Revenue performance transformation - grow your business sustainably

Revenue Performance Transformation
A step change in revenue process development and execution

Revenue Transformation Roadmap
Before they start with us, nearly every client we’ve worked with has by that
point already been on a long, frustrating journey.
• At least one new Sales Director and perhaps a Sales Manager or two
• Conducted a “spill and fill” on the sales force – out with the nonperformers replaced by new people who look just like the people they
replace.
• A sales training organisations will have rolled out the latest version of
their sales training program for the re-energised sales force and
• In more than half of cases there will have been a generous investment
in a new CRM solution.
Despite all this money and effort “it” still isn’t working and the organisation
remains frustrated by inconsistent, unpredictable and invariably
unprofitable sales performance.
This is usually where we “Start”.

A step change in execution | World-class revenue performance 2

The central importance of the buyer’s journey
The Buyer’s Journey…….
The entire Revenue Performance Management Model is centred on two simple
yet fundamental concepts:
• The need to understand the problems and needs that your customers
(“buyers” in our terminology) have – that you solve and address; and
• The process or “journey” which those buyers proceed down when they try
solve those problems and address those needs.
Everything which follows – through the Revenue Performance Diagnostic,
Revenue School and ultimately to the implementation of your new processes
and revenue model – is based around the buyer’s journey.
Why is the buyer’s journey so important?

….informs the Seller’s Journey – or Process

Our research and client experience
has proved that truly world-class revenue creation begins and ends with the
premise that the customer’s buying process or buying journey must inform the
selling process to ensure that the seller is doing the right thing at the right time
in the right way.
The seller’s journey – which should mirror the buyer’s journey – becomes the
basis for the construction of an end-to-end revenue process incorporating all
the activities required to help buyers progress along their journey towards a
purchase (or a sale for the seller).
As a result Sales, marketing, business development etc are no longer viewed
as separate functions, but critical links in an integrated, aligned selling process
where everybody’s job is to make more revenue!
A customer-centric Revenue Funnel.


Revenue Performance Diagnostic
The RPM process begins with the Revenue Performance Diagnostic - a
comprehensive evaluation of your sales, marketing and business development
approach, activities and processes which will provide you and us with insight
into the aspects of your revenue model that are working well, those that are
not, and why or why not.

Revenue Performance Scorecard

Typically taking between 3 and 6 weeks to complete depending on the size
and complexity of your organisation and the scope of coverage required, the
Diagnostic essentially involves four types of activities:
Prova Profiling Assessments

• Interviews with your key managers and staff
• Prova psychographic and competency profiling for your key people
• A Sales “Pulse Assessment” involving “in-the-field” assessments of sales
people, review of how they spend their time and the tools and support
systems available to them
• Completion of surveys covering the 17 key enablers of revenue
performance and
• Several ½ day workshops for managers, staff and other key stakeholders.
Our work culminates with the delivery of a report comprising:

Revenue Risk Assessment

• Revenue Performance Scorecard benchmarking your revenue process
across 36 Key Performance Indicators
• A prioritised Revenue Risk Assessment identifying your key revenue risks
and assigning them an order of priority
• Prova Profiling Assessments for your key managers and sales people;
• An assessment of your organisation’s readiness for change and
• A five year predictive Revenue Model based on the “As Is” state of your
current revenue process, and under a series of “What If” scenarios

RevenueSchool™
Based on the findings and recommendations from the Revenue Performance
Diagnostic, RevenueSchool™ delivers the RevenuePlan™ the blueprint we
then use to develop and then rhythmically and systematically execute the
sales and marketing tactics and processes to deliver the desired revenue
results.

RevenueSchool™ – Content

RevenueSchool™ is a proven approach to collaboratively developing clear,
granular and actionable revenue plans, and lays the platform for a rigorous,
process-based approach to revenue creation.
RevenueSchool™ is an intensive “Boot Camp” for revenue process
improvement and growth, where our experienced facilitators work with your
senior sales, marketing and other customer-facing executives to develop
highly actionable plans for sustained, profitable and measurable top line
growth.

At Baker Tilly we use RevenueSchool™ to deliver robust multi-year plans
featuring integrated views of sales, marketing, service and finance all aligned
around a clear, sustainable revenue strategy and process.
RevenueSchool™ produces highly integrated process development and
implementation plans which can be more effectively embedded because we:
• Document your RevenuePlan™ in detail, including a crystal clear, single
page version;
• Identify all actions and processes necessary for the effective execution of
your Plan; and
• Assist with the execution of the Plan and its roll-out into your business


Plan on a single page

RevenueSchool™ – Process & Content
RevenueSchool™ follows a very logical structure. Essentially we ask and then answer some very basic question about
your business:
•
•
•
•
•

How much do you need to sell? For what return?
Who will you sell to? At what price?
How will you find them, reach them and sell to them?
When you find them, what will you sell them?
Who will you have to defeat to do that?

