Many companies struggle with how to scale and continue growth. They try replacing people, changing comp plans and various kinds of solutions to no avail. This session will focus on six factors that every sales organization needs functioning correctly in order to optimize and grow sales: growth strategy, people, process, measurement, rewards and recognition, execution and sales management. Learn how you can implement these six factors into your sales organization to stimulate growth.
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Six success factors of sales, Gary Braun, Partner, Pivotal Advisors, LLC
1. P I V OTA L
ADVISORS
Six Success Factors of Sales
Gary Braun
Pivotal Advisors, LLC
October 3, 2013
2. Pivotal Advisors
• Work with Small to Medium Sized Companies
to make changes in the sales organization that
will enable growth
• Worked with approximately 100 companies in
last five years
• Over 80 years of combined sales and sales
management experience
• Implement and drive adoption of sales best
practices and bring increased level of
discipline to sales management
3. Expectations for Today
• Understand common
challenges and solutions
• Understand the six segments
of a strong sales system
• Become aware of how leaders
hinder sales performance and
what they can do
• Identify things that you and
your organization can do
differently to drive sales
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10. How are You Positioned?
Product
Leadership
New to world
Standard
Commodity
Managed Cost
Competitive Cost
Lower Cost
Operational
Excellence
Knowledge
Partnership
Solutions
Customer
Intimacy
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11. What Makes You Different?
Product
Leadership
Bare minimum
to “make it”
Operational
Excellence
Customer
Intimacy
11
12. Differentiation
Positioning
The Value Discipline with which you will develop
and present your solutions to your customers
Differentiation
The 3-5 differences in your solutions that
a) Prospects/customers see as being different
b) they are willing to pay more for it
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16. What is the Right Type of Rep for You?
Hunter? vs. Farmer?
Hunter
Farmer
16
17. What is the Right Type of Rep for You?
Consultative/
Complex
Consultative/
Complex Sale?
vs.
Transactional
Sale?
Transactional
Hunter
Farmer
17
18. What is the Right Type of Rep for You?
Consultative/
Complex
Selling
Selling
Brand? vs. Unknown?
Transactional
Brand
Unknown
Hunter
Brand
Unknown
Farmer
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25. Improving Your Odds
Probability of Performing Well in the Job
Interview Only
Background Check
Personality Testing
Skills Testing
Interests Testing
Job Matching
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
Source: Harvard Business Review
25
26. Interviewing and Selecting
•
Define the skills and
traits
•
Interview for defined
skills and traits
•
Define your interview
process
•
•
•
Make them prove it
Use assessments
Formalize your
selection criteria
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29. 4 Levels of Selling Organizations
Level Four
• Feedback Systems, Modified Annually
• Model of Effectiveness
• Looks at Leading Indicators
14%
Level Three
• Formal, Measured, Adopted
• Looks at Lagging Indicators
24%
Level Two
• Informal Sales Process
• Learn by “Tribal Wisdom”
Level One
• Lack a Single Standard Sales Process
• Everyone Works their Own Way
46%
16%
SOURCE: CSO Insights - 2007
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31. Sales Process Detail
Step:
Qualify
Discovery**
Demo
Proposal
Active
Goal
Fit or don’t fit
Move to Discovery
stage
Understand prospect’s
circumstances,
objectives, needs,
problems and impact
Book the demo
Customer agrees
solution will meet
needs and agrees on
buying process
Agree on pricing
and terms
Insure satisfaction
Expand use into other
divisions
Activities
Ask Qualifying
questions
Enter Lead in SF.com
(if qualified) and
input findings
Schedule
discovery/demo
meeting
1 or more meetings to
learn customer needs,
buying process,
challenges
Create Opportunity in
CRM
Ask for Demo
Present to client
needs
Update SF.com
Deliver proposal
Identify issues
Overcome
Objections
Update SF.com
Establish QBRs
Investigate other
areas within company
Get introduced to
other stakeholders
Update SF.com
Resources/
Tools
Qualification Criteria
Document
Discovery Questions
Library
Pre-call Planner
Demo flow checklist…
User agmts and
documents –
QBR PowerPoint
Toll-Gate
Customer has agreed
to further Discovery
or Demo
Full understanding of
need, desire and ability
Commitment of right
stakeholders at demo
Customer agrees
solution meets needs
and asks for
proposal
Docs signed and
closed
Customer participates
in QBRs and makes
introductions
32. Individual Sales Plans
• Financial Goals – Revenue/GM/Units
• Activity Goals – Opportunities/Meetings/Proposals
• How they will achieve their plan?
–Who they will pursue?
–Events they will attend?
–Industries they will chase?
–Geographies to focus on?
• Broken into workable chunks (quarterly?)
• Reviewed Regularly
37. What are your ‘Big 3’?
•
Best Practice:
Calls, Meetings, Demos,
Proposals, Qualified
Opportunities, Touches
•
Opportunities
1. Determine what your
‘Big 3’ should be
Close Ratio(s)
- Deals/Opportunities
- Deals/ Proposals
- Deals/Calls
•
2. Set a Goal for each of
your Big 3 items
3. Communicate
expectations and hold
reps to the standard
Average Deal Size
Deal Size, Annual Revenue
per Client, Units per Order
37
38. Sales Manager Measures
• Sales Revenue / Margin
• Training Time to Proficiency
• Coaching and Feedback (Rep Improvement)
• Selection/Retention
• Adoption of the Sales Process
• Visibility and Predictability
• Rewards, Motivation and Retention
• Percentage Reps on Goal
• New Accounts
Holding Sales Managers accountable for
the RIGHT things builds teams that not
only SELL MORE, but sell more profitably,
predictably and effectively.
