The Framework for Structuring a Sales Effectiveness Program

The Framework for Structuring a Sales Effectiveness Program Werner Hess Director Carpedia Consulting (Pty) Ltd Introduction The following paper is a discussion on a series of aspects that are imperative for companies aiming to improve the effectiveness of their sales process. In simple terms, the sales function of any business is crucial: no sales, no business. However, there are numerous complex challenges facing sales leadership today making sales effectiveness extremely difficult. The key lies in the sales process itself the systems and the sales employees. Conversion must be the most demanding aspect of sales and with an everchanging economic environment including globalization, increased competition, commoditization and channel to market changes, sales is no easy business. In addition to economical factors, the constant shifts that consumers dictate adds to the challenge. It is no longer a case of simply saying Go out there and sell! After close examination of numerous organisations we have worked with, it is evident that in the process of improving sales, the list of what could go wrong is extensive and includes some or all of the following: Ineffective definition of the target market The inability of marketing to persuade sales of the relevant opportunity Misalignment of the marketing opportunity and the sales strategy Poor product design and definition Poor market research and research interpretation The sales and marketing disconnect Poor value proposition development An ineffective sales process Sales systems that fail to provide visibility and predictability Inappropriate sales skills Inappropriate sales process Poor sales attitudes Low sales productivity Lack of motivation

Incorrect placement of people in sales positions Dysfunctional compensation systems Lack of appreciation or understanding of sales activities Inadequate sales coaching systems Unrealistic targets Weak sales management and supervisory systems Poor Role and Responsibility definition The list goes on. Whilst there is no simple answer as to what elements allow a sales function to underperform, as it is intrinsically difficult to identify the root of the problem. Carpedia has developed a range of methodologies to assist with ever-present challenge: tool sets and programs to help organizations identify key issues preventing success; programs specifically designed to strengthen the organizations ability to deliver success; the implementation of systems, processes, training and coaching solutions to get back on track and accelerate the success cycle. Sales Leadership The best sales performance system is only as good as the people who are running it. Running a high performance sales team is dependent on exceptional leadership: Leadership is about passion, about vision, about connectedness, about motivating people, about finding out what it is that unlocks the door to special performance and helping people to realize it and not be afraid to go there. Consequently, a sales leader must be able to build a successful sales performance management system to accelerate sales and achieve high performance repeatedly through integrated processes. Sales Process Many companies assume that the sales process is a sales technique, for example: spin selling; solution selling; push selling or those kinds of strategies. In fact, a sales process is something that every good company needs to be able to define and master in order to boost sales performance and accelerate overall top line growth. Sales process really becomes a repeatable and scaleable sequence of events that yields consistent sales results.

Sales process is broken down into a number of different aspects including the definition of the selling model. In other words, is the selling model transactional? Is it enterprise? Is it consultative? These are the three most common sales models. Furthermore, sales process typically defines the actual sales work flow as it relates to movement of prospects through the sales pipeline to closure. A sales process will typically provide a work flow which includes a process map and a break down of the definitions of different stages of progression as it relates to sales forecasting and probabilities. Typically, these tools are put together and automated into a CRM system that will allow a company to mechanize work flow using Siebel, Maximizer, Microsoft or other leading tools. Why Define A Sales Process? There are numerous benefits for companies that define the sales process and integrate it into CRM tools: Faster growth Training is easier and more efficient resulting in increased sales production The system can be rolled out company-wide so that all employees understand the sales process Accessibility and ease of developing a matrix in terms of activity and results measurement and management Clear definition of sales accountabilities and structured sales performance management system Good sales performance management is based on holding sales people accountable. Building a sales performance management system is the key to supporting a scaleable sales process and clearly defining and managing expectations of sales employees. A sales performance management system consists of a number of different components which companies need to build in order to be successful at managing sales people and achieving desired sales results. What Should Be In Your Sales Process Map? A sales process map should be broken down into the following focal points: 1. What is the definition of the target market?

