Sales Culture Survey At a time when the resources boom has past its peak and companies are looking to generate new

Transcription

1 Sales Culture Survey At a time when the resources boom has past its peak and companies are looking to generate new revenue streams, this survey research reveals that organisational sales culture in Australia is in need of urgent repair. November 2013

2 Australian Institute of Management VT (Victoria/Tasmania) This report has been produced by the Australian Institute of Management VT. Apart from any use permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part of this publication may be reproduced without express written consent. Requests should be made to the Australian Institute of Management in Melbourne. Document prepared by: -Leigh Funston, Head of Policy, Advocacy and Research Australian Institute of Management VT -David Iacuone, Marketing Analyst/Researcher Australian Institute of Management VT For further information regarding the contents of this report, please contact: Mr Leigh Funston Head, Policy, Advocacy and Research Australian Institute of Management VT 181 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 3182 Victoria Phone: lfunston@aimvic.com.au Supporting Partner: This report was produced in partnership with Idria, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Australian Institute of Management VT. Idria is an international leader in behaviour based simulation learning technology. Idria provides clients with productive, cost-effective learning by immersing them in realistic simulated business environments. Idria Pty Ltd Level 2, 181 Fitzroy St, St Kilda 3182 Victoria 1 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

3 Executive Summary Little surprise then, that more than one-third (37%) of the business professionals surveyed describe the overall standard of sales culture in their organisations as poor to moderate. The Australian Institute of Management VT conducted this Sales Culture survey because we thought the long period of the resources boom may have caused some companies to lose their competitive edge particularly in their ability to drive sales and to manage high levels of customer service. We also felt that if some companies had indeed gone soft during the resources boom now was the time to remedy the problem because the resources boom had already past its peak. In today s uncertain business environment, companies need to have the necessary sales management and customer service capabilities to generate new income streams across a diversified client base. The findings of the Sales Culture survey highlight some of the capability gaps of Australian companies and provide a focus on solutions. A total of 966 business professionals were involved in the Sales Culture survey. Participants ranged from aspiring managers and middle managers to senior executives and CEOs and were drawn from the broad cross section of private sector organisations. The survey discovered that 40% of the 966 participants believe their organisation s overall business performance is in need of significant improvement. Further, just 14% say their company is performing extremely well. When we segmented the survey response data into two streams - those organisations performing strongly in the current economy and those which are not we found firms that are doing well have much superior levels of customer and sales service than do companies that are struggling. For example, pacesetter organisations are six times more likely to say they are performing well in sales management and strategic sales planning than do struggling firms. A flow-on consequence of weak sales culture is inevitably poor sales performance. We found that 88% of CEOs and Board members and 73% of business owners believe their company s sales performance has been very poor to average. Although the majority (54%) of team leaders, supervisors and frontline managers share that view, the big gap in the assessments of top level decision makers and junior level managers implies that the message about the urgent need to lift sales performance has not fully filtered down. If companies are to lift their sales culture performance, there needs to be acceptance that managers across the organisation need to have a better understanding of sales and customer service skills. In that regard, the survey findings paint a dismal picture. When we asked survey participants to rank the list of management skills that will advance their careers, sales and customer service was rated second last (10% support) ahead of business etiquette (7%). At the top of the list of 11 management skills was leadership development (46%) followed by creative thinking and problem solving (43%) and strategic planning (36%). Just over a third of CEOs (38%) in Australian organisations have sales management experience according to the survey data. Almost three-quarters (69%) of the participants who work in a sales role in an organisation without a sales manager rate their company s sales management record as poor to moderate. This finding raises concern about the merits of sales professionals reporting to general managers who do not have any sales management experience. How can such general managers provide the necessary guidance and supervision of sales professionals? Organisations that have a sales manager, or sales managers, are much more likely to say they are performing well/extremely well in the current business environment than do firms without such managers (65% compared to 46%). The message for firms that do not employ dedicated sales managers is to closely examine whether that capability gap is best suited to the changing economic situation. Even small organisations with insufficient resources to employ an experienced sales manager can tap into external talent on a part time basis. SALES CULTURE SURVEY 2

