Microsoft Word Building Your Sales Force

Building the High – Impact Sales Force

There are 6 areas that a company must look at in order to build its sales
force and they are:

1. Designing the sales force

Sales force objectives
Sales force strategy
Sales force structure
Sales force size
Sales force compensation

2. Managing the Sales Force

Recruiting and Selecting
Training
Direction
Motivation
Evaluation

3. Sales Force Tasks

Prospecting
Communicating
Selling
Servicing
Information gathering
Allocating

4. Type of Presentation Approaches

Prepared approach
Consultative approach
Selling formula approach

© 2009 Winner’s Legacy a division of the Chamber Enhancement Group LLC 1
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5. Basic Sales Tasks

Order - getting
Order – taking
Supporting
i. Missionary salespeople
ii. Technical support

6. Sales Force Structure

Major accounts
Telemarketing
Sales territory
Sales force size

How much time to spend with each account:

Maximize
Sum of account revenues x account margin?

Subject to
Salesperson time constraint?
Min/max. Calling restriction?

Output
Recommended calling frequencies for each account

Compensation
At different levels
Form:
a) Salary plus commission
b) Draw plus commission
c) Straight commission
d) Training pay plus commission

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Other
Contests
Bonuses
Employee or 1099
VARS or distributors

There are several areas that must be addressed when building your sales
force, we will look at five areas that will make or break the building of a
sales force:

1. First and most importantly, become an employer of choice. If
you do not have the items that applicants are looking for then
you had better have an individual or individuals that are very
skilled in the art and science of attracting top talent to offset the
things that you cannot offer applicants. And have a system in
place that will teach those skills to the team that is involved in
the recruiting process. People go to work for people first and
the company second. That is why the law of attraction is so
critical to your sales forces success. Your leadership team can
either make or break the following systems that we will put in
place:

2. Select
3. Hire
4. Educate
5. Develop

We will build your sales force around those 5 areas.

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MOST WORLD CLASS SALES
COMPANIES FORCE

SELECT

HIRE
SELECT
EDUCATE
HIRE
DEVELOP
EDUCATE

DEVELOP

This structure does not develop a This structure establishes a solid
solid base for your organization. It’s foundation for continued growth in
why so many companies spend their your sales organization. All your
energies struggling to keep their resources are focused on moving
balance rather than directing them your people and your company to
toward growth. the top.

Clarify the task and answer your sales force’s No. 1 question: what do you
want me to do?

Think of your sales force as Smart missiles with extremely sophisticated
target selection and locking mechanisms. Here are the four things your
selling organization needs to know:
1. What are your strategic thrusts, marketing plans and tactics?
2. How profitable are various accounts products, services and orders?
3. Specifically, which accounts and which people within the accounts
should they call on?
4. Which products and services should they sell to whom?
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Develop a winning sales force architecture aligned with customer and
profit opportunities.

Today's business needs are frequently served by specialized sales and other
functional experts working as an account team. Realistically, "tidiness" and
simplicity are not possible when your sales force is big, your customer base
large and diverse and your product offerings broad. The organizational
architecture must support seamless coordination among sales specialists and
other functional experts.

Specialization provides the opportunity to practice, learn from colleagues,
develop skills within one's functional expertise and do a better job for the
customer. Integration, on the other hand, is equally important because
customer satisfaction and account retention are directly related to the level of
integration among various units serving the customer. Integrate the units
with a clear, explicit business strategy; formal management processes such
as a coordinated goal setting and budgeting system; shared incentives, and a
linked information system. Also use informal social channels, such as office
co-location.

Measure your salespeople against the clear goals specified in the sales
task.

Analysis of the most successful corporations demonstrates that individual
and team effectiveness is highly dependent upon the "want to" factor -- i.e.,
motivation. Nothing increases motivation more than success, when
accurately, promptly and equitably measured against an agreed-upon target.
Today's market requires the design and implementation of sales information
systems that help salespeople understand and track their performance:

1. Product sales goals for a customer or group of customers.
2. Customer satisfaction and retention rates.
3. Account penetration rates and profitability.
4. Creation of value and differentiation from the competition.

Hire selectively, train generously and cull deliberately.

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More than five million people in the United States are now actively
employed in sales. But a far smaller number have the overall competency
and skills essential in today's tightly focused, highly competitive selling
environments.

For that reason, set strategic specifications and hire consistently to those
demands. Focused, customer-relevant and persistent training is the most
highly leveraged investment you can make in the process of creating and
constantly sharpening the high-impact sales force.

In the new selling environment, the field sales manager plays an increasingly
central role, building account teams with power and responsibility. The
manager's role of coach, teacher, mentor and team builder requires a
significant investment in training, including the ability to manage multiple,
cross-functional account teams that operate close to the customer.