2. What are the actual steps of the sales process that need to be followed by the sales team? 3. What are the goals at each stage of the sales process in terms of advancing the sale? 4. What are the tools that are used to support that sales process at that point? (Marketing collateral; lead generation using internet marketing; outbound telesales; direct mail; sales presentations or product demonstrations etc.) 5. Create a plan of what the timing and delay is for each of the different stages and what follow-up items take place at each step. 6. Develop a matrix with definitions of the different stages of the sale as to what steps are being taken and what tools are being used. 7. Include a sales process map that becomes a logic diagram to show exactly how the work flow works. 8. Automate the process using CRM tools such as Salesforce.com in order to ensure that the data can be rolled out to a large number of sales people. A well defined sales process is integral for success. Without this, selling is left up to individuals who are expected to sell however they sell without following a set of rules or disciplines. This can lead to stunted growth, stagnant sales and dependency on individuals as opposed to process. The Role of Sales Management in Sales Performance Regular Sales Meetings Holding regular sales meetings is crucial. Sales meetings should be a primary component of any sales performance management system. By formalizing sales meetings and holding them on a regular basis, the sales team is introduced to an environment of accountability and information exchange. Sales meetings can be used for a number of purposes including information gathering and assessing the performance of the sales team. Frequent Phone Contact By keeping in contact with sales employees via phone calls or informal discussions, people feel as though there is someone who cares, who is interested in helping them with challenges and is

willing to give positive feedback. Knowing which accounts your sales people are working on is the foundation for asking the right questions and engaging with sales teams in an active relationship that helps them to find ways to win. When your sales people win, your company wins. Coaching People like to know that they are heard and involved in decision making processes of their job. They like to feel like their opinion is heard by management. Coaching requires active engagement with employees that allows each individual to formulate their own solutions and ways of doing things. The most effective way to coach is to spend one-on-one time with sales people in the field actually visiting accounts, strategizing them, talking about and preparing for sales calls, going on those sales calls and then debriefing after those sales calls what happened, what was learned and how could the sales call have been improved. Most sales people learn by doing and coaching is the perfect platform for sales staff to practically enhance sales performance and sales techniques. Tracking and Understanding Activity The role of sales management is based on the concept of working closely with sales team members on an ongoing basis to establish a relationship of trust, confidence and mentorship. Sales management must track sales activity, measure and monitor performance and coach sales people to success. Tracking activity can be done very easily when there is a successful CRM implementation. Salesforce.com develops customized dashboards that give management a quick snapshot of each employee s activity in terms of amount of prospecting, amount of actual account qualification and the amount of deals closed. The second element to measuring and monitoring performance is tracking activity intensively to understand what is working and what is not working with each sales person s territory on order to develop and advance that individual s sales skills. Elements of a Successful Sales Performance Management System A successful sales performance management system must have well defined revenue plans, revenue and margin objectives. This includes sales objectives for individual sales people. It is essential to have a clear plan of well defined sales territories relating to specific targets and identifying customers within those territories.

The next component of successful sales performance management system is actually having individual revenue margin and orders objectives for each of sales person. Typically, this is done on an annual basis once overall revenue plans have been made. Each sales person who is linked to the overall revenue plan should have targets, annual revenue and orders goals which can be reviewed and monitored monthly or quarterly. Sales people should be working towards a territory plan. This plan should list major objectives, key accounts that are being targeted, strategies to get into those accounts, new business development, account maintenance and management and should also have a section related to actual channel management strategies that sales people will carry out. This is a one page document that can be put together in a template and passed out to your sales people as a tool for them to conduct annual sales planning. It can also be used to monitor progress and performance with regards to each sales employee. The final element of a successful sales performance management system is all about the people. Sales people are only as good as they are being managed by sales management. Sales teams need to be managed and the foundation of success is to employ somebody who is willing to work closely with their people. How to Confront Poor Performing Sales People Many sales managers prefer to avoid confronting their sales people when they notice poor sales performance. However, sales people need to be confronted in an assertive manner in order to understand what is expected of them and how to take corrective action. A sales manager should not apologise or hide from the truth, but rather work with their sales people to diagnose the problem, understand what the underlying causes and assist in finding solutions. The best solutions come from the sales person themselves as they have a deeper understanding of how to improve their results. The best way to start any corrective action discussion with a sales person is to ask them questions such as the following: What are the causes of you not achieving your orders or revenue targets? What is the competitive environment that you are in? How much activity is actually being undertaken in order to generate the level of new prospects, qualified deals, and proposals that are going to lead to the desired sales results? How can you foresee this changing?

