, should increase a partner’s win ratio. There are organizations that have created a “delivery process” for professional services, which, correctly implemented, should increase the profitability of a partner’s delivery systems as well as improve customer satisfaction levels.

In many partner companies, however, we see very few properly designed sales management systems created or, more importantly, followed. There’s a lack of training for sales managers and there’s a lack of discipline, accountability and control built into the existing sales management systems.

Without strong sales management systems, sales training programs are not reinforced, poor hiring systems put the wrong people on the team or, worse, limited on-boarding systems never allow good employees to fully succeed. From a marketing or operations perspective, sales management is at the focal point of leading and implementing new policies, executing at trade shows and properly following up on marketing programs. The missing link is a strategic sales management system that ensures all aspects of the partner company is executing effectively.

Building an effective process starts at the top. Sales leaders must be equally adept at “operationalizing” strategies — translating them into real-world tactics — and quickly implementing them with their teams. Sales managers must direct and mobilize their teams to achieve desired results.

If the essential revenue-driving elements of a business plan are not in alignment, attaining predictable revenue is tough. Sales leaders must sync up the human and corporate sides of sales, marketing and operations to achieve successful outcomes. Certain ingredients must be in alignment with corporate goals, such as personal or professional goals, compensation plans and personal performance measurement.

A true strategic sales management framework builds sustainable business models that increase sales, lower the cost of sales, improve productivity and increase market penetration. The sales leader must institutionalize or operationalize each unique plan; they need to embed discipline, accountability and control into their organization to ensure that they have the tools for continued success. A proper sales management methodology drives a rigorous cadence that moves the sales team and other departments in the right direction as quickly as possible. It’s all about measuring the impact of change and, based on the insight, adjusting specific tactics for improvement.

Sales leaders must have their process defined to execute on the following areas:

• Organizational design
• Recruitment strategies
• Compensation planning
• Market and territory analysis
• Strategic alliance program development
• Salesperson/organization development and training programs
• Distribution/channel management strategies
• Account management strategies

A key point is that aligned sales management plans and systems build sustainable businesses.

Building strategic sales management systems is like building anything, it takes time and iterative refinement. If you’re lacking in a sales management process, start with a simple approach and over time attack each area, increasing the complexity as your systems and company mature.

About the Author

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. www.AcumenManagement.com

www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

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

NCAA Sales Management: Developing Winning Sales Strategy

Last week it was about golf and putting, this week after indulging in men’s and woman’s NCAA games all weekend it’s all about strategy.

In my view there are several levels of strategy to consider. First, putting the right players on the floor to match up against the competition is key, and is the reason my first book was written: Hiring High Performance Sales Teams. Without talent, you have not chance to win. The good basketball teams are deep with talent and can go “large or they can small and fast” or they can focus on defense as well as offense. Assessing and developing talent is what coaching is all about, watch the Final Four’s next week and evaluate your team and its ability to win.  Are you accepting weak players or can your team push through the tough times and score. I stress that recruiting is the most important job for sales management, build a continuous hiring program to find top talent.

Secondly, strategy and execution during the sale or game time must be brilliant! This is where from a sales strategy your value proposition must sold, your prospect relationship developed and where you must out maneuver the competition.  If they come out man-to-man or in zone defense can your salespeople adapt, if a full court press stresses out your team, can they break it with quick passes and move down the court for an easy layup?  Do you have them trained well enough to react to the situation and not simply lose the sale or give up a turnover?  During this phase Sales Managers also must coach. This is when your experience and creativity must take over by providing advice, insights and hopefully the right tactics to assist your sales team during this phase.  If you would like Acumen’s four page Sales Strategy Guide, send me an email: Ken@AcumenMgmt.com We use it with our clients during their pipeline review and sales strategy meetings.

The third phase of strategy is the last two minutes. During the sales process this could occur during the last week or two when everything is on the line.  The prospect could be confused, undecided or leaning towards your competition; what play would you call? Would you camp out at the prospects office? Have your president call their president? Drop your price?  The best coaches in the NCAA would call a time out and make sure the next two plays are drawn out, ensure everyone understands whom to foul, how many timeouts are still available and who should take the last shot… Those situations are actually rehearsed during normal practice times; nothing is left for chance when the game is on the line.  Do you have your sales training plans designed for a rolling 90 days with all aspects of sales strategies built in? The best sales managers do!

OK, I promise next week, I won’t use a sport’s analogy in my blog, but team work, practice, selection and development will win the 2011 NCAA Final Four.

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

Blog:  www.YourSalesManagementGuru.com

Tags: high performing sales teams, Motivational, sales leadership, Sales Leadership Training, Sales Management, Sales Management Training, Sales Training
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