How Should We Transition to a Proper Sales Process?
Often, people write me to ask for assistance launching sales process initiatives:
“I am trying to learn and introduce a Six Sigma Selling system into my company – My boss has asked me to speak to companies similar to ours who have made a successful transition …”
The first concern I have on hearing a request like this is “What, exactly, do they mean when they say ‘Six Sigma Selling System’?” Not many people use such terms. Many sales Read more
Is a sales process the same as a sales methodology?
Susan Niemchak, Director of the Sales Training Community at TrainingIndustry.com asked me a question that seemed innocuous at first:
Is a “process” the same as a “methodology?”
“Loosely speaking, ‘process’ and ‘methodology’ are synonymous,” I answered. “Unfortunately, ‘loose lips sink ships,’ and may cause an occasional bar fight as well. Not to Read more
Six Easy Ways to Boost Your Company’s Sales Results
Recently, a reader asked: “What is the 20% of sales process improvement that generates 80% of the results?” It’s a great question, because it is the right way to think about business in general, and the sales process in particular. Here is our list of the six Read more
Why People are NOT Your Most Important Asset
B2B Sales executives often believe that hiring the right people and training them well is the most important success factor in their business.
Unfortunately, believing this is a serious mistake.
Want proof? Consider:
You would probably agree there are a LOT of great people in companies like GM, Ford, and Chrysler.
Yet, Toyota, Honda, and Mazda have been kicking their asses in the market for decades.
Would you say these landed Japanese automotive companies are winning because they’ve hired the right salespeople, or because they’ve trained them better? Is it because they use Sales 2.0?
Of course not. The greatest salespeople and the best sales training in the world will not save the American car companies.
The caliber and training of a company’s people are no match for the larger forces in play here. Yet, these same forces are pressuring every businesses all the time, especially in today’s market.
So, why are the landed Japanese companies winning?
They are winning because they create more value. The proof is in the market’s reaction: they sell more.
Clearly, the sales process is only one component of their success.
Unfortunately, many, many talented sales leaders are trapped in corporations that view the world in ways similar to American automotive companies.
It is high time for B2B sales executives to stop being so myopic about their trade.
I’m not saying people and training aren’t important, they are important. But they are not the most important thing.
The most important things are as follows:
- Find a starving market (i.e., what customers want)
- Develop a system that finds, wins, and keeps customers (i.e. a sales process)
- Develop and continuously improve the organization to execute that process (i.e., the people, training, machines, materials, systems, etc.)
Businesses need to grow out of the false assumption that the sales process is “what salespeople do.”
This error causes B2B organizations get their sales process completely wrong. It is the reason salespeople only give lip service to the sales process. Salespeople know better, though they are usually unable to articulate why.
The fact is, processes that work create real value. Not only that, people follow them. In sales and marketing, the sales process is what causes customers to:
- become aware of their problems,
- interested in your solution,
- convinced of your value relative to your competitors, and
- committed to your products and services
Companies must recognize it takes more than just salespeople to do all those things, especially in today’s market.
It is irrelevant whether the customer’s actions are caused (or enabled) by copy-written ads, social networking, web pages, or the words of talented, trusted salespeople.
If something your company did got the customer to take one of those steps, it created value.
If your competitor did a better job of it, they deserve the customer instead.
If your prospects are now looking for information they need on their favorite search engine, and you insist on hiring and training more salespeople to make cold calls, that is your problem, not theirs!
Further, consider all the things your company does that cause no customer actions, such as generating tons of brochures no one reads, spending millions on branding exercises customers care less about, consuming thousands of hours on proposals that are never purchased, or asking salespeople to pull out picks and shovels to turn over more rocks in their territories looking for leads by hand.
All these are mostly waste.
It is high time that B2B sales executives stop being so myopic about their trade.
They need to learn to think of their business as a system for creating value. Value is created when customers take the steps listed above: it is called the “customer’s journey.” Every one of those steps is measurable with hard data. That data is the only proof you will be able to deliver revenue to your company in the future