More Information: https://flevy.com/browse/business-document/sales-excellence--diagnostic-tool-2877 DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION This is a comprehensive sales excellence diagnostic tool. The capability levers are classified into the following four levels: - Champion - Few, if any, companies consistently deliver at this level for all customer segments - Play offs - Broadly recognised as market best practice - Survival - Below best practice, but meets minimum standard required to compete effectively - Relegation - Below minimum standard required to compete effectively Got a question about this presentation? Email us at support@flevy.com.

1. Sales excellence – Diagnostic tool

2. SALES EXCELLENCE ASSESSMENT – CUSTOMER COVERAGE (1/3)
Lever Relegation Survival Play-offs Champion
Customer
targeting
The sales organisation
treats all customers in
essentially the same way,
with similar levels of
attention and focus and
little differentiation of effort
The sales organisation has
a rough targeting strategy
for its accounts, based
primarily on current
revenue per account
The sales organisation has
a targeting strategy,
differentiated by current
and potential revenues
The sales organisation has
a sophisticated targeting
strategy, differentiated by
criteria like size, potential,
product needs, and mutual
attractiveness
Organisation Undefined; overlaps and
wasted effort are common
Organisational roles are
unclear; sales people
spend considerable time
clarifying roles and
responsibilities
Organisational roles are
clearly defined; sales
people are aware of their
responsibilities and can
work effectively within the
structure
Organisational roles and
responsibilities are well
defined and well
understood; the structure
helps customer service and
sales by grouping people
and resources around
client needs
Coverage
targets
The sales organisation sets
no activity targets
The sales organisation sets
activity targets at the
individual sales rep level
(e.g., number of visits or
telephone calls per sales
person)
The sales organisation sets
activity targets at the
customer level (e.g.,
number of visits or
telephone calls per
customer)
The sales organisation sets
formal activity targets at the
customer level and ties
results to incentive and
reward systems
Coverage
incentives
The organisation does not
motivate coverage through
its compensation, reward
or coaching systems
The organisation motivates
coverage through its
compensation systems
only; coverage targets are
not differentiated by sales
representative tenure,
customer base or industry
specialty
The organisation motivates
coverage through its
compensation systems
only; coverage targets are
individually set, and reflect
differences in tenure,
customer base and/or
industry specialty
The organisation motivates
coverage through a mix of
compensation, reward and
coaching; coverage targets
are individually set, and
reflect differences in
tenure, customer base
and/or industry specialty
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3. SALES EXCELLENCE ASSESSMENT – ACCOUNT PLANNING
Lever Relegation Survival Play-offs Champion
Overall
planning
Produces brief (e.g.,
2 page) account specific
action plans for important
customers
Develops more detailed
(e.g., 10 page) plans for
major accounts
Develops detailed
account plans for all major
customers, as well as
shorter (2 page) action
plans for second tier
customers
Develops detailed strategic
account plans for all major
customers, as well as
shorter (2 page) action plans
for second tier customers
Account level planning is
done to guide and control
sales management, but is
not formally part of the
company budgeting
process
Account level planning is
done as an input to the
development of channel
level forecasts; these are
used to guide senior sales
management input to the
company budgeting
process
Account plans are
developed in the context
of product and segment
strategies, which they
seek to reflect; account
projections and issues are
used as input to the
company budgeting
process
Account plans are
developed in the context of
documented product and
segment strategies that are
cross-functionally
developed; form part of the
company budgeting process
Context
Plans are developed by
the sales/account
manager and presented
to/agreed by senior sales
management
Plans are developed by
the account manager,
presented to senior sales
management and signed
off by the regional
manager
Plans are developed by a
multifunctional team from
the supplier with clear
customer input; plans are
presented to and signed
off by the global business
manager
Plans are developed by joint
multifunctional teams from
both supplier and customer;
plans are presented to and
signed off by the global
business manager
Process
Focus of plans is mainly
on volume targets, margin
levels and sales budgets;
details of specific actions
and impact on account
profitability are not
included
Numerical targets
(volume, margin levels
and sales budgets) are
backed up by a clear
review of account
performance and specific
action plans; includes a
basic assessment of
impact on account
profitability
Plans are based on a
review of the account’s
strategy and a detailed
analysis of volume, share
and profit performance;
this leads to clear targets
for volume and profitability
and to specific action
plans
Plans include a thorough
and insightful review of the
account’s strategy and a
detailed analysis of volume,
share and profit
performance; this leads to
explicit goals/targets for
volume, listings and
profitability and specific
action plans
Content/
detail
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4. SALES EXCELLENCE ASSESSMENT – ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT (3/3)
Lever Relegation Survival Play-offs Champion
Admin-
istration by
KAM team
Internal paper-based
administrative systems
are quite cumbersome
and time consuming for
sales manager and
mistakes are made;
however, there is good
support to front line
managers from sales
administration
Internal administrative
systems are a mixture of
paper-based and IT
system; these are
sometimes time
consuming; however,
support from sales
administration is good
Internal administrative
systems (which are
sometimes linked to the
customer – e.g., via EDI)
are largely IT-based;
support is provided by
sales administration and
the IT team; the burden on
the account manager is
not too onerous
Internal administrative
systems (which are generally
directly linked to the
customer – e.g., via EDI) are
IT-based, simple and
reliable; extensive support is
available (from sales
administration and the IT
team); the burden on the
account team is non-existent
This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:
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5. SALES EXCELLENCE ASSESSMENT – NEGOTIATION AND CLOSURE
Negotiating
price
effectively
Sales people have trouble
negotiating effectively with
customers; they fail to find a
winning solution for both the
customer and the company
Sales people negotiate
price with customers, but
the process is seen as
overly adversarial and
generates outcomes that
are often seen as less than
successful for both the
customer and the company
Sales people are usually
able to reach an effective
negotiated agreement in
most customer situations;
on balance, they are able to
help customers achieve
their aims while protecting
interests
Sales people are expert at
creating a winning solution
for customer and
negotiations never fall
outside targeted ranges
Selling
against
competitors
Sales people are not able to
differentiate products and
services from those of
competitors
Sales people are only able
to differentiate products
and services from those of
competitors on the basis of
price
Sales people can effectively
describe to customers the
difference between ,
products and proposals on
the basis of features and
price
Sales people can effectively
differentiate , products and
proposals from competitors
on the basis of price,
features, benefits and
results
Asking for
the sale
Sales people have difficulty
reaching the conclusion of
the sale process and asking
for the contract from
customers; they tend to
have longer sales cycles,
more outstanding proposals
and lower conversion
Sales people sometimes
ask customers for the
contract; they often ask too
early or too late in the
process
Sales people are are not
hesitant to ask customers
for the contract; they
generally are able to
articulate why the sales
process is complete
Sales people always ask for
the close, and can help
customers see the reasons
the sales process should
end
Lever Relegation Survival Play-offs Champion
This document is a partial preview. Full document download can be found on Flevy:
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