It is the sales manager s role to ensure that the right communication takes place in order to take corrective action to accelerate sales and improve overall performance. How to Improve Poor Sales Performers The key to managing a poor performer is to openly discuss issues at hand and offer a supportive network to assist in making adequate changes. The trick is to not come down too hard when a person is not producing the right sales revenues for the company. Sales people, just like everyone else, need positive motivation and empowerment in order to succeed. Simply taking a harsh approach to an individual at the outset is not a remedy for the problem. A better way is to talk to the individual to understand from their perspective what is happening in the sales process that is the underlying cause of poor performance. Taking Corrective Action is Key for Sales Managers Management s job is to diagnose and detect the underlying reasons for a decrease in or lack of desired sales performance. Sales managers need to be quick with identifying the problem and developing solutions. Only through active engagement with the sales person can sales management hope to mitigate or reduce the possibilities of bad sales performance and get a sales person to produce the results they are looking for. Do Not Take Shortcuts in the Hiring Process Many companies try to short cuts in the hiring process as they really want to believe that a strong sales person with another background is actually going to be able to sell for their company. Statistically, almost 50% of all hires are mis-hires for this exact reason. Judgments are made with regards to the person s aptitudes and abilities and in practicality, these are always on the shortfall. Hiring good sales people is a difficult and challenging process but if it is done right with patience and depth, it can be very successful for your company. Behavioral Assessment, Interviewing & Roles and Responsibilities It is essential to develop a good behavioral assessment that allows you to get to the heart of whether or not a person is actually suited for the position. Past experience and past achievement history is an extremely important indicator of whether or not a person is actually going to be able to perform for your company. Another aspect of a solid hiring process is defining exactly what you are looking for in a candidate with regards to roles and responsibilities and then set out an interview process that

uncovers how well suited the individual is to these responsibilities. Typically a good sales person should go through at least four interviews which requires time, energy and commitment to the process. The Hiring Steps There are a number of different steps that are required in order to recruit good sales talent. That includes defining clear roles and responsibilities and then developing an attractive job posting to promote the position. Using career databases, the internet, as well as sending job postings out to your friends and network colleagues can assist in the promotion as most of the best sales people come through referrals and not through mass advertising. Thereafter it is essential to have a multistage interviewing process that uncovers an individual s skills and talents through a series of interviews, using a team-based process to gain different perspectives from diverse members of your team. The Sales Recruiting Process A good sales person requires more than simply the power of persuasion. There are a number of key skills or traits that are needed. When we speak of skills, we are talking about learned abilities, something that can be trained or taught. When we talk about traits, we refer to innate characteristics of an individual s personality or behavior. It is possible to uncover a person s traits and skills through the interviewing process by going through a rigorous set of homework assignments, aptitude testing, sales performance history recording and behavioral interviewing. How to Recruit Top Sales & Marketing Talent How do we recruit top sales talent? When it comes to finding good sales and marketing talent, there are a few crucial steps: Firstly, having a good system and process for recruiting; secondly, knowing what to look for; thirdly, knowing how to get the word out to broadcast and promote your company to people who have the talent that you need and finally, how to actually make this talent a part of your team. Recruiting sales and marketing talent is both a combination of art and science. It requires a lot of commitment to process in order to get the right people. Many companies make the mistake of hiring the first person that comes through the door thinking that they are going to be a good sales person for the company when in actual fact, the only thing they are good at is selling their way through the interview process! The definition of talent in a sales sense is somebody who has the ability and the willingness to sell unfortunately, that does not come easy.

