Management By Tactics & Sales Management Outsourcing

SalesManagement by Tactics™ (MBT)
A supervisory technique used by sales management - An overview of its effects on sales performance
produced by James D. Roumeliotis
2009

What is Management by Tactics™(MBT)?
Management by Tactics™is a term which describes a supervisory technique utilized by sales management.
It is a process in which sales managers/directors, along with salespeople, identify the day-to-day activities required to achieve sales objectives and focus their energies in controlling such activities (input) - rather than simply focusing on results (output).

What are the advantages of applying MBT?

Salespeople improve their performance when they focus on tasks (inputs) rather than sales objects (outputs). Management by Objectives (MBO) on the other hand, focuses on the outputs.
It is effective in different types of industries – both products & services.
Effective in penetrating new markets.
Effective in selling new products to existing customers.

RESEARCH STUDY – pretest & post-test results (with MBT)
Twenty nine subjects from a sample of
four companies representing different
types of industries were selected.

Three of the companies sell products (tobacco, textbooks and pharmaceuticals), while the other

promotes/sells loans services.

The first 3 companies sell to retailers, while the 4th sells academic textbooks to schools (who in turn sell them to students).

During this research, sales representatives from
all 4 companies worked exclusively with output
goals – namely sales objectives. Data were
collected. This stage of the research was
referred to as the “Pre-test”.

Research study…continued
The researcher then
proceeded to implement the
Management by Tactics™
system. In this phase of the
research, the salespeople
were given input goals, such
as the number of telephone
calls to be made, number of
prospects to visit and types of
sales presentations etc.
This stage of the research is
referred to as the “Post-test”.
Conclusion
Results from all four companies
suggest that there is indeed a
relationship between variables: MBT
had a positive impact on sales
performance.

In the absence of applying MBT, all representatives in the study under achieved sales objectives between 21% to 75% of their target.
On the other hand, when all reps were given input goals under the MBT system, the weakest rep hit 100% of target – while the other two reached 117% and 118% respectively for a combined average of 112% of sales targets.

Outsourcing of sales management – key considerations

Would you know the characteristics of a good sales person?
Can you easily spot when someone is telling you a lie?
If a sale was dragging on, would you know what questions to ask to find out why?
Have you ever been paid on commission? do you think sales people are overpaid?
If a sales person was not performing after several months on the job, would you replace him/her with another sales person?
How would you define “none performance” in the previous question?
Do you understand the value of a sales process?

How do you set up an efficient sales and marketing machine, on a limited budget? Do you have experience in sales management? Would you know
how to maximize the potential of a good sales person?
So why is it important to have someone with sales management experience in a company? Those
with sales experience know the answers, however, for those who don’t have experience in sales may want to ask the following questions:

How do you make the case for sales management outsourcing?
Like any purchasing decision, you need to ensure that you get value for money. If you
bear in mind that the reason you would even consider investing in sales or marketing in
the first place, is to increase revenue and profit.
What do you get when you outsource sales management?
On a weekly basis, the sales manager will speak with the sales team, to determine the
status of your sales opportunities. Everything in that meeting will be focused on closing
sales, or ensuring opportunities are moving along the pipeline. The key advantages of
this are as follows:
Identification of strengths and weaknesses amongst your sales team, whatever the size, ensuring you are maximizing return for your investment.
Shorten sales cycles, thus increasing revenue and cash flow.
Optimize the time your sales team spend on given opportunities, so that they can spend more time closing profitable opportunities.
Accurate information, based on sales both won and lost, which can be used by product planning and service teams.
Ongoing coaching and training based on your real opportunities, which makes your team the envy of the industry, and thus enables you to attract the best.
Identification of a team member who can take over the role of sales manager, so that you promote from within, which is fantastic for morale and motivation.

James D. Roumeliotis & Cossette Ventes
offer SALES CONSULTING to small & medium size companies of all industries. We improve our clients' sales productivity, performance, and profitability by utilizing proven & unique methodologies such as Management by Tactics amongst others.
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T: +1.514.493.8787
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jroumeliotis@cossette-ventes.com