High turnover rates are among one of the top issues that businesses face in 2010. One of the core obstacles that create high turnover is an undefined interview process that fails to probe around the A model. The A model is an interview process that should be designed to identify A players and quickly filter out B and C players. Research has shown that high employee turnover stems from HR or management not clearly defining what type of people excels their organization. A good example to support this; the average turnover in a Sale VP has an estimated 15 million in lost revenue on a fiscal year.
Hiring the wrong employee – Mistakes
Not identifying the specific behaviors, traits, methodology and vision to execute
Not hiring people that fit your culture
Assuming that good sales people make good managers
Not probing on employment history
Hiring people that have lower than a 90% chance of succeeding
In 2010 organizations face fierce economic conditions, it is paramount to hire people that are going to be able to adapt to changing revenue models and make the right decisions. Identify the specific behaviors, traits, methodology and execution that makes the A model and base your interview questions around those specifics. Don’t settle for people that don’t match the A model.
Does your new hire prospect fit the culture of your company? Ask questions that help you identify if this person fits the vision of the organization. Specify what would help your organization meet the plans, goals and objectives.
“Can give me an example of a time where you had to use logic and good judgment to make a good decision?”
“When I call your previous 5 employers and ask them what type of performance rating they would have of you on a scale of 1-10 and why, what would they say?”
Hiring the right people means hiring people that have a 90% chance of succeeding. If they don’t fit that scale, don’t hire them. This can only result in a loss.
Related Links
Executive Sales Coaching – custom engineered solutions that will help executives meet revenue goals and increase efficiencies
Executive Coaching – not hitting your mark as an executive or ceo? SRi provides world-class solutions to help ceo’s and executives change to today’s revenue model.
A common issue that organizations face in today’s fierce business environment is the division between marketing and sales. In recent engagements one of the common observations that SRi Consultants note is that marketing believes that sales are failing to articulate value and prompt prospect to close, and sales believe that marketing efforts are not creating enough opportunities to make the numbers. It is paramount that these two divisions synchronize to be effective in today’s market.
Understanding some of the responsibilities of each role
Marketing
Determine what products or services may be of interest to customers
Develop brand and product/service messaging
Identify target markets to penetrate
Plan the process of approach, sale and execution
Evaluate competitor threats
Sales
Deliver organizations mission statement to customers
Understand organization messaging and service/product
Build relationships with both new and existing customers
Help customer evaluate the most appropriate solution
Negotiate a win-win situation for the customer and organization
Manage sales funnels/pipeline
Common issues/obstacles that these divisions face
Marketing staff lacks sales acumen and experience
Messaging is NOT synchronized with a step-by-step sales process
Marketing and sales have failed to communicate and develop effective blueprint of target customers
Sales inability to drive new account sales due to lack of lead generation
Issues/Obstacles Solutions
Hire staff that has experience in sales to develop and execute marketing
Inexperienced marketing staff should spend time going through a sales training program to understand processes
Marketing and sales executives should communicate to evaluate effective pro sales market messaging
Sales representatives should determine target market sweet spots and rank prospects on a scale and then allow marketing to blueprint target markets
Concentrate managing a funnel/pipeline that has a 70% focus on new account sales – funnel awareness is key
Related Links
Paint-the-Picture® sales process is a customized sales process to grab the mind share of your prospect and effectively prompt to your prospect to sign. Proven solution used by thousands of sales reps including the fortune 100.