4 There is no skill set more crucial to a company s survival than the one that generates sales and keeps customers happy. It s the skill that keeps your firm in touch with the marketplace and ensures your company s bottom line stays in the black. Our Sales Culture survey has highlighted that sales and customer service management needs to be a much greater focus in Australian organisations as we build a future beyond the resources boom. Tony Gleeson CEO, Australian Institute of Management, Victoria and Tasmania CEO, Idria 3 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

5 Methodology The Australian Institute of Management VT has conducted this survey in order to explore the link between organisational sales culture and corporate success. An was sent out on 3 September 2013 inviting business professionals to participate in the survey. Responses to this questionnaire closed on Monday 16 September In total, 966 responses were collected yielding a 9% response rate. Survey participants were sourced from the Australian Institute of Management VT s database. The survey was sent to all management levels ranging from board members, CEOs and business owners to middle management, team leaders and team members. As this survey focuses on the link between organisational sales culture and corporate success, participants in this sales culture survey were drawn from private sector organisations. Report definitions Negative rating: The three lowest ratings (1, 2 & 3) on a 5-point scale. Positive rating: The two highest ratings (4 & 5) on a 5-point scale. SALES CULTURE SURVEY 4

6 Results *Thirty-eight percent of survey participants work in sales related roles. Workplace/Sales Culture In thinking about your workplace culture, to what extent is it orientated around generating sales? Very little extent 12% To a moderate extent 25% To a great extent 36% To a very great extent 27% Figure 1: Extent to which workplace culture is orientated around sales In most pacesetter organisations, the workplace culture is heavily geared towards supporting the sale of goods and or services. Virtually everyone in such organisations is aware of their role (no matter how indirect that role may be) in supporting the sales and customer service process. More than one-third (37%) of the business professionals we surveyed say the sales culture in their organisations is poor to moderate. This result tells us that sales and customer service skills are not the focus they should be in some organisations. When we compare the survey response data of business professionals who work in sales related roles to those who do not, we find significant differing viewpoints. People in non-sales roles are more than twice as negative about the extent to which their organisation s workplace culture is orientated around generating sales. Forty-four percent (44%) of participants in non-sales related roles rate their organisation s sales culture as poor to moderate in comparison to 19% of those in sales related roles. The implication of this finding is that nonsales people the ones well placed to make a judgement about the extent to which their organisation has a company-wide focus on supporting sales and customer service have in many instances deep concerns about their firm s sales and customer service culture. To a very great extent To a great extent To a moderate extent Very little extent Sales related focus 40% 41% 16% 3% Non-sales focus 21% 35% 27% 17% Table 1: Extent to which workplace culture is orientated around sales by focus of respondent s position 5 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

7 Organisations with a sales manager are more likely to say their workplace culture is orientated around sales. Twenty-eight percent (28%) of those who work for organisations with a sales manager give their sales culture a poor to moderate rating. However, respondents who work for organisations without a sales manager gave a much higher poor to moderate rating of 56%. To a very great extent To a great extent To a moderate extent Very little extent Organisations with a sales manager 32% 40% 21% 7% Organisations without a sales manager 16% 28% 30% 26% Table 2: Extent to which workplace culture is orientated around sales by presence/absence of a sales manager Revenue Generation To the best of your knowledge, how much emphasis does your organisation place on revenue generation in its strategic plan? A very low emphasis 1% A low emphasis 4% A moderate emphasis 19% A high emphasis 41% A very high emphasis 35% Figure 2: Emphasis on revenue generation in strategic plan This survey result shows that almost one-quarter of Australian organisations fail to embrace the link between revenue generation and strategic planning (based on 24% of survey participants who rate revenue generation a very low to moderate emphasis in their organisation). Just 35% of business professionals say their organisation places a very high emphasis on revenue generation in its strategic plans. A very high emphasis A high emphasis A moderate emphasis A low emphasis A very low emphasis 1-20 staff 30% 49% 18% 3% 0% staff 11% 60% 26% 3% 0% staff 42% 44% 11% 3% 0% staff 34% 42% 18% 6% 0% staff 38% 38% 18% 4% 2% 501-1,000 staff 46% 30% 22% 1% 1% 1,001-5,000 staff 42% 36% 17% 3% 2% 5,001+ staff 33% 50% 14% 2% 1% Table 3: Emphasis on revenue generation in strategic plan by organisational size SALES CULTURE SURVEY 6