38
42. Compensation Plans
Break-Even
Optimum
Straight
Commission
Goal
Optimum
Steps / Bonus
Thresholds
Total Compensation
Goal
Total Compensation
Break-Even
X
X
Commission
X
Base
Salary
Commission
Revenue/Gross Margin $
Break-Even
Goal
Revenue/Gross Margin $
Optimum
Multipliers
Break-Even
Goal
Optimum
Tiers
X
X
Commission
X
Base
Salary
Total Compensation
Total Compensation
X
X
X
Commission
Base
Salary
Revenue/Gross Margin $
Revenue/Gross Margin $
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43. The ABC’s of Behavior
A
B
C
Antecedents
Behaviors
Consequences
Happen PRIOR TO and
TRIGGER a behavior
Things people
SAY or DO
• Training on CRM
• Sales Mgr makes
CRM use a
requirement
• Rep puts notes and
forecasts in CRM
Happen AFTER and
determine LIKELIHOOD
of RECURRENCE
•
Mgr manages from
CRM and recognizes
effort in 1 on 1s
• CEO recognizes
accuracy of foreast
43
45. Assessing the Sales Leader
CORE ATTRIBUTES
Attributes that come instinctively and naturally (without
all of these, person will struggle to be successful)
Self-Awareness
Drive for Results
Intellectual Horsepower
Ethics and Values
Integrity and Trust
Listening
FOUNDATIONAL SKILLS
Critical sales management skills that can be learned, but foundational to
the role – importance may fluctuate depending on the organization
Managing Through Systems
Planning
Informing
Alignment
Realistic/Objective
Coaching and Feedback
Confronting Direct Reports
Managing and Measuring Work
Interpersonal Savvy
Sizing Up People
Problem Solving
Priority Setting
COMPANY/ROLE SPECIFIC SKILLS
Teachable knowledge, skills and abilities that should be adjusted for the company, culture, situation, individuals, customer expectations, etc.
Personal Skills
Functional/technical skills (computer,
engineering, math, etc.)
Presentation skills
Written communications
Business acumen
Action oriented
Composure
Dealing with ambiguity
Facilitator / collaborator
Time management
Organizing
Managerial Skills
Key knowledge (competitive, products, industry, etc.)
Hiring and staffing
Managerial courage
Developing direct reports
Motivating others
Delegating
Directing others
Customer focus
Empathizing
Balanced point of view
Conflict management
Credibility
Negotiating
Political savvy
45
46. Sales Management Operating System
What High Performing Sales Leaders Do…
1 on 1 formal
meetings with Reps
Weekly or bi-weekly
Coaching
• Deal
• Skills
Time in the Field
with Reps
25% - 50%
Key Metrics
Measures activities that lead to sales in
addition to conversion rates, sales, etc.
Manage from Data
Sets expectations/standards around
defined metrics and uses performance to
diagnose areas to focus on
• Performance
• Career
46
47. Coaching Makes a Difference
Rep Percentage to Goal by Coaching Effectiveness
19% Performance Improvement
is directly attributable to
COACHING EFFECTIVENESS
110%
100%
102%
Performance
Against Goal
97%
90%
83%
80%
70%
High
Medium
Low
Coaching Effectiveness
SOURCE: 2005 Sales Executive Council research
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48. Implementation of a Sales System – the CEO Role
•
Be clear, aligned and supportive
about what you want
•
Give Sales Leaders the time,
resources and tools to be
effective
•
Know the process, measures and
challenges
•
Publicly celebrate the wins
48
49. What’s It All Mean?
Having a Sales Team supported by structure, process and
strong leadership creates an organization where:
•
•
•
•
•
Average people can be successful
A larger pool of talent is available
You’re no longer “handcuffed” by
top producers with bad behavior
Results are more consistent and
predictable
New people come on board easier
and get productive faster
Leadership &
Implementation
Making
It real
Rewards &
Recognition
Rewarding
performance
Growth
Strategy
Clearly
focusing
SALES
LEADER
Measurement
Measuring
what matters
People
Developing
the right
team
Process
Doing the right
work well
• Leaders can coach from fact vs.
opinion
49
50. What are you going to do?
INDIVIDUALLY answer
the following questions:
• What are the 1-3 things that you want
your organization to do differently?
• What will you personally do differently?
50
51. Resources Available
Growth Strategy
• Strategy Planning Templates
• Sales Planning Models
• Planning Documents
People
• Job Profiles
• Interview Guides
• Learn-Do-Deliver Onboarding Templates
Process
• Sales Stage Definitions
Measurement
• Sample Scorecard Templates
• CRM Selection Criteria
• Sales Pipeline Planning Calculators
Rewards &
Recognition
• Weekly Communication Templates
• 1 on 1 Meeting Best Practices
• Commission Plan Templates
Leadership and
Implementation
• Performance Management Checklists
• Behavioral Articles
• Coaching Models
51
52. Thank You for Giving Us the
Opportunity to Be With You Today!
Gary Braun
gbraun@pivotaladvisors.com
www.pivotaladvisors.com
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