There is an argument to whether sales incentives should be incorporated into sales. Incentives commonly known as “spiffs,” are a great way to help sales managers drive sales reps to align with specific objectives. Furthermore incentives are often brought into the picture to motivate and reward. Recently a sales manager voiced a concern on this topic saying “I feel that we are spending a lot of money on incentives without a return. We simply are not getting the type of motivation or mind-frame that we are looking for with the incentives we’ve tried this last quarter. How do we make our people appreciate these incentives, and more importantly accomplish the corporate objectives we’ve set forward?” Here are a few things that are critical to effective incentives:
Keep your incentives simple
Avoid long term incentives (1-3 days max)
Make your incentives easy to achieve
Reward for good sales practices and metrics
Plan your incentives around your average sales reps
Sales people are most driven to achieve objectives when the incentive is introduced, and right before it ends. Incentives typically peak performance in two stages:
After the introduction of the incentive
The last day of the incentive
Short term incentives allow for optimal results because of the constant repetition of these two stages. Make your incentives easy to achieve, remember that incentives are used mainly to motivate people. Avoid incentives that only are achievable by your top performers. Create incentives that reward sales people when they accomplish good sales practices. This will help your sales people get into the habit of winning. It also is a way to reward sales people for improvement, which will increase performance on a larger scale. The key towards scaling a sales force is the ability to turn average sales representatives into superstars. Outline key steps necessary in order for those reps to improve their performance and create incentives around those steps.
Related links & articles
Swot Analysis – Swot Analysis are great for strengthening sales planning
I was at dinner the other evening with a friend of mine who is a sales representative at one of the leading life insurance firms in the nation. He was bitter about a mandatory full work day that Saturday. He exclaimed that he doesn’t mind working Saturdays, but the fact that the company was mandating a full day on his day off was excessive. In evaluating this approach over numerous engagements, I raise the question whether mandating sales teams to work on their day off is an effective approach?
I asked my friend how his sales director delivered the hard message. The meeting was based on the differences between winners vs. losers. The speech was well prepared and professional according to my friend but ended on a sour note. The meeting concluded with an “oh by the way, we need everyone to come in this Saturday from 9-5pm.” By the end of the meeting my friend noted that the look of frustration was manifested on people’s faces across the room.
Mandating work on your peoples off days has never been an effective approach to re-align with quota. The fact is that people don’t enjoy coming in on their day off unless they want to. This approach results in lower production levels, and it sends a negative message to your staff. So as a leader, if your organization is behind on numbers and you need to get back on track with quota, here is a strategy that is proven to be effective.
Be completely honest with your sales team. Hold them accountable for their production. Tell them that you need their help and offer support to help them get to where they need to be. If more hours are necessary to achieve quota, rotate longer shifts between your staff. Adding a few hours to their days a few times a month won’t be as daunting to your staff in comparison to a full work day on their day off. Thank you reading and questions and comments are always welcome!
Thank you for reading and subscribing to BAC’s sales performance blog. Become a Closer would like to release the new agenda for the month of May 2010. This month’s topic will be discussing how to be a more effective sales manager. Sales management is attainment of an organization’s sales goals in an effective & efficient manner through planning, staffing, training, leading & controlling organizational resources. Are you happy with the results that you are receiving from your team?
May 17 2010How to get more hours from your staff effectively.
May 24 2010How to plan your incentives/spiffs to achieve and supersede quotas-what is the motivation behind your team? This article will outline proven solutions on how to plan effective incentives to drive revenues.
May 31 2010How to replicate sales champions-having issues with developing new hires? CSO insights reports and estimated 55% do not hit quotas in 2010.
There is no better feeling than winning against your competitors. Eliminating competitor threats and strategically developing a sales process is paramount to winning in today’s fierce sales environment. Blueprinting your competitors will allow your sales organization to focus on their weaknesses and avoid revenue gaps.
Blueprinting tools
Research your competitors websites
Subscribe to their RSS feed to receive updates when they happen
Join their Linked in, Facebook and other social profiles
Determine their SEM campaign by using tools such as Keyword Spy
Use research databases such as Hoovers to develop better insight
Determine what type of CRM or other analytic tools
Prepare for future solution releases
Company’s today typically have content rich websites that will give you plenty of information on their functions and services. Social media profiles is another great source of information to find future release dates on solutions/services and marketing campaign tactics. With lead generation being more important than ever before, using tools such as Keyword Spy will allow your organization to benefit off your competitors SEM failures.