8 With a very low to moderate emphasis rating of 29%, organisations with 21 to 50 staff are the firms that place the lowest emphasis on revenue generation. In regards to industry specific responses, the Retail trade and the Tourism, hospitality and leisure sectors are the most likely to say their organisations place a very high emphasis on revenue generation in their strategic plans. Fifty-two percent (52%) of business professionals in these industry sectors make this claim. A very high emphasis A high emphasis A moderate emphasis A low emphasis A very low emphasis Sales related focus 43% 42% 13% 1% 1% Non-sales focus 33% 41% 20% 5% 1% Table 4: Emphasis on revenue generation in strategic plan by focus of respondent s position Survey respondents in sales related roles are more likely to say their organisation places a strong emphasis on revenue generation in its strategic planning (based on very high and high ratings) than those participants in non-sales related roles (85% of sales people said very high and high compared to 74% of non-sales people). Business Performance How is your organisation faring in the current economy? Very poorly 1% Poorly 6% Moderately 33% Well 46% Extremely well 14% Figure 3: Organisation faring in the current economy In a result which underlines the difficulties of the current business environment, almost half (40%) of the people surveyed say their organisation s performance in the marketplace is poor to moderate. Few organisations (14%) believe their organisation is performing extremely well which is an obvious cause for concern. Further analysis of the response data for this question shows that participants who say their organisation is performing well in the economy are more likely to be those who have indicated elsewhere in this survey that there is a strong sales culture in their organisation (see Figure 1 for details on sales culture). Sixty-five percent (65%) of respondents who say their organisation s culture is orientated around sales to a very great extent also say their organisation is faring well. However, just 58% of respondents who work in organisations with a poor sales culture say their company is performing well. 7 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

9 Extremely well Well Moderately Poorly Very Poorly 1-20 staff 11% 30% 50% 9% 0% staff 16% 45% 37% 2% 0% staff 12% 36% 35% 13% 4% staff 16% 40% 37% 6% 1% staff 11% 45% 35% 9% 0% 501-1,000 staff 9% 54% 33% 4% 0% 1,001-5,000 staff 18% 46% 30% 5% 1% 5,001+ staff 22% 55% 19% 2% 2% Table 5: Organisation faring in the current economy by organisational size The survey data also makes clear that the tough economic conditions are impacting on organisations across the board. Smaller organisations are being particularly hard hit. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of organisations with 1 to 20 staff say that their organisation has significant scope for improvement (rating made up of very poor, poor & moderate performance). Organisations least likely to say they are under performing are those with 5,001 plus staff (very poor to moderate rating of 23%). Extremely well Well Moderately Poorly Very Poorly Organisations with a sales manager 16% 49% 29% 6% 0% Organisations without a sales manager 9% 37% 45% 7% 2% Table 6: Organisation faring in the current economy by presence/absence of a sales manager Organisations with a dedicated sales manager are more likely to report their organisations are performing well/extremely well in the current economy than organisations without a sales manager. Sixty-five percent (65%) of organisations with a sales manager say their organisations are performing well/extremely well in the current economy as opposed to 46% of organisations without a sales manager. Sales Performance To the best of your knowledge, how would you rate your organisation s sales performance over the past twelve months? Very poor 4% Poor 19% Average 39% Very good 29% Excellent 9% Figure 4: Rating of organisation s sales performance SALES CULTURE SURVEY 8

