Rethinking Sales Pipeline Management. Jason Jordan, Vice President & Partner Vantage Point Performance

Transcription

1 Rethinking Sales Pipeline Management Jason Jordan, Vice President & Partner Vantage Point Performance

2 Ancient Greek Scientists (a.k.a. Observers)

3 Fun with the Ancient Greeks Socrates Everything revolves around the Earth! Slide 3

4 Fun with the Ancient Greeks Anaximenes Everything is made of air! Slide 4

5 Fun with the Ancient Greeks Democritus There are atoms! (kind of) Slide 5

6 When Common Sense Is Your Guide Slide 6

7 Sales Management: The Neglected Science

8 Sales Management: Confined to Common Sense

9 Now the Sales Pipeline

10 What is a Pipeline? Slide 10

11 How Is It Used? Common Management Rhythm Su M Tu W Th F Sa

12 How Is It Used? Common Management Rhythm Su M Tu W Th F Sa

13 How Is It Used? Common Management Rhythm Su M Tu W Th F Sa

14 How Is It Used? Common Meeting Agenda Walk me through your opportunities

15 Common Meeting Agenda Common Meeting Agenda Walk me through your opportunities okay

16 It Would Appear that Sales Pipeline = Important Stuff

17 Just One Problem Common Sense Is at Work

18 Common Sense and the Pipeline (4 Easy Choices)

19 Choice #1 Which is better? BIG PIPELINE -- or -- small pipeline Slide 19

20 Common Sense Says BIG PIPELINE small pipeline Slide 20

21 Real-World Counterpoint Slide 21

22 Shape Determines How Big It Should Be in Sum Close Rate = 20% $35 million $10 million $2 million $20 million $10 million $2 million

23 Common Sense Is BIG small pipeline PIPELINE Slide 23

24 Choice #2 Where can a manager have the biggest impact on rep performance? HELP QUALIFY THE DEAL -- or -- HELP CLOSE THE DEAL

25 Common Sense Says HELP QUALIFY THE DEAL HELP CLOSE THE DEAL

26 A Typical Sales Pipeline Slide 26

27 The Perfect Sales Pipeline Slide 27

28 Bad Deals = Wasted Effort Slide 28

29 The Hard Truth Coaching has High Impact Influence needs and Criteria Dislodges Bad Deals Coaching has Low Impact Fate Often Already Decided Driven by Fun and Forecasting

30 Recall Our Rock Star Slide 30

31 The Superstar s Secret Sauce A Balanced Pipeline Management Approach Su M Tu W Th F Sa Late Stage Deals New Opportunities Late Stage Deals New Opportunities Slide 31

32 Less Junk = Less Funk Slide 32

33 Less Junk = Less Funk Slide 33

34 The Impact of Early-Stage Intervention Win Rates Training Conducted September % 49% 54% 25% 37% 37% $ of Deals # of Deals Q Q Q1 2012

35 Common Sense Is HELP QUALIFY THE DEAL HELP CLOSE THE DEAL

36 Choice #3 What should be the primary focus of pipeline meetings? THE DATA -- or -- THE REP Slide 36

37 Senior Leadership Says THE DATA THE REP Slide 37

38 Observed: Constant Inspection of the Pipeline INSPECTION Focused on the data Scrubbing Extracting Short-term (or backward) focused Encourages sales rep compliance Required by manager, but low-value for rep Slide 38

39 Needed: Coach Reps through the Opportunities COACHING Focused on the rep Builds skills throughout deal pursuit On-the-Job Coaching Drives better near-term execution And has long-term impact Very time-intensive, but high-value for rep and manager

40 Eye Opening Survey Perceived Volume of Coaching Hours per Month Sales Manager <3 7% % >5 38%

41 Eye Opening Survey Perceived Volume of Coaching Hours per Month Sales Manager Sales Rep Gap <3 7% 56% + 49% % 32% - 23% >5 38% 12% - 26%

42 Senior Leadership can be (can be, sometimes, perhaps, maybe a wee little bit) INSPECT THE DATA COACH THE REP Slide 42

43 Choice #4 What is more important to monitor? HOW THE REP IS PERFORMIN G -- or -- WHAT THE REP IS DOING Slide 43

44 Common Sense Says HOW THE REP IS PERFORMIN G WHAT THE REP IS DOING Slide 44

45 A Little Research Sales Metrics Revenue Market Share Quota Achievement Pipeline Size Customer Satisfaction Call Outcomes Segment of Customer New/Existing Customers Ramp-Up Time Share-of-Wallet Deal Size Territory Coverage Customer Retention Skill Level Up/Cross-Selling New/Existing Product Tool Usage Call Volume Process Usage Coaching Prospect Type IT Investment Time Allocation Call Type Account Plan Completion Training Investment Number of Accounts Training Type

46 What Can You Really Manage? The outcomes of multiple objectives and cannot be managed Objectives that can be influenced, but require some type of consent Salesperson and manager activities that we can proactively direct and manage

47 Why this is a Breakthrough... Cause and Effect New Customers Sales Activities - Individual decisions that are highly manageable

48 Why this is a Breakthrough... Cause and Effect New Customers Sales Activities - Individual decisions that are highly manageable

49 A Predictable, Manageable Chain of Events

50 Sales Management s Critical Task Identify the Results you want to achieve Select and quantify the BEST Objectives to obtain those Results Link the Objectives to relevant Activities, then measure/manage the Activities relentlessly

51 We Live in an Outcome-Focused World

52 Common Sense Is ATTEND TO HOW THE REP IS PERFORMIN G ATTEND TO WHAT THE REP IS DOING Slide 52

53 In Sum 1. Smaller Can Be Better 2. Focus on the Front 3. It s about Improving the Rep 4. You Can Only Manage Activities

54 Parting Thoughts

55 Vantage Point: The Science of Sales Management Focus On Sales Management Thought Leadership through Research McGraw-Hill 2012

56 Vantage Point: The Science of Sales Management Sales Methodology Neutral SPIN Selling Miller Heiman Challenger Strategic Selling Home Grown Solution Selling Target Account Selling Process The First Sales Management Methodology Metrics Strategy Skills Tools

57 The Company We Keep...

58 Go Be Extraordinary!

59 Help us. Use the mobile app to rate and review this session. Open the app on your phone Tap Agenda Tap on Rethinking Sales Pipeline Mangement Tap on the check-in tab and check-in. Go back into the session and leave a review and a rating. Thank You