Does your competitor use an effective way of managing opportunities and marketing campaigns? Make an emphasis to determine your top competitors CRM and analytic software. Make sure that your sales team is using better tools or of the same caliber. Furthermore, prepare your staff on how to address new solutions/promotions that your competitors are selling. Does your solution offer a better price? If not, what tools can you give your sales team to overcome this obstacle with your prospects?
Preparing and mapping out key objections and obstacles prior to making sales calls will increase sales- guaranteed.
What does your target prospect already have with your competition? Evaluate and determine if features/ functions in your solution are a Nice to Have, Should Have, or a Must Have. Prepare your staff to avoid selling on features/functions that are Nice to Haves, and Should Haves. Tailor a sales process such as Paint-the-Picture ® around the weaknesses of your competitor to increase sales revenue. Thanks for reading and we encourage opinions and comments on this subject.
A buzz word that is emerging in sales is “Sales 2.0,” what is it and how does it affect traditional selling? We would like to discuss the relationship that Sales 2.0 holds with modern selling, and how your organization can benefit from embracing this practice. Sales 2.0 is the shift in traditional selling as an art, to the adoption of innovative technology to evolve selling to a science.
Examples of Sales 2.0 tools are Salesforce CRM, Cloud 9 analytics, Post Click, Web Ex and many other applications.
How does Sales 2.0 help my organization close more business?
Benefits to sales 2.0
Improve insight on key metrics
Ability to share successful practices with staff to reduce ramp up times
Improve marketing effectiveness
Improve communication for staff and consumers
Shorten sales cycles
Make more informed decisions
Applications such as Cloud 9 Analytics allows for more detailed information on marketing campaigns, sales practices, sales processes, and sales leadership. Sales 2.0 know allows your leadership to be more informed on gaps in all areas of your organization without having to waste costly time. Sales powerhouses have a common characteristic – they make sure that their strategies are well planned based on detailed insight.
A look at Cloud 9 Analytics
Common reasons for the failure to adopt Sales 2.0
Sales 2.0 applications are viewed as cumbersome
Lack of comprehensive training on sales 2.0 applications
Incentives and other compensations have not been aligned with adoption of new applications
Lack of belief in a reward from adopting sales 2.0
Tips for being effective with sales 2.0
Gain the confidence of your leadership and top performers to adopt these applications to increase closing ratios
Do not increase sales quotas immediately to compensate for cost, this must be done gradually
Offer incentives and spiffs that are directly related to sales 2.0 application
Have a defined sales process and tailor your sales 2.0 applications accordingly
Sales Result Inc has helped organizations worldwide to improve sales performance. SRi can help your organization effectively transition to adopting Sales 2.0 into your organization with minimal effort from your organization, results guaranteed. Contact us for more information by emailing us or contacting us at 1.877.427.2490.
As an executive or a CEO, having a sound funnel is paramount in order to achieve success. Today’s economic climate has created a fierce level of competition, thus making it more difficult than ever to close accounts. So as leader for your firm, developing the right funnel system can be the difference between meeting numbers and falling short of the mark.
Funnel management begins with the way you manage your leads/opportunities. It is the process from which a lead enters your sales cycle and transitions through. One of the most important things about creating a sound funnel is making sure that your sales division is concentrating their energy on opportunities that have a high closing ratio.
Traditional funnel models have a tendency to have a high volume of leads initially entering. It can be said that having more leads entering into your funnel will allow more opportunities to be developed, and furthermore create more successful closing ratios. Yet some of the most successful sales powerhouses have developed a funnel model that succeeds traditional methodologies.
A good questions to ask yourself is do you have a clear message that sums up who you are as a company and what your bold claim is? Having a clear message and a bold claim that distinguishes you from your competitors is an essential part of making sure that your funnel develops the right opportunities. As opposed to having your sales force spending time on leads or opportunities that have a marginal interest in your solution, make sure that their time is focused on opportunities that are familiar with your organization and pose an interest. This not to be confused with the need to sell your solution, but creating a funnel model that filters leads before they ever enter the funnel is a common characteristic among successful sales powerhouses.