10 We examined the results relating to sales performance on the basis of whether or not the respondents reported having a strong sales culture in an earlier question (see Figure 1 for details). The respondents who mentioned their organisation s workplace culture is orientated around sales to a very great extent are more likely to say their organisation has performed well in generating sales over the past twelve months. Forty-four percent (44%) of such respondents say their organisation s sales performance over the past twelve months has been very good/excellent in comparison to just 25% of those who say their workplace culture is orientated around generating sales to a very little extent. It is clear from these findings that having a workplace culture which is highly orientated around sales has a positive impact on driving new business. Most participants (62%) believe their organisations have underachieved in sales over the past twelve months. A significant portion (39%) say their organisations sales performance has been average and 19% describe their firm s performance as poor. A further 4% rate their organisations sales performance as very poor. Excellent Very good Average 1-20 staff 9% 18% 36% 29% 8% staff 11% 26% 34% 29% 0% staff 8% 14% 40% 27% 11% staff 11% 30% 33% 23% 3% staff 4% 24% 49% 15% 8% 501-1,000 staff 8% 27% 47% 17% 1% 1,001-5,000 staff 9% 30% 39% 19% 3% 5,001+ staff 11% 47% 28% 11% 3% Table 7: Rating of organisation s sales performance by organisational size Poor Very poor When we examine the survey data by organisational size, it is clear that no organisational size segment has performed well in sales. Relatively speaking, organisations with 5,001 plus staff appear to have been the better sales performers over the past twelve months. Yet even so, 42% of respondents who work for organisations of this size describe their firm s sales performance as very poor to average. This compares to organisations with 1 to 20 staff where 73% of organisations state their performance has been very poor to average. The worst performers are organisations with 51 to 100 staff (equivalent negative rating of 78%). Excellent Very good Average Organisations with a sales manager 10% 32% 37% 18% 3% Organisations without a sales manager 5% 21% 42% 23% 9% Table 8: Rating of organisation s sales performance by presence/absence of a sales manager Poor Very poor When we segment the survey data for sales performance over the past twelve months on the basis of positiontypes, we see that CEOs/board directors is the audience that is most critical of their organisation s sales performance. Eighty-eight percent (88%) of CEOs/board directors say their organisation s performance has been very poor to average. The equivalent negative rating for business owners is 73% and for Senior managers/executives it s 58%. The negative views on sales performance extends to a majority (54%) of Team leaders, supervisors and frontline managers and Team members. However, the big gap in the negative ratings of CEOs/Board directors/business owners and lower levels of management indicates that important messages about poor sales performance and their implications have not yet been fully communicated down the organisation by CEOs or business owners. 9 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

11 Excellent Very good Average Business Owner 9% 18% 24% 43% 6% CEO/Board Director 4% 8% 42% 38% 8% Senior Manager/Executive 13% 29% 37% 18% 3% Middle Manager 6% 25% 45% 19% 5% Team Leader/Supervisor/Frontline Manager 12% 34% 34% 16% 4% Professional/Specialist/Technical Staff Member 8% 27% 37% 23% 5% Team Member 9% 37% 37% 12% 5% Table 9: Rating of organisation s sales performance by position Poor Very poor Customer Service Performance To the best of your knowledge, how well does your organisation perform in the following areas? (Positive ratings based on Very good & Excellent ) Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied Sales people with excellent product knowledge Opportunity for customer service feedback 58% 61% 64% Sales people who listen Prompt call backs After sales care Strategic sales planning Sales management After purchase warranty 51% 47% 46% 42% 40% 39% Figure 5: Performance of organisations in customer service Of significance in evaluating participants views about their organisation s sales and customer service performance is that survey participants say their company performs most poorly in Sales management (40%) and After purchase warranty (39%). Participants believe their organisation performs best at Keeping customers satisfied. This item receives a positive rating of 64% (based on very good/excellent ratings). With a score of 61%, Sales people who have excellent product knowledge is rated second. Opportunity for customer service feedback is ranked third (58%). SALES CULTURE SURVEY 10