Objectives

Strategy

• What resources do you have available?
Are they adequate?
• What constraints will inhibit you?
• What risks will you need to mitigate?

Problems

Markets

Customers

• Of what?

• How does our
sales & marketing
work today?

• Do we solve
problems, or
address needs?

• Who most has the
problems that
we solve?

• Who are they
and what are their
objectives?

• By When?

• What do we sell?

• What problems
do we actually
solve?

• How many
organisations
have these
problems?

• What are their
challenges and
problems?

• How much?

• To whom do we
sell?
• Through whom do
we sell?

• At what price &
margin?
• How effective?

• Why do customers
pay us?
• What are they
paying us for?
• What are they
really buying?

• How bad is their
“pain”?
• Who (within these
organisations) is most
affected?

• How do they buy
solutions to this
problem?
• What does the Ideal
customer look like?
• Where do we find
them?


Competition

Value
Proposition

• Who else solves
the problem?

• What are we the
best at?

• Who are our
competitors?

• What are our
solutions / offerings?

• Relative strengths
& weaknesses?

• Do they address the
business problems?

• What is our
competitive
strategy and
position?

• Are there things
that we could, or
should be best at?

• Effectiveness?

• Implications for
resourcing and
investment?

RevenueSchool™ – Process & Content
The concept of the buyer’s journey is again central to the logic that runs through the entire process of Revenue School.
What are the specific journey’s that your buyers are on, and how do we develop and set in place a parallel, symbiotic
selling process incorporating the tactics, business processes, recruitment, training, technologies and performance
measures to drive your buyers down their journeys more rhythmically, predictably and sustainably.
A detailed and highly actionable plan addressing all those questions is the ultimate output of RevenueSchool™.

Buyers
Journey

• What does the
buyers journey
look like?
• How quickly do
they progress?
• At what rate do
prospects leak?
• How does their
journey map
against our sales
process?

Tactics

• What tactics can
we employ to progress
prospects through the
funnel?

• Recycling tactics:
- Top of Funnel
- Bottom of Funnel
• Create set-up and
rhythm tactical plans

- sales
- presales
- support
- infrastructure
• Do our people have
the right skills to
execute the plan?

• What should we
measure?

• When?
• How will we capture
the data?

• How should we
put all the pieces
in place and in what
order?

Review

Improve

• Strategy

• Regular optimisation

• Resources

• Continuous improvement

• Tactics
• Optimise and cost?

• Do we have the
resources
necessary to
execute the plan?

Execution

Metrics

Resources

• Process measurement &
reporting

• When?
• Rhythm Plan
• Project management?

• How will it be
reported?

• Brainstorm
• What risks do we need
to manage?

• Benchmarking

• Training implications?


• 6mths, then
annual review

Implementation Planning
Following RevenueSchool™ we take stock and mutually agree on the content, structure and direction of
the Revenue Plan. Armed usually for the first time with a holistic end-to-end view of your revenue model,
it’s important to catch our breath and take stock of where we are before we move ahead to
implementation.
It is at this point that we also discuss and agree the pace of change your company is prepared and able to
adopt. There will be a lot of other things going on in your organisation and it’s crucial to take account of
these before moving forward with a project which by its nature will reach out and touch a lot more than just
the marketing and sales groups.
As we approach this part of the journey, we agree and lock down the fundamental tenets for your new
revenue process. These will include but might not necessarily be limited to:
SALES

MARKETING
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

What problem(s) you solve;
Where you find customers with those problem
If the market size can sustain your revenue goals
What your ideal customer “looks” like and the criteria for recognising them
How Marketing should target & track demand creation
What your ideal customers’ buyers’ journey looks like, how it is structured
and the stages required in your parallel selling process
Milestones that prove each stage is complete
The optimum velocity for opportunities to move between stages
Typical lead attrition between stages
The format, structure and content for lead nurturing programs
Technology for marketing automation & lead scoring
Tactics and processes for recycling opportunity leakage

•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

Tools to use when selling & reporting in each stage
Who plays a role in each stage (presales, partners, management, etc)
A structure for forecasting based on funnel stage / win probability
How to qualify-out of sales that show no progress – and how to recycle those
opportunities
What new sales hires should learn in induction and ongoing professional
development
What new sales managers should learn on promotion and ongoing professional
development
Using incentives to drive behaviours that drive sales
Linking methodologies & tools to achieve consistency and avoid duplication
The format and approach for opportunity & account reviews
Technology for sales analysis & reporting


Implementation Planning
The Implementation Planning stage is about setting the scene and getting prepared
for change management, not training. The work done to date is the foundation for
sustainability.