Need to develop a winning funnel model and process?
SRi offers funnel optimization will completely change the way your organization manages opportunities, with success guaranteed.
From everyone at Sales Result Inc (SRi) we would like to thank our readers for reading our blog posts. We are proud to announce a new agenda for the month of April. Our topic for the month of April will concentrate on Executive Access. All post on Executive Access will be posted under the category of Sales Leadership.
Executive Access will concentrate on how to build key strategic alliances, access new markets/companies or key individuals and talk about sales 2.0. SRi has had over 105 sales consulting engagements across the globe including the fortune 100. The mission of this month’s effort is to help our readers understand the challenges of executives as well develop an effective strategy to gain a competitive edge.
April 5 – Building a relationship with VITO’s, this article will cover how to increase the value you propose to VITO (very, important, top, officer.) This will help you understand VITO’s thought process, and leave you will a few simple strategies to prompt VITO to take action on your offer.
April 12–Principles of the funnel will have you asking yourself the question “what’s my funnel’s ability right now to close enough business to hit my quota?” This will give readers insight on why shifting focus from selling activities to consumer buying habits in paramount to create a sound funnel.
April 19–Sales 2.0 vs. traditional selling strategies, this article will discuss the shift in the new age sales 2.0 strategy. How does sales 2.0 compare to traditional selling, and is it effective to embed it into your sales strategy.
April 26–Eliminating competitor threats, economic challenges have created a need for ruthless competition in market. Leading a successful marketing campaign involves a strategy that will eliminate competitor threats. This article will give your leadership a plan on how to evaluate strengths and weaknesses that really matter.
Selling effectively in today’s economic climate is all about strategy. With a more difficult consumer environment sales organizations need to develop a plan on how they manage their sales funnel. Today’s post will discuss the topic of delivering a follow up to land the account.
So how much business is actually lost because of non-existent follow up calls? I’ve had the pleasure of monitoring thousands of sales calls. It is fascinating how much business is lost because of a poor follow up strategy. This actually has been one the most common road blocks in our SWOT analysis reports for sales organizations.
I was conducting a sales discovery recently and was listening to a sales call from an average sales performer. Average performers generally catch my interest because they have the fastest potential in developing into a top performer. This rep did a great job of articulating value during his demo. At the end of the call the rep gave the quote, sent an email and asked the prospect to feel free to call back if he had any other questions. I monitored this reps opportunity in CRM for the next two weeks. I was amazed at how the opportunity was managed.
Having a great demo or presentation is not enough during this competitive market to hit or exceed quotas. Simply articulating value during the sales call is only as effective as the follow up. The account was lost to a competitor that week because of a few simple things:
Not asking permission to follow up with the prospect after the demo
Not leaving the customer with something to look forward to in the follow up
Asking permission to follow up with your prospect can eliminate an awkward follow up or an aggressive approach. It also can help with understanding your opportunities schedule. Consumer purchasing habits are a must know how for your market. Blueprint your follow up time frames so that your opportunities don’t find a solution from your competitor. SPIN selling is a great selling technique developed by Neil Rackham that stands for Situation-Problem-Implication-Need Payoff. SPIN selling is all about the art of advancing the sales call. Understanding SPIN selling is paramount to landing more accounts. A critical step in creating a successful follow up is leaving your opportunity with something to look forward too. This could be a something as simple as “thank you for your time today and I would like look in to a few things to see if there is any other possibility to give you an additional savings on this service. Would be OK to follow up with you next week sometime?”
From SRi we hope that this article was helpful to help you become a closer. For a complete selling solution SRi offers sales training solutions to develop your selling strategies and techniques. Good look selling and comments and questions are always welcome.
Related Links