12 Interestingly, survey participants with non-sales related roles are much more negative about their organisation s performance across the various sales and customer service touch points than are sales professionals'. One of the biggest gaps is Sales people who listen (58% vs. 47%). Sales related focus Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied 66% 62% Sales people with excellent product knowledge 66% 58% Opportunity for customer service feedback 56% 59% Sales people who listen 58% 47% Prompt call backs 53% 44% After sales care 52% 42% Strategic sales planning 46% 39% Sales management 45% 36% After purchase warranty 51% 33% Table 10: Performance of organisations in customer service by focus of respondent s position Performance of Organisations in Customer Service showing the Differences between Organisations with a Strong/Weak Sales Culture (Positive ratings based on Very good & Excellent ) Nonsales focus Orgs. with a strong sales culture Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied Orgs. with a weak sales culture 59% 69% Sales people with excellent product knowledge 50% 65% Opportunity for customer service feedback Sales people who listen Prompt call backs After sales care 33% 39% 40% 62% 56% 58% 55% 54% Strategic sales planning Sales management 17% 21% 52% 52% After purchase warranty 32% 51% Figure 6: Performance of organisations in customer service by organisations with a strong/weak sales culture 11 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

13 Using comparative data from an earlier question about organisational sales culture (see Figure 1 for details), we have measured customer service performance on the basis of organisations with a strong sales culture versus those with a weak sales culture. Organisations with a strong sales culture outperformed those organisations with a weak sales culture in all areas of sales and customer service. For example, organisations with a strong sales culture significantly outperformed the others in Sales management (52% vs. 17% based on very good/excellent ratings). Sales people who listen (58% vs. 39%), Sales people with excellent product knowledge (65% vs. 50%) and Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied (69% vs. 59%). This is an indication that having a strong sales culture has some positive flow-on benefits across various areas of organisational performance. Performance of Organisations in Customer Service showing the Differences between Organisations with Strong/Poor Business Performance (Positive ratings based on Very good & Excellent ) Orgs. with strong business performance Orgs. with poor business performance Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied 33% 80% Opportunity for customer service feedback 17% 79% Sales people with excellent product knowledge 33% 71% Prompt call backs 0% 68% Sales people who listen 17% 66% Strategic sales planning 0% 62% After sales care 17% 61% Sales management 0% 60% After purchase warranty 17% 53% Figure 7: Performance of organisations in customer service by organisations with strong/poor business performance This data makes absolutely clear that there is an undeniable link between strong business performance and high standards of customer and sales service. Organisations with poor business performance consistently lag well behind strong business performers on all key customer service indicators. SALES CULTURE SURVEY 12

14 Organisations with a sales manager Organisations without a sales manager Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied 64% 62% Sales people with excellent product knowledge 62% 57% Opportunity for customer service feedback 58% 59% Sales people who listen 53% 47% Prompt call backs 48% 46% After sales care 50% 34% Strategic sales planning 47% 28% Sales management 45% 23% After purchase warranty 44% 27% Table 11: Performance of organisations in customer service by presence/absence of a sales manager According to the survey participants, organisations with a sales manager perform better in all areas but one of sales management than organisations without a sales manager. Organisations with sales managers obtain significantly better results in three key areas: Sales management (45% vs. 23%), Strategic sales planning (47% vs. 28%) and After purchase warranty (44% vs. 27%). Based on this response data, there appears to be clear benefits in allocating specific responsibility for sales to a sales management professional. Sixty-nine percent (69%) of survey respondents with a sales related focus and with no sales manager in their organisation gave their organisation a poor to moderate rating in the area of sales management. This message is particularly relevant to organisations with the resources to employ a full-time sales manager(s) but elect to have their sales representatives reporting to a general manager without sales management capabilities. Similarly, small organisations whose sales representatives do not report to a manager with a background in sales management should consider the merit of appointing an outside person with appropriate qualifications to a part time or advisory sales management role. Sales Management Do you have a sales manager(s) within your organisation? Yes 25% No 75% Figure 8: Sales managers within organisation Three-quarters of the business professionals we surveyed (75%) indicate they have either a sales manager or sales managers within their organisation. A significant portion of survey respondents (25%) state that they do not have 13 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

