Sales Performance Management

Sales Performance Management Prepared for Institutional Investor Institute Jason Brown Principal, ZS Associates 617.557.5814 jason.brown@zsassociates.com January 23, 2014 This presentation is solely for the use of III meeting attendees. No part of it may be circulated or reproduced for distribution without prior written approval of ZS Associates. ZS Associates 617.557.5800 www.zsassociates.com

ZS Associates is a global leader in marketing and sales strategy, operations, and supporting technology Introduction 30 years of consulting 2,500+ professionals 1,000+ clients 20 global offices Marketing Sales Ops & Technology Marketing strategy Customer insight & VOC Perception & loyalty tracking Experience design Segmentation Spend optimization Predictive analytics Channel strategy Resource deployment Incentives & goals Sales effectiveness Competencies & training Performance management Sales enablement Outsourcing & offshoring APO (Analytic Process Outsourcing) Reporting solutions Master data management Data warehousing Technology deployment Software development 2014 ZS Associates 2

Experience ZS has the largest sales compensation practice in the world Introduction ZS' Sales Compensation Offering Consulting Services Sales incentive design Quota setting Incentive plan health checks Change management Field communication Client training Operations Services Incentive managed services Staff augmentation Business process management Operations process design Technology Services Software configuration ZS data integration services Technology managed services Custom tool development Global Operating Model (Onshore-Offshore Teams) Incentive Compensation is the largest practice in ZS by annual revenues Largest provider of compensation design expertise with 100+ design projects per year Implement the leading 3 rd party Sales Performance Management software solutions Outsourced business process support for 100,000+ reps across 50+ countries and 100+ companies across industries 250+ FTEs supporting outsourced incentive compensation services 2014 ZS Associates 3

Sales performance management observations Introduction 1 Sales performance management is difficult especially for institutional and key accounts teams 2 The best programs take a balanced view of the salesperson, the process, and the results 3 Failure to account for sales opportunity is the leading source of unfairness 4 Discretionary compensation is often too discretionary 5 Commissions are often overused (as a % of total pay) 2014 ZS Associates 4

What is sales performance? (Audience poll) What is performance? A. Sales results (wins, losses, revenue) B. Customer results (satisfaction, experience, perceptions) C. Sales approach or process (how the results were achieved) D. Sales activities (specific tactics or events delivered during the process) E. All of the above F. None of the above 2014 ZS Associates 5

Sales performance analogy: Pitcher Wins What is performance? Component Analysis (the process) Outcome Date IP H ER BB SO May 26, 1959 12.2 1 0 1 8 L Date IP H ER BB SO July 5, 1959 8 9 4 0 7 W Haddix s competition was tough (Lew Burdette threw 13 shutout innings) The team around him let him down (failed to score; error in 13 th inning) Some bad luck, too (Pirates got 12 hits, but didn t score) Some consider this the best pitching performance in history and the result was a loss 2014 ZS Associates 6

Pitcher Wins The good news: All these approaches converge over time What is performance? Component analysis versus actual wins 600 500 R² = 0.758 400 300 200 100 0 0 20 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 Component Analysis (Wins-Above-Replacement) Pitcher wins and underlying performance are closely correlated when looking across a player s full career career 1 The bad news: We can t wait a career to evaluate performance! 1. These data show wins-above-replacement (WAR) and wins for the top 500 pitchers (by WAR) in MLB history. 2014 ZS Associates 7

Criteria Drawbacks Sales performance evaluation criteria for Asset Managers Measurement Sales wins AUM (total or growth) Few in number; volatility in win % over time Individual contribution vs. team and brand Wide variance and volatility Overstates salesperson s contribution? Sales activities (finals presentations, etc.) Customer feedback Observed competencies Activities don t pay the bills Measure activities, get activities Often qualitative, low sample size Salesperson attribution issues Competency without activity = no results Risk of rater biases Each approach has its limitations, which is why we advise clients to use multiple approaches for institutional sales 2014 ZS Associates 8

