Definition, drivers and measurement

1. What is your definition of a "World Class" sales organization? How would you measure it? What elements drive it?

2. Mydefinition of a « world class » sales organization ? Revenue achievement is the primary objective of all sales organizations, unnegotiable ! To be a World Class sales organization, leaders have to create and fuel a system to be able to execute an effective sales process with a sustainable and desired level of quality. This system has to be flexible for the market conditions are changing (customer behaviors, competitors, your own company offer too, external factors such as laws or innovations).

3. What are the drivers ? 1. understand and profile your customer : their needs, their level of expectations, their common features 2. define and describe your sales methodology and business processes but be flexible 3. hire the sales talents you need (a talent could be different depending on your culture and your customer targets; they have also to embrace your company values) 4. communicate, train and coach your sales teams and sales management on your sales methodology, give them tools to support it, align your reward policy 5. define and review indicators that help drive the execution of the sales methodology/processes on a regular basis (week, month ...) and take actions

4. How to measure a « world class » sales org. ? ultimate result should be measured by the customer loyalty through life time value targets renewal rates satisfaction index (customer surveys) Internal benchmark to compare your different teams or subsidiaries Benchmark with competitors or players in your industry. A sales organization is not a silo and to be world class, create a customer centric culture Develop a self-questioning attitude within the company and the management teams. Implementing learning circles to understand and share good practices is a good tool for that. If the company is selling through a channel, leaders should have in mind how to communicate their customer centric values to resellers and implement channel programs to align resellers with their objectives and desired level of quality.