15 a sales manager. It appears that some organisations have sales staff reporting to generalist managers and account managers and not specifically reporting to sales managers. Yes No 1 20 staff 48% 52% staff 71% 29% staff 87% 13% staff 74% 26% staff 71% 29% 501 1,000 staff 74% 26% 1,001 5,000 staff 81% 19% 5,001 + staff 89% 11% Table 12: Sales managers within organisation by organisational size As would be expected, the larger an organisation, the more likely it is that it will employ sales managers. This is most likely due to their bigger budgets and the expanded workforces of larger organisations. In the case of organisations with 1 to 20 staff, only 48% indicate they have a sales manager. However, in organisations with 1,001 to 5,000 staff, this same figure jumps up to 81%. In the largest organisational size ( 5,001 plus staff ), 89% of business professionals say their organisations have a sales manager. The 11% of business professionals who say their organisations do not have a sales manager work for the following industry sectors: Education/training (25%), IT/communication services (25%), Consulting/professional services (17%), Engineering (17%), Insurance (8%) and the Transport, storage, distribution and warehousing (8%). (This question was only asked of those who said yes in the previous question) To the best of your knowledge, does your sales manager(s) receive formal training specifically related to their position/s? 30% Yes 53% No 17% Unsure Figure 9: Sales manager receives formal training In an alarming finding, of the 75% of participants who said (in the previous question) that their organisation has a sales manager(s), only half (53%) say these managers receive specific training relating to their positions. A further 17% say their sales managers do not receive training and 30% are unsure about this question. SALES CULTURE SURVEY 14

16 Yes No Unsure 1 20 staff 53% 32% 15% staff 41% 22% 37% staff 44% 20% 36% staff 52% 26% 22% staff 41% 14% 45% 501 1,000 staff 59% 9% 32% 1,001 5,000 staff 55% 15% 30% 5,001 + staff 65% 11% 24% Table 13: Sales manager receives formal training by organisational size Not surprisingly, given the resources at their disposal, organisations with 5,001 plus staff are the most likely to offer specific training for sales managers (65%). Sales Staff Do you have sales staff within your organisation? Yes 20% No 80% Figure 10: Sales staff within organisation The vast majority of business professionals we surveyed (80%) indicate they have dedicated sales staff within their organisation with only 20% indicating they do not. Of those business professionals who say they do not have dedicated sales staff, they mainly came from the following industry sectors: Consulting/professional services (12%), Education/training (11%) and Utilities electricity, water, gas and waste services (10%). 15 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

17 (This question was only asked of those who said yes in the previous question) To the best of your knowledge, do your sales staff receive formal training specifically related to their positions? 17% Yes 15% No 68% Unsure Figure 11: Sales staff who receive formal training Of fundamental importance to improving an organisation s sales culture is to ensure its sales force is adequately trained. Our survey found that 15% of sales staff do not receive formal training. Yes No Unsure 1 20 staff 75% 23% 2% staff 52% 34% 14% staff 60% 24% 16% staff 66% 20% 14% staff 58% 9% 33% 501 1,000 staff 73% 10% 17% 1,001 5,000 staff 72% 11% 17% 5,001 + staff 75% 10% 15% Table 14: Sales staff who receive formal training by organisational size There is a tendency for smaller organisations not to offer formal training to their sales staff. Some of these organisations appear to be inclined to try and make do with informal on-the-job training for sales staff. For such organisations, the risk of this approach is that sales staff will be under-skilled and therefore not best able to generate new business and furthermore the retention of talented sales people will be made more difficult. One exception to this trend in smaller organisations is firms with 1 to 20 staff where 75% of survey participants who work for organisations of this size indicate that formal training is provided for sales staff. SALES CULTURE SURVEY 16

18 Senior Management s Sales Experience To the best of your knowledge, do any of the following senior staff members in your organisation have previous management experience in sales related roles? Yes No Unsure Middle managers 55% 14% 31% Senior executive team members 53% 13% 34% CEO 38% 20% 42% Board members 33% 16% 51% Figure 12: Senior staff with previous experience in sales related roles The response data to this question tells us a lot about the standing of sales management within Australian organisations. It communicates that most top level decision-makers ( CEOs and Board members ) either do not have any sales management experience or if they do, they do not actively promote such experience (possibly because they consider it will not enhance their personal brand). There was a high degree of uncertainty amongst the business professionals we surveyed regarding whether or not their senior staff have backgrounds in sales related roles. Almost half of the participants (42%) are unsure if their CEO has a background in sales. This was also the case concerning Board members with 51% saying they are unsure of their board s sales related experience. Middle managers appear to be the group with the most sales related experience. Fifty-five percent (55%) of the individuals we surveyed say their middle managers have previous experience in sales related roles. 17 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