Those who consistently don't meet the demanding performance standards --
despite generous training, coaching and support -- should be removed as
soon as possible for the benefit of all.

Manage, motivate and support your sales force.

Finally, the sales force must be an integral part of your corporate team. If
you believe in customer orientation, your connector to the customer has to
be connected to the company. As sales forces become increasingly strategic,
they will need a higher share of senior management's attention. It is a high-
investment, high-return proposition. The alternative is neglect, loss of
relevance and the conversion of the sales force from competitive advantage
to cost burden.

It is hard to change a sales force, to modernize it to keep up with changing
customers and to get a step ahead of the competition. It takes money, an
accurate understanding of the nature and rate of customer and competitor
change and a significant share of senior management attention. Yet, it is
doable (companies, large and small, have done it), and it is invaluable (it
increases revenue, profit and the flow of vital customer information). It is
one of those rare investments that the leaders of tomorrow cannot afford to
overlook.

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ALLOCATING SELLING EFFORT AND

DESIGNING SALES TERRITORIES

I. Sales Force Size

Three methods are widely used to calculate the size of the sales force:
1.The Breakdown Method

2.The Workload Method

3.The Incremental Method

A.Breakdown Method - the simplest way to calculate the optimal
sales force size.

Assumes that all sales people have the potential to produce the same
amount of sales in one year. The estimated productivity for one sales
person is divided into the company's forecasted sales to determine
how many sales reps are needed.

Example:

A firm forecasts total sales of $10 million for the coming year. If each
sales person is capable of producing $250,000 in sales per year, how
many sales people will be required?

Number required = Forecasted Sales
Productivity per sales person

= $10,000,000 / $250,000/sales rep

= 40 sales reps

Advantages: 1. Simple.

Disadvantages:

1. No allowance for sales person turnover.
2. Assumes each sales rep has equal productivity.
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3. Uses reverse logic.
4.Considers sales rather than profits as the desired end result.

B.The Workload Method - is based on an equal workload for all sales
people.

To find the number of sales people needed, management determines
the amount of work it takes to cover the target market. It then divides
this estimate by the workload the average sales person can manage.

The workload method consists of the following steps:

(1)Classify customers and prospects into groups according to the
amount of work required to service that group (usually based on sales
volume).

Example:

Type of Sales Number of

Account Volume Accounts

A $50,000+ 120
B $20,000-50,000 250
C under $20,000 400

(2)Determine the number of sales calls an account should receive per
year and the desired length of these calls. These estimates are made by
past experience or judgement. The estimates are then multiplied to
find the number of contact hours per year necessary for each account
type.

Type of Estimated calls Estimated call Total Contact

Account per Year Length Hours/Year

A 25 60 Minutes 25 Hours/Year
B 15 40 Minutes 10 Hours/Year
C 8 15 Minutes 2 Hours/Year

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(3)Calculate the total amount of selling effort required to serve the
entire market. The number of accounts in each category are multiplied
by the number of contact hours required for each type of account.

Type of Number of Contact Hours Workload

Account Accounts per Account Hours

A 120 25 3,000
B 250 10 2,500
C 400 2 800
_________
Total Workload Hours 6,300

II. Sales Territory Design

The territory design process strives to make all territories equal with
respect to the amount of sales potential they contain and amount of
work it takes a sales person to cover them effectively.

I. Introduction - various classifications of sales positions ranging
from least to most creative types of selling (deliverer, order taker,
missionary, technician, demand creator, solution vendor)
II. Designing the Sales Force
A. Sales Force Objectives (tasks to perform include:
prospecting, targeting, communicating, selling, servicing,
information gathering, and allocating)
B. Sales Force Strategy - approach can be: sales rep to
buyer, sales rep to buyer group, sales team to buyer group,
conference selling or seminar selling. A company can utilize a
direct (company) or contractual (outside) sales force.
C. Sales Force Structure
D. Force Size and Compensation - level and appropriate
combination of components (fixed, variable, expense
allowances, and benefits).

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III. Managing the Sales Force
A. Recruiting and Selecting Sales Representative
1. What Makes a Good Sales Representative?
2. Recruitment Procedures
3. Applicant-Rating Procedures
B. Training Sales Representatives - several goals: to know
and identify with the company, to know the company’s
products, to know the customers’ and competitors’
characteristics, to know how to make effective sales
presentations, and to understand field procedures and
responsibilities
C. Supervising Sales Representatives
1. Developing Norms for Customer Calls
2. Developing Norms for Prospect Calls
3. Using Sales Time Efficiently
D. Motivating Sales Representatives - the higher the
salesperson’s motivation, the greater his or her effort.
1. Sales quotas
2. Supplementary Motivators (meetings, contests,
etc.)
E. Evaluating Sales Representatives
1. Sources of Information - sales reports including
activity plans and write-ups of activity reports
2. Formal Evaluation of Performance (current-to-
past sales comparisons, customer-satisfaction evaluation,
qualitative evaluation)
IV. Principles of Personal Selling
A. Professionalism - major steps involved in any sales
presentation
B. Prospecting and Qualifying - identify and screen out
leads
1. Pre-approach - learning about the prospect