Companies typically adopt one of three positions with respect to sales performance management Measurement Process Driven People Driven Results Driven Distinctive Adequate Process Skills Rewards Process Skills Rewards Process Skills Rewards Focus on: Account planning Coaching Sales activity reporting Solid performers Low compensation variance Focus on: Hiring Mentoring & apprenticeship Training and development Long horizons High average compensation Focus on: Incentives and goals Hiring/firing Sales tools Individual autonomy High compensation variance 2014 ZS Associates 9

What is your organization s sales management approach? (Audience poll) Measurement A. Process driven B. People driven C. Incentives driven Please pick the best fit for your organization 2014 ZS Associates 10

Most asset managers use People or Incentives -driven approaches Measurement Process Driven People Driven Incentives Driven Distinctive Adequate Process Skills Rewards Process Skills Rewards Process Skills Rewards Focus on: Account planning Coaching Sales activity reporting Solid performers Low compensation variance Focus on: Hiring Mentoring & apprenticeship Training and development Long horizons High average compensation Focus on: Incentives and goals Hiring/firing Sales tools Individual autonomy High compensation variance 2014 ZS Associates 11

An example of process-driven performance measurement Measurement # of plans on the market RFPs Finals Wins AUM 100 75 25 10 $50B Sales Rep A 75% 33% 40% 50% share Average Rep 60% 25% 25% 40% share Each step in the process yields viable performance metrics Comparison across salespeople yields insight Useful as a diagnostic and coaching tool Understanding opportunity (# plans on the market) is important 2014 ZS Associates 12

An example of people-driven performance measurement Measurement Example criteria Recommend to others? Customer feedback Standardized tests Work with again? Ratings vs. peer group Communication Personal impact Working style Areas of expertise Content knowledge Sales leader feedback Deal team feedback Surveys and interviews can be used to capture these details Push for detail, examples, and direct comparisons wherever possible Be wary if results don t match evaluations over a large sample 2014 ZS Associates 13

An example of incentives-driven performance measurement Measurement Illustration Metric 1 Commissions on 1 st year AUM (or AUM growth, or net flows, etc.) Metric 2 Bonus for achieving 100% of AUM sales goal (or AUM market share, etc.) Pay mix Incentives 70%, base salary 30% Restrictions None. Incentives are uncapped. A clear, direct approach for communicating expectations Controls cost of sales Sales opportunity across salespeople affects pay fairness Undermines ability to control or direct salesperson activities 2014 ZS Associates 14

Which of the following are part of your salesperson incentives? (Audience poll) Measurement A. Commissions B. Bonus for individual goal achievement C. Bonus for company performance (e.g., sales or profits) D. Objectives-based or discretionary bonus Please select all that apply 2014 ZS Associates 15

Commissions can be powerful, and dangerous, incentives Design Advantages Disadvantages Simple Timely Controls cost of sales Often functions as hidden salary Can discourage territory expansion Less adaptive to company strategy Best uses of commissions: When launching a new product/offering When outsourcing sales to a third party When the salesperson contributes highly to the sale (low carry-over) To balance year-end, goal-based metrics and payouts Commissions are useful, but they shouldn t be the only component within an Asset Manager s incentive program 2014 ZS Associates 16

Push to differentiate Objectivity is key Objective-based measures are ideally suited to institutional sales, but they often fail in execution Design Bad Conduct 20 in-person sales meetings Achieve high customer satisfaction Develop 10 key account plans Good Achieve finals presentations with X% of opportunities Rate in the top X% of industry peers in customer satisfaction Achieve X% of approved tactical objectives in account plans If your MBO ratings look like this Consider: 16 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Bottom 10% Next 20% Mid 40% Next 20% Top 10% Sales MBO Relative ranking among salespeople Discrete levels (or goals) associated with each performance category 2014 ZS Associates 17

Some closing advice Conclusions 1 2 3 4 Gather multiple perspectives to validate sales performance Control for sales opportunity wherever possible Be wary of commission-dominated incentive plans Take the long view for as long as the business will allow! 2014 ZS Associates 18

Questions? Jason Brown ZS Associates 617.557.5814 jason.brown@zsassociates.com Blog : http://info.zsassociates.com/theexchange/ Twitter: @jbrown_zs 2014 ZS Associates 19