19 Career Development Now in looking at the broad range of management skill sets, which of the following skills are important to your personal career development? (Select up to 3 options) Leadership development Creative thinking and problem solving 43% 46% Strategic planning 36% Manage people performance 31% General communication 22% Negotiation skills 22% Networking 16% Time management 14% Presentation skills 13% Sales and customer service 10% Business etiquette 7% Figure 13: Management skills which are important to respondents career development In analysing the response data to this question concerning the skills that survey participants consider are important for their career advancement, we find that Sales and customer service is ranked second last (attracted 10% support) ahead of bottom placed Business etiquette at 7%. This finding is consistent with the response data to the previous question which found that only a minority of top level decision-makers are believed to have sales management experience. So, if managers and leaders do not rate Sales and customer service skills and capabilities as useful to help them climb the corporate ladder, little wonder then that sales culture standards are so worryingly low. Leadership development is the most highly rated management skill at 46% ahead of Creative thinking and problem solving (43%) and Strategic planning (36%). Business professionals with a non-sales related focus are more likely to value General communication in their personal career development than those with a sales related focus (30% vs. 17%). The business professionals with a sales related focus are almost three times (2.6x) more likely than those with a non-sales related focus to value sales and customer service in their personal career development (18% vs. 7%). SALES CULTURE SURVEY 18

20 Male Female Leadership development 55% 49% Creative thinking and problem solving 43% 53% Strategic planning 42% 38% Manage people performance 39% 31% General communication 24% 27% Negotiation skills 24% 25% Networking 18% 18% Time management 16% 18% Presentation skills 13% 15% Sales and customer service 11% 11% Business etiquette 7% 8% Table 15: Management skills which are important to respondents career development by gender Gender appears to make a difference regarding how business professionals set their own personal career development priorities. Creative thinking and problem solving is more important for women than it is for men (53% vs. 43%). Manage people performance is more important for men than it is for women (39% vs. 31%). Another area that is more important for men is Leadership development (55% vs. 49%). Sales and customer service is given a low priority by both men and women (11% vs. 11%). 19 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

21 Sales/Customer Service Touch Points that are Personally Valued As a consumer, which touch points do you personally value in the sales process? (Select up to 3 options) Sales people with excellent product knowledge Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied 55% 54% Understanding clients values and needs 46% Sales people who listen 35% After sales care 27% Prompt call backs 20% After purchase warranty 15% Opportunity for customer service feedback 7% Figure 14: Touch points that respondents personally value in the sales process The business professionals we surveyed believe Salespeople with excellent product knowledge is the most crucial aspect in the sales process. With a score of 55%, this touch point is ranked in first place just ahead of Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied (54%). The third-most popular response is Understanding clients values and needs (46%) followed by Sales people who listen (35%). After purchase warranty (15%) and Opportunity for customer service feedback (7%) are the least valued customer service touch points. Male Female Sales people with excellent product knowledge 53% 66% Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied 60% 56% Understanding clients values and needs 49% 47% Sales people who listen 38% 37% After sales care 31% 26% Prompt call backs 20% 23% After purchase warranty 17% 16% Opportunity for customer service feedback 6% 9% Table 16: Touch points that respondents personally value in the sales process by gender When we examine the same results by gender, we see that men and women have similar views. The biggest gap concerns Sales people with excellent product knowledge which women rate as more important than men (66% vs. 53%). Women are also more likely to value After sales care (31% vs. 26%). Opportunity for customer service feedback is given the lowest priority by both men and women (6% for men and 9% for women). SALES CULTURE SURVEY 20

