Accelerating sales performance
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This document outlines a process for accelerating sales performance by optimizing the sales environment and identifying high performing individuals. It involves: 1. Evaluating the sales environment by analyzing forces like customers and competition, developing a strategic execution model, and ensuring alignment across functions. 2. Identifying top performing salespeople and capturing the critical factors behind their success like roles, outcomes for each role, and activities that enable outcomes. 3. Applying insights from the environment assessment and high performers to the overall sales team to close performance gaps and drive measurable business results.
Accelerating sales performance
- 2. Objectives • Learn a structured process for developing a sales performance acceleration plan. • Evaluate your organization’s sales development approach to Evaluate your organization s sales development approach to determine where there are performance gaps. • Apply the tools and techniques from the session to your organization’s existing sales development program to create measurable business results. © Beacon 2014 2
- 3. Why are you here? Why are you here? • Why I get called: Why I get called: – Pressure to increase revenue – Trying to do more with less Trying to do more with less – Decision has been made to bring in or develop sales training sales training – Desire to assess the skills and competencies of the individuals © Beacon 2014 3
- 4. Broken Promises Broken Promises 1. The Training Promise 1 The Training Promise If you train your sales people or sales managers on the ‘techniques’ (behaviors) of selling, your long term sales performance will increase in a measurable and consistent way. measurable and consistent way. 2. The Sales Methodology Promise Installing a new ‘sales system’ will give you long term sales performance improvement. 3. The Technology Promise Installing CRM (as an example) will enable deep tracking of customer trends, sales trends and opportunities which will subsequently produce dramatic performance improvements. © Beacon 2014 4
- 5. The Sad Reality… The Sad Reality… • Training: “…the primary objective of most sales trainers is to effectively “ th i bj ti f t l t i i t ff ti l provide knowledge and skills to trainees. However, this point of view may impede training effectiveness as trainee learning appears to be i d i i ff i i l i b a necessary, but not sufficient prerequisite for behavior change.” (“Investigating interrelationships among sales training evaluation methods,” Lui, Anne H., September 2003) Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management © Beacon 2014 5
- 6. The Sad Reality… The Sad Reality… • Methodology: “...the sales methods presented during the initial sales training program sponsored by the subject company may not have been appropriate for the field selling scenarios actually faced by its salespeople.” (“Investigating the perceptual aspect of sales training,” Farris, M. Theodore, II, March 2002) Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management © Beacon 2014 6
- 7. The Sad Reality… The Sad Reality… • Technology: – Failure rate: 12% of CRM projects fail to go live – System implementation: 47% of CRM projects go live and the System implementation: 47% of CRM projects go live, and the technology aspects of the project are considered a success, but business change and adoption fail – Process and system adoption: 25% of CRM projects succeed in y p p j adoption and systems, but still cannot quantify a specific business benefit – Performance improvement: only16% of projects reach the Promised Land and measurably influence business performance L d d bl i fl b i f (“How You Define CRM Success Depends on Who You Are,” AMR Research, January 2004) © Beacon 2014 7
- 8. Guardrail to Guardrail Guardrail to Guardrail • Sales are flat or down • The need to improve is identified New Sales Process Adoption Adoption Uptick • Approach drives new initiatives to the market • Results improve • Competition Responds • Market slows • Processes not aligned or li d supported New Sales Training Training Training “Afterglow” • New enthusiasm • Improved p knowledge briefly drives results The question really is, “how do we move BEYOND this cycle?” q y y © Beacon 2014 8 • Organizational barriers • Lack of strategic alignment •L k Lack or functional New Comp supports Plan
- 9. Necessary but not Sufficient Necessary but not Sufficient • Knowing is not enough if we can’t execute Knowing is not enough if we can t execute • Having good sales methodologies will only help us be more effective within our help us be more effective within our limitations © Beacon 2014 9
- 10. The Tank and the Fish The Tank and the Fish 10
- 11. High Level View of the Process High Level View of the Process The sales ecosystem: • Define and optimize the environment p – Critical factors around Force, Strategy, and Alignment – Identify existing gaps in the environment – Introduce solutions to address any deficiencies and close gaps • Identify and replicate the model performer – Capture critical factors at the highest performance levels – Compile composite DNA model of key performance – Select solutions to transfer across team Select solutions to transfer across team © Beacon 2014 11
- 12. The Sales Ecosystem The Sales Ecosystem • The Environment – (The Tank) The Environment (The Tank) – The waters our sales people are swimming in – The currents that push them around • The Individual – (The Fish) – – – – The kind of swimmers The right knowledge about the waters The right equipment to survive and thrive The right process to enable success Th i ht t bl © Beacon 2014 12
- 13. What s in the tank? What’s in the tank? The sales environment 3 parts The sales environment– 3 parts 1. Forces • The larger internal and external factors that create pressure in our world g p as salespeople – the currents that carry us forward or push us back 2. Strategic execution model (SEM) • Integrates our strategy with the customer’s strategy and cascades that I t t t t ith th t ’ t t d d th t integration into our individual account plans 3. Alignment • © Beacon 2014 Ensures that internal functions are facing into the current in the same way – are all the fins paddling in the same direction? 13