Revenue Process Maps

From this point in the journey our emphasis switches from design and development to
execution.
This involves the introduction of change management and project management
expertise into the skills mix from our side. Although we separate the Diagnostic and
RevenueSchool™ stages more distinctly from Implementation & Transformation (aka
program build and execution) we’ve had a lot of experience now getting the handover
to our project managers right.
On larger projects we’ll usually insist on our client appointing a full-time or almost fulltime project owner / co-ordinator of their own to work side by side with our project
manager(s).
The total number of other Baker Tilly RPM resources required depends on the level,
number and skills of the resources you are willing and able to commit. In the past we
have done everything from supplying a single project manager to coordinate the
actions of a client team through to supplying all the resources ourselves. In the latter
instance the maximum number of people ever supplied by us to a project team to
support a client transformation project was four (excluding the project manager) and
those people were on site full time for nearly 4 months.

Project Execution Plans

At the conclusion of the Implementation Planning stage detailed Revenue Process
Maps and the Project Execution Plans have been agreed. All is in readiness for
implementation!


Implement, Transform & Optimise
When it comes to implementation, like the rest of the process we work to a consistent,
repeatable, proven formula; which looks like this.
Not every part will be relevant for every organisation but generically it works as follows:

The Build
We call the first stage of implementation “The Build” because it’s where the “heavy lifting” takes place. Typically it’s a 2-3 month task but it can take longer on larger or
more complex engagements. The Build is where the tactics developed in the Revenue Plan are brought to life.
A kick-off workshop gets the Build underway where we confirm how short-and long-term outcomes will be resourced and measured, how the overall project is to be
managed, and of course, who is going to do what. Most of this will have been covered already during Implementation Planning, but we’ve found too much
communication and re-affirmation of what’s going on is not enough. We’ll also confirm the division of labour and ownership across the project work streams.. People will
be grouped into sub-teams each under a team leader who in turn reports to the Baker Tilly Project Leader. Usually we’ll use three or four sub-teams depending on the
project plan and work required.
These are like family groupings. Build “tactics” residing in each group are similar by nature. They require the same subject matter expertise to complete them, and some
cannot be started until others are competed (e.g. marketing collateral cannot be written until research is completed, etc.). We group tasks and people this way because
it pools resources appropriately and because the sub-teams can work in parallel and accelerate the Build. Rarely do we allow people to work in more than one sub-team,
and the Project Leader continually monitors the assignments you have already made with this in mind.
All the weekly meeting schedules, agendas and various communication strategies and methods together basically with all the tools required to manage and coordinate
the Build are now more or less standardised after being developed and honed on previous projects. We’ve labelled it the Revenue Performance Transformation Model
and it contains a wealth of codified lessons and experience s from so many previous projects with other clients.
The same weekly governance and communication structure repeats throughout the life of the Build. It is designed to be a rhythmic, accountable approach to completing
all assigned tasks, at the right quality level and within the timelines agreed.
As the Build nears completion, we begin working with you and your team on the timeline for the installation of new tools, business rules and processes into the DNA of
the company.

2. Installation & Execution

The set-up for this next stage is almost exactly the same as for The Build. We convene an all-hands project meeting to review and confirm the outputs and quality of the
Build. The Baker Tilly Project Leader facilitates a detailed walk-through of the new revenue process from end-to-end, showing in detail how all the tools, resources and
actions created in the Build get integrated and tied together – by the processes. We also proscribe in detail the documentation requirements and standards for the new
process model and how this will be written.
We discuss and agree the training and development requirements for your managers, people and channels in light of the newly emerging revenue model. The Prova
profiling outputs are invaluable inputs to this part of the project.
We also discuss how what we refer to as “The Corkscrew” of opportunity recycling will be accomplished, and the workflows and division of labour required between
marketing and sales to execute it rhythmically and consistently.
Work assignments in this stage of the project fall into two categories and are managed within sub-groups or teams as in the Build.

2.1 Process Installation

This includes the education of staff on the new tactics and processes, the implementation of opportunity qualification and account planning processes, training people on
how to use the relevant methodologies (SPIN, deal planning, deal reviews, win/loss reviews, aggregation of competitive intelligence, sales manager coaching, forecast
validation, and other aspects of a properly functioning end-to-end sales process). It is critical all the elements operate as part of a system instead of as separate units,
and so our work in this stage is much more than contributing to training and running some seminars. It’s about putting all the pieces together so they work in an
integrated, predictable and repeatable fashion, and are easy to use.
Frequently we are involved in the development and delivery of custom-built education and hands-on coaching programs and we can recommend and introduce best-inclass partner organisations to assist in this work.

