A new approach to the design of the sales function (inside-out, rather than outside-in)

1. A 12-step program to kick the field sales addiction
www.salesprocessengineering.net

2. Hyperbole alert!
The message is NOT that we should eliminate field salespeople
The message is that we should view sales as
essentially an inside function
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3. Old paradigm
Sales is an outside New paradigm
function
Sales is an inside function
New rules
1 Centralize everything you can
2 Commit to the web as your primary source of sales opportunities
3 Add outside salespeople only as a last resort
4 Eliminate commissions and all performance pay
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4. Then
Historically, sales was done outside
because clients were … outside
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5. Now
Today, your clients are essentially inside
they no longer need a salesperson to
ferry data back and forth
The costs: outside salespeole in an inside world
1 Higher labor cost 3 Poor integration
2 Less Activity 4 Selective engagement
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6. When is outside sales required?
New service line?
No No
Sales Weak case for
Opportunity New Client? Yes
outside salespeople
Yes No
High-risk purchase
(lots of intangibles)?
Yes
Strong case for
outside salespeople
www.salesprocessengineering.net

7. What about relationships?
It’s a myth that sales is all about relationships
Clients will invest in a relationship only when:
1 They don’t pay a premium
2 They don’t suffer any inconvenience
Clients don’t want relationships (with salespeople): they want products and
services, delivered fast, at competitive prices.
www.salesprocessengineering.net

8. The inside-out sales function
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Transactions
Accounts
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
www.salesprocessengineering.net

9. The inside-out sales function
Everything starts with customer service
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Transactions
Accounts
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
Order entry, issue and job management, quote generation
www.salesprocessengineering.net

10. The inside-out sales function
Inside sales is your primary sales front-line
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Sales
Transactions
Accounts Opportunities
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
Outbound sales, semi-technical inbound sales (phone work only)
www.salesprocessengineering.net

11. The inside-out sales function
Promotions generates outbound sales activity
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Transactions
Accounts
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
Generates outbound opportunities from accounts and market
www.salesprocessengineering.net

12. The inside-out sales function
Field sales prosecutes complex opportunities
Sales
Opportunities
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Transactions
Accounts
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
Complexity can be technical, commercial or both
www.salesprocessengineering.net

13. The inside-out sales function
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Transactions
Accounts
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
www.salesprocessengineering.net

14. Making it work
The challenge: division of labor
Clients expect one conversation
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15. Making it work
The challenge: division of labor
The Sales Coordinator owns and
manages complex opportunities
Sales
Coordinator
Daily, 10 min, stand-up WIP meetings
synchronize the rest of the organization
www.salesprocessengineering.net

16. Making it work
Eliminating performance pay
Dan Pink shows that performance
pay inhibits knowledge work
Performance pay also inhibits team work:
(piece-rate pay was eliminated 50+ years ago)
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17. Customize the inside-out model
Design the resourcing model
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18. Customize the inside-out model
Map critical workflows
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19. Up next …
Kicking the field-sales
addiction: a 12-step
program
40-min Best Practice Briefing
Review (and improve) the performance of
your sales function
1 Read chapters 1 through 5 of The Machine
2 Review day-in-the-life of key stakeholders
3 Discuss current sales structure and resourcing model
4 Identify easy wins to improve sales
5 Explore longer-term approach to
improvement
www.salesprocessengineering.net

20. 12-step program
Customer service: the foundations
1 Create a customer-service team
Route all repeat orders and issues to customer service
2
(make it mandatory)
3 Route all inbound calls to customer
service team
4 Build a register of all customer-
service jobs – review daily as team
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
www.salesprocessengineering.net

21. 12-step program
Inside sales: the transaction flow
5 Find (or recruit) two or more inside salespeople
Convert inside salespeople into customers’ primary
6
point of contact
7 Centralize the management of ALL sales
opportunities (use a CRM)
8 Allocate only discrete tasks to field reps – only
those that cannot be performed internally
9 Build a register of all opportunities –
review daily as team
Sales
Transactions
Opportunities
Inside Sales
www.salesprocessengineering.net

22. 12-step program
Field personnel: the growth
10 Retain only those field personnel who you can easily maintain at 100%
utilization
11 If possible, keep sales activity inside and perform only technical
tasks in the field
If it’s necessary to sell in the field, provide your few
12
remaining field salespeople with executive assistants
(who manage their calendars – as well as the major
opportunities in which they are engaged)
Sales
Accounts
Opportunities
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
www.salesprocessengineering.net

23. Questions
Sales Field Sales Field
Coordinator Salesperson
Sales
The Market
Opportunities
Accounts
Promotions
Transactions
Accounts
Inside Sales
Customer
Transactions
Outcomes
Customer Service
www.salesprocessengineering.net