- 14. The Sales Environment The Sales Environment ‐ Forces Customer Channel Partners Internal Market Competition Internal © Beacon 2014 14
- 15. Sales Environment Sales Environment ‐ Forces What we need to understand: What we need to understand: • What are the Forces in our sales environment? – Customer, Market, Regulation, Competition Customer, Market, Regulation, Competition • For each Force: – What are the key issues and drivers that impact our business – What (if anything) is changing in regard to that Force – How does it affect our ability to reach our desired state (help or hinder) © Beacon 2014 15
- 16. Sales Environment Sales Environment ‐ Forces Sales environment Force Identification Worksheet Sales environment – Force Identification Worksheet Force area Force area © Beacon 2014 Key issues & drivers Key issues & drivers Important changes 16 Help or hinder? or hinder? (Describe)
- 17. The Sales Environment SEM The Sales Environment ‐ SEM • What direction do we need to swim – and What direction do we need to swim and how? – Given the customers direction Given the customers direction – Given where we want to end up – Given the Forces (currents) we have identified Given the Forces (currents) we have identified © Beacon 2014 17
- 18. The sales environment The sales environment ‐ SEM Client Strategy Our desired state Our strategy gy © Beacon 2014 18
- 19. Sales environment Sales environment ‐ SEM Sales environment Sales Execution Model Worksheet Sales environment – Sales Execution Model Worksheet Client Strategy Client Strategy © Beacon 2014 Sales strategy that links Sales strategy that links 19 Individual account plan Individual account plan component(s)
- 20. The Sales Environment ‐ Alignment l • How many fins and which way are they How many fins and which way are they paddling? Product Group Operations Marketing © Beacon 2014 20
- 21. Sales Environment Sales Environment ‐ SEM Sales environment Alignment Worksheet Sales environment – Alignment Worksheet Functional Area Functional Area Required support Required support element(s) Present state Present state (A – adequate/I –need improvement/M – missing) A/I/M © Beacon 2014 21
- 22. Quick Look – Assess Present State Assess your organization’s sales performance A i ti ’ l f environment : • How many of you have identified most of all of the How many of you have identified most of all of the critical aspects of your sales environment as we have defined them? • What next steps do you need to take to close any environment gaps? © Beacon 2014 22
- 23. The Individual (The Fish) The Individual – (The Fish) What makes a successful individual in this role? What makes a successful individual in this role? – – – – – – – What innate qualities and characteristics? What knowledge? What tools and supporting technology? What processes? What motivation? What motivation? What information? What management support? © Beacon 2014 23
- 24. The Individual The Individual A three part approach to individual sales A three part approach to individual sales performance: 1. Roles • We all wear ‘different hats’. Sales people play different roles internally than externally and at different points in the sales life cycle. 2. 2 Outcomes • In each role, there are a critical few things that are essential to success. These are the outcomes. 3. 3 Activity • © Beacon 2014 All the work activity and behavior we focus on should be directed toward accomplishing the vital outcomes we have identified for the roles. roles 24
- 25. Where to Look for Answers Where to Look for Answers 67% in the Middle Standard Performers # Performers Minimum level for employment Replicate across R li t the entire curve Capture here Top 1-3% Key Performers Level of Performance © Beacon 2014 25
- 26. The Performance Chain The Performance Chain Influences Activity • Skill & knowledge • Tools & Technology • Management support • Information requirements • • • • What we do Sales process p Tasks Work Processes Outcomes in Role Strategic Goals & Objectives • What we accomplish • The end state of our activity • What the organization organization values • What we measure as a p y company © Beacon 2014 26
- 27. The Individual The Individual ‐ Roles Begin by identifying the critical roles that your Begin by identifying the critical roles that your account executives play. • Some examples: Some examples: – – – – – Strategic orchestrator Business manager g Negotiator Trusted advisor Other © Beacon 2014 27
- 29. The individual Link to Activity The individual – Link to Activity • Finally – given the environment , roles, outcomes: Finally given the environment , roles, outcomes: – Identify the critical processes and work activity that support or enable each outcome. Outcome Work Process Task details Process Improvement required? (Y/N) ‐ Describe © Beacon 2014 29
- 30. Quick Look – Assess Present State Assess your organization’s model of individual sales A i ti ’ d l f i di id l l performance : • How many of you have identified most of all of the critical How many of you have identified most of all of the critical roles of your sales executives? • How many have detailed critical outcomes for the roles? • How many have explicitly linked activity to the accomplishment of outcomes in roles? • Wh What next steps do you need to take to close any gaps? d d k l ? © Beacon 2014 30
- 31. Recap of the Process Recap of the Process The sales ecosystem Th l t • Define and optimize the environment – Critical factors around Force, Strategy, and Alignment – Identify existing gaps in the environment – Introduce solutions to address any deficiencies and close gaps Introduce solutions to address any deficiencies and close gaps • Identify and replicate the model performer – Capture critical factors at the highest performance levels Capture critical factors at the highest performance levels – Compile composite DNA model of key performance – Select solutions to transfer across team © Beacon 2014 31