The Importance of Sales Training Providing ongoing sales training is a way to make sure that your sales people always have the latest tools to improve their sales performance. Training typically encompasses sales technique training, product training and customer and market training. Other aspects of internal training that managers can consider are factors such as providing recognition incentives and rewards, taking time in your sales meetings to praise and celebrate the successes of your people and thanking the team for their continued input and support. This is a great way of showing your employees that you really do care about their performance and that you are willing to celebrate success and give praise where it is due. The more sales people understand that they are accountable for producing themselves, the better sales performance is going to be. Building and deploying a successful sales performance management system is something that a company cannot live without is something that needs to be taken very seriously. Questions to consider with regards to your organisation: What is your company doing to enhance sales performance from your people? Do you need help with sales performance management? If the answer is yes to the last question that means it is time to introduce various forms of training. Sales skills programs that are delivered in isolation from the sales process in conjunction with a structured sales coaching program deliver limited value. Sales people need to relate sales skills to a process context in order for the sales training to be meaningful. Post training sales coaching programs help to hardwire sales skills in the practical context. It is essential for sales managers to participate in the sales skills training program, so that when they get out into the field, they are able to coach the essential skills that drive the sales process. Sales skills programs that focus on building relationships and establishing customer needs are helpful in today s sales environment. Programs that place the customer in uncomfortable situations and push product are ineffective. Articulating the Value Proposition Companies follow different strategies in order to articulate their unique value. If a company has not gone through a go-to-market strategy or a strategic planning marketing process it may be an idea to do so. This should include your target, your target markets, target customers and market segments and sub segments, your positioning of your company how it is positioned and perceived in the minds of your customers and your messaging how you actually articulate the value proposition that your company brings to its customers. The days of features and benefits based selling have now been replaced with the strategy of articulating a very

tightly focused message that shows companies how they can benefit from buying your products or services. Identifying what makes your company different and being able to articulate that to your customers is essential to positioning yourself above your competitors. One sales training program that is in cinc with modern sales process is Relationship Centered Selling. Learn more about Relationship Centered Selling by visiting: www.thescienceofselling.co.za Successful Sales Acceleration The foundation for any successful sales acceleration effort begins with three principles: Strategy, process and people. Strategically, companies need to understand exactly how to win in their markets and how they intend to build sustainable competitive advantage. First step is to identify the company s unique selling proposition and then roll these USPs into your messaging, your positioning, your promotion programs, and everything that can relay your unique traits to your target market. How to Accelerate Your Company's Sales Building top line sales growth for your business is no easy task. While the economy is coming back strong, the rules of business are changing. Companies need to be able to adapt to these changing rules in order to remain acutely competitive. Globalization, out-sourcing, the Wal- Mart effect are all making technology and new business processes a necessity for just about any company that wants to maintain a competitive edge. In order to accelerate a company s sales arsenal, it is essential to have a very clear idea of the needs of the target market and how to align your company with the relevant competencies and unique solutions. It is helpful to have established some high probability segments that are likely for early solution adoption. Early identification and conversion lead to quick deals that lay the foundation for sales acceleration. Designing a sales process that will highlight acceleration points is an effective method of increasing the sales cycle. Many sales people become their own worst enemy in terms of how they control the speed of the sales process. A simple example is the inability to book set meetings dates which often results in unnecessary time spent playing telephone tag with the customer. A well designed sales process will highlight acceleration points and guide the sales person in controlling the process going forward.

Creating urgency to action is perhaps one of the most effective tools to drive this process in the right direction. Using strong projecting techniques, sales people can create a view of what the world would be like post solution implementation and thereby increase the desire to speed up the procurement process. This method requires specific skills including the balance of projection with the customer buying process. In conclusion, sales process acceleration is a challenging undertaking. Companies who do not operate within a clearly defined sales process environment are simply hoping for the best, rather than actively deploying strategies that will increase chances of continued sales success. In addition to an effective sales process, hiring the right people, introducing training, skills development and coaching as well as providing motivational frameworks will further enhance sales success. About Carpedia Consulting Carpedia Consulting is an internationally relevant management consultancy firm, dedicated to assisting clients to improve sales and profits through the implementation of improvement programs. Our approach is what makes us unique. The way we design, develop and execute our programs is hands-on, solutions-based and excellence driven. Our programs are customized to the needs of your organisation and are designed to ensure significant and sustainable improvements are made both internally and externally by the sales team, for the customer. www.carpedia.co.za

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