22 Biz Own CEO Board Dir Senior Mgt/ Exec Mid Mgr Team Lead Sup Front Mgt Profes Specialist Tech Staff Mbr Sales people with excellent product knowledge 30% 54% 50% 56% 65% 66% 66% Staff genuine about keeping customers satisfied 67% 67% 57% 57% 62% 53% 58% Understanding clients values & needs 48% 62% 54% 49% 50% 40% 50% Sales people who listen 51% 37% 43% 39% 36% 34% 36% After sales care 27% 17% 26% 28% 23% 38% 29% Prompt call backs 30% 25% 23% 22% 22% 23% 16% After purchase warranty 3% 21% 13% 18% 21% 16% 17% Opportunity for customer service feedback 15% 8% 9% 7% 5% 5% 8% Table 17: Touch points that respondents personally value in the sales process by position Team Mbr Business owners and CEOs/board directors are the most concerned of all position types about Staff who are genuine about keeping customers satisfied. Both groups rate it the highest priority in the sales process at 67%. Business owners are the most likely to value Sales people who listen (51%), Prompt call backs (30%) and Opportunity for customer service feedback (15%); although the latter is rated as a low priority by everybody. Of interest is that business owners is the group least likely to value After purchase warranty (3%). Team leaders, supervisors and frontline managers most strongly value Salespeople with excellent product knowledge (65%). Focus of Respondents Positions Which of the following best describes the focus of your position? 38% Sales related 62% Non-sales related Figure 15: Focus of respondents positions Almost two-thirds of the business professionals we surveyed (62%) do not work in sales. Thirty-eight percent (38%) say their positions have a sales related focus. 21 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

23 Formal Qualification in Sales/Marketing (This question was only asked of those who said yes in the previous question) Do you have a formal qualification in sales/marketing? Yes 32% No 68% Figure 16: Formal qualification in sales/marketing Of the 38% of business professionals who said in the previous question that their job has a sales focus, only 32% of these individuals hold a formal qualification in sales or marketing. Sixty-eight percent (68%) of these sales people indicate that they do not have a qualification. Yes No 1 20 staff 23% 77% staff 44% 56% staff 46% 54% staff 31% 69% staff 33% 67% 501 1,000 staff 32% 68% 1,001 5,000 staff 21% 79% 5,001 + staff 43% 57% Table 18: Formal qualification in sales/marketing by organisational size Organisations with 51 to 100 staff are the most likely to have sales personnel with formal qualifications in their profession. SALES CULTURE SURVEY 22

24 Demographics: The tables below contain comprehensive demographic data on the respondents who completed the survey. Gender Male 55% Female 45% AIM membership Yes, member of AIM VT 54% Yes, member of another state 7% No 39% Highest level of education PhD 2% Masters 15% Graduate diploma 14% Graduate certificate 7% Undergraduate degree 25% Diploma level 16% Certificate level 10% Completed year 12 6% Less than year12 5% Organisation size 1-20 employees 11% employees 5% employees 7% employees 12% employees 16% employees 11% employees 21% employees 17% Position Business Owner 5% CEO/Board Director 3% Senior Manager/Executive 11% Middle Manager 23% Team Leader/Supervisor/Frontline 17% Manager Professional/Specialist/ Technical 19% Staff Member Team Member 18% Other 4% Generation Silent generation (aged 68-87) 1% Baby boomers (aged 48-67) 26% Generation X (aged 34-47) 42% Generation Y (aged 18-33) 31% Industry IT/ Communication Services 11% Sales/Marketing 10% Retail Trade 8% Manufacturing/Production 7% Education/Training 7% Consulting/Professional Services 6% Utilities - Electricity/Water/Gas/Waste Service 6% Finance 6% Insurance 4% Engineering 4% Transport/Storage/Distribution and Warehousing 4% Construction 3% Science/Pharmaceutical 3% Tourism/Hospitality/Leisure 3% Wholesale Trade 3% Business Services 2% Property 2% Services Trade 2% Banking 2% Advertising 1% Agriculture/Forestry/Fishing 1% Cultural/Recreational Services 1% Environmental 1% Infrastructure 1% Media 1% Mining 1% 23 SALES CULTURE SURVEY

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