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2. Approach - greeting the prospect
3. Presentation and Demonstration - tell the product
“story”
4. Overcoming Objections - psychological and
logical resistance
5. Closing - asking for the sale
6. Follow-Up and Maintenance - ensure satisfaction
C. Negotiation
1. Negotiation Defined - in negotiated exchange,
price and other terms are set via bargaining behavior, in
which two or more parties negotiate long-term binding
agreements.
2. When to Negotiate - appropriate whenever a zone
of agreement exists
3. Formulating a Negotiation Strategy
D. Relationship Marketing - based on the premise that
important accounts need focused and continuous attention.
Main steps in establishing a relationship marketing program
include:
1. Identify the key customers meriting relationship
marketing,
2. Assign a skilled relationship manager to each key
customer,
3. Develop a clear job description for relationship
managers,
4. Appoint an overall manager to supervise the
relationship managers,
5. Have relationship managers develop long-range
goals and annual customer-relationship plans.

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Tactical Recruiting Assessment
Evaluation Materials List: Information we need from you so we can better serve you

Current Hiring Practices

• Copies of ads or other drawing materials: monster boards, websites, career fairs etc.
• An outline of your current recruiting process from first contact to last
• Copies or list of materials used to attract applicants: career opportunity booklets,
videos, brochures, etc.
• Who is responsible for hiring your sales reps?
• Who is responsible for training your sales reps? How much training is involved?
Home study, classroom, field training.
• Who is responsible for the day-to-day management of your sales reps?
• What is the average training time before a new rep begins selling?
• What is your average cost per hire?

Copy of Company Logo (if available) on Disk - Mac format tiff file 300 dpi
(To assist us in mock-ups of materials if needed.)

Compensation Package for Sales Representatives

• Commission / salary structure
• Company paid benefits
• Career path for sales reps

• Type of sales call: cold call, telemarketing?
• What exactly do your reps sell?
• Do your sales reps service what they sell?
• Time frame for closing your average sale
• Number of contacts before sale made
• Average price point for a sale

Current Sales Staff

• Management team - if any
• Size of current sales force
• Number of territories that are not staffed?
• Tenure of current staff
• Percentage of turnover

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• Average length of stay for rep who leaves
• Yearly sales figures for: Top sales rep
• Yearly compensation paid to top rep (salary & commission)
• Precise job description and responsibilities of sales rep you want to hire
• What formal training do you now give your sales recruiting staff?
• Is taking part in the hiring process part of your sales management development?
• Do you have a formalized sales development program in place?

Goals for Salesforce

• Gross sales last year
• Sales goal
• Staffing goal
• Time frame

Depth of Commitment

• Time allocated for improvements
• Are all key players available to endorse program? This includes: Upper management,
Sales Managers, Sales Trainers, Sales Recruiters
• Budget available for improvements

What Are Your Expectations of Winner’s Legacy?

Selection • Retention • Productivity

T•D•I

Tactical Recruiting Assessment
Development of Hiring Strategies
Implementation of Strategies

Phase One: Tactical Recruiting Assessment - typically involves some on-site
and phone consultation with key sales managers

• Current hiring practices are evaluated
• Ads and collateral recruiting pieces are evaluated
• Sales process analyzed
• Current sales training and career development paths are rated
• Current staffing levels and staffing goals are studied
• Analysis of sales organization structure
• Resources available to implement changes are scrutinized

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• Your expectations are determined

Phase Two: Development and presentation of hiring strategies
(Presented at face-to-face meeting) These are the types of strategies that may
be presented - depending on your individual needs.

• Mock-ups of new recruiting ads
• Informational recruiting pieces: i.e. - Reasons to work for Your company,
Income annualization charts, Mock-ups for a Career Opportunity Booklet
• Career path development strategies and sales organization improvements
• Suggested training program for developing existing staff as recruiters
• Training program for enhancing sales manager skills in sales rep
development and management
• Training program in effective sales territory management
• Timeline and costs for implementation

Phase Three: Implementation of hiring strategies

• After reviewing the suggested strategies, you choose to implement all or
some of the proposed solutions
• You are under no obligation to go further at this point - you proceed only if
you believe the proposals have merit

Phase Four: After implementation, you have a productive self-sustaining
salesforce.

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Microsoft Word Building Your Sales Force

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