2. 2 Skills & Delivery

Once the Build is complete, your new marketing and sales collateral will need to be positioned and used correctly, and this will require people learning new approaches to
selling. Baker Tilly can provide this skills training or we can work in collaboration with your own internal training people if required. We can also recommended partner
organisations with whom we have worked in the past. We heighten impact and minimise interruption to business by using the traditional workshop format only for content
that requires practice, role-play and feedback. Everything else gets pushed to more cost-effective delivery methods such as a libraries of webcasts, podcasts and other
online reference materials. We’ll help get your people’s heads and hands around all the tools and resources created in the Build stage, and to know how and when to
apply them - to standards of excellence internally and in front of customers and partners.

3. Reinforcement & Benchmarking

Eighty percent of new adult learning is forgotten within 30 days without reinforcement. It’s critical that your managers and sales people don't abandon what they have
learned.
We’ll collaborate with your team to produce a variety of interventions that remind staff of key concepts, show them how others are applying them, and the results being
achieved. From posters to videos to podcasts to e-learning modules, a variety of approaches are available in the classroom, to wireless devices, or to the PC. We’re
able to re-use materials developed for other clients and save you from having to re-invent the wheel. We’ll also continue to focus on helping your Sales Managers master
the art of sales coaching in the field, in sales meetings and in account reviews, to help them get closer to the sharp end of business and support their people.
On a monthly basis to begin with and then quarterly going forward, we will also work with your team to collect and collate actual progressive measures of progress
against plan. The things we will measure are the quantitative and qualitative success measures agreed at the original executive kick-off, the achievement of the targets
developed in the Revenue Modelling, and the achievement of the revenue and profit targets that underpin the project.
You will use this data to make small and frequent course corrections during the life of the project. Where elements in the revenue modelling are not improving at the
planned rate, you will have an opportunity to fix it while the deviation is small enough to be easily corrected. We will provide counsel and advice at each step.

The RPM Toolset
RPM’s service components are closely aligned to the stages of the buying journey and end-to-end sales process – enabling either a holistic end-to-end solution
or a logical “cherry picking” approach to helping organisations solve their specific revenue performance problems. The tools brought to bear are invariably
different for each client because every client’s situation needs are different.

The approach and framework are consistent. The tools and components applied depend on the specific problems diagnosed in the revenue process.

Indicative Timeline
Indicative RPM Project Timeline
The accompanying graphic describes a process which from inception to completion
typically takes between 4 and 6 months.
Even at an initial scoping stage (i.e. before the first sod has been turned) it is not
possible to define the exact duration because
so much depends on what is discovered during the Diagnostic and what is then
developed during RevenueSchool™.

Resource and Time Requirements
Other than knowledge of your business, your customers and your offerings, no
special or expert knowledge or experience is required from you or your people. We
will show you everything you need to know during the process. One of our goals in
these projects is to make you and your team self sufficient as quickly as possible.

During the Diagnostic stage, your key people will be required to commit up to
approximately 2-3 days each, although that time will be scattered across a 4-6 week
period so they will hardly find it onerous.
During RevenueSchool™ they will be required to commit 3 days. It is up to you
whether those are three consecutive days or three single days spread over about a 3
week time-frame.

Once you move into Transformation / Implementation only the staff you nominate to
be involved in the project teams need to be involved. The level and scheduling of
that involvement is impossible to define until RevenueSchool™ has been completed.


Scott Thompson
Head of Revenue Performance Management Group
Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited
25 Farringdon Street
London, EC4A 4AB
Phone: 020 3201 8000
Direct Line: 020 3201 8264
Mobile: 07582 400788
Fax: 020 3201 8001
www.bakertilly.co.uk
© 2008 Baker Tilly UK Group LLP, all rights reserved

Baker Tilly Tax and Advisory Services LLP, Baker Tilly UK Audit LLP, Baker Tilly Corporate Finance LLP, Baker Tilly
Restructuring and Recovery LLP and Baker Tilly Tax and Accounting Limited are not authorised under the Financial Services and
Markets Act 2000 but we are able in certain circumstances to offer a limited range of investment services because we are
members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. We can provide these investment services if they are
an incidental part of the professional services we have been engaged to provide.
Baker Tilly & Co Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority to conduct a range of investment
business activities.

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