The Twelve  Key Issues

A Summary of Client Experience

Introduction

For many organisations that go to market with a direct sales force, the total costs of maintaining this capability can be 10% to 20% of revenues. Yet few organisations systematically assess the effectiveness of their sales force and apply the same continuous improvement principles they would to other parts of the business.

The gap between the best performers and the worst sales people can be as much as three to one. If a company had two manufacturing lines or distribution centers, and had the same disparity of performance it would take urgent action to narrow the gap.

In our experience in the vast majority of sales organisations the real sales process and its underlying drivers remain undiscovered.

The issues

Organisations are not complacent about their Sales Force. Indeed there is often frustration and widespread concern among senior managers within sales and in other departments who depend on them. These concerns often present themselves as a series of issues such as:

“I’m sure some sales people don’t spend enough time in front of customers”

“Sales complain about the technology to support them”

“New recruits take too long to start contributing”

“Knowledge among sales people is patchy”

“There are some sectors that we are not focused on enough”

“Customers do not always trust us to act in their interest”

“The sales forecast cannot be relied upon, at the beginning of the quarter it's   optimistic and then tails off”

“We do not always make our best case to prospects”

“We have a small number of excellent sales people, but most under perform”

“Sales do not always get the support they need from the rest of the organisation”

“There could be a stronger link between company strategy and what Sales are doing”

“Sales cost seems very high”

The Traditional Cures

When sales performance starts to dip or when some other factor puts sales in the spotlight, the response is often a ”Silver Bullet” initiative.


The most popular cures are:

· Intensive sales training and coaching using an eternal gur

· Invest in Sales Force Automation

· Re-do the commission scheme

· Re-organise the sales force, move from a product to an Industry structure (or back again)

· Hire some stars

· Review the market for missing sector opportunities.

· Produce data to show that the current Product/Service offering is uncompetitive.

· Hold a motivational conference

· Issue edicts to sales managers promoting a new tougher approach.

· Fire the worst performers, to encourage the others.


Many of these have merit, but all of them are short-term initiatives that may have some effect, but will not produce a sustained improvement in performance.


Our experience suggests that the majority of sales directors believe that there is scope to improve the effectiveness of the sales force by over 30%, but that they do not have a programme of continuous improvement to produce this gain.

An integrated set of issues 

We have identified twelve key issues which underpin Sales Force Effectiveness. These are described overleaf. It is systematic improvement in each of these factors over time that distinguishes a truly excellent sales force from the also rans. These factors are also mutually reinforcing, so improvement in one will amplify the effectiveness of other components.


To build and maintain a high performing sales force an organisation must first assess where it stands on each of these factors, prioritise their impact and then put in place a plan of continuous improvement to get measurable results.

The Twelve Key Issues

Time With Customers.

A fairly obvious point, the more time sales people spend in contact with customers, the more likely they are to succeed. Some non-customer facing tasks are vital, particularly those that build customer and product knowledge, but a sales organisation must have a strong focus on call rates.

The Right Technology

“Technology has the potential to transform the effectiveness of a sales force” or so we are led to believe by vendors of Sales Force Automation technology. However one of the hard lessons learnt in other areas of an organisation is that if you automate a broken process, it goes wrong faster.

Recruitment

Sales recruitment is rarely done well. It is often well organised, but does not provide an opportunity to make the best assessment of which candidates will deliver the best results.

Training

Most organisations provide some form of training to new and existing sales people and then sporadic training after that. However It is rare for organisations to spend the time continuously training sales people in how to sell the product to the target audience.

Knowledge sharing.

Each encounter in the field, each won sale and each lost sale is a learning opportunity. However this learning rarely extends beyond the sales person or team involved in that sale. There may be win/loss reports but rarely a systematic process for collecting, structuring and disseminating this information.

Sales Deployment

Sales deployment across industry sectors or geographies is often sub optimal. It is usually more weighted towards past success rather than market opportunity. This can lead to a failure to diversify into undeveloped sectors creating barriers to growth as marginal market share becomes more difficult to obtain from existing sectors.

Customer Partnership

The pressure to hit a quota in the current quarter and staying with a product or service that is comfortable can lead sales people to drive towards a sale that only focuses on a customers short term needs. long-term account development will require a partnership approach which may delay a short term sale to achieve a bigger objective.

Plan - Do - Review Cycle

Almost all sales organisations have targets and there is pressure on sales people to meet them. This must be backed up by a well-conducted “Plan - Do - Review” cycle at short intervals. This must go beyond simple targets. Reviews needs to be conducted at least every two weeks and usually weekly. Actions promised should be recorded and reviewed at the next meeting.

First Line Management

The performance of front line managers is one of the most important factors driving Sales Force Effectiveness, but they can only be effective if all the elements of a sales structure are in place.

If good managers are put in poorly designed sales environments they will build their own systems, but will be frustrated by the lack of company wide support.

Tactical Sales Plan

There needs to be a “Tactical Sales Plan” that defines how the market is to be attacked, what support materials and activities are available and what resources are to be brought to bear. This is the explicit battle plan for the sales infantry. It provides a structure for management and for learning

Sales Culture

Selling means dealing with constant rejection, with failing more often than succeeding. It is emotionally tough and requires support for sustained success. Sales management have their part to play, but unless sales is recognised and celebrated within an organisation, sales people can come to feel like misunderstood outsiders.

Sales and Company Strategy

It is not uncommon to find that senior managers paint one picture of the product and service mix of a company, while the actions of the sales-force imply another. Sales will continue to sell familiar products or services unless concerted action is taken to change behaviour.

Conclusion

The opportunity for improving Sales Effectiveness in most organisations is enormous. Few organisations systematically assess the effectiveness of their sales force and apply the same continuous improvement principals they would to, say, a manufacturing plant.

There is no single issue that drives Sales Force Effectiveness; rather it is systematic improvement in each of these factors over time that distinguishes a truly excellent sales force from the also-rans. These factors are mutually reinforcing, so improvement in one will amplify the effectiveness of other components.

To learn more Email us on: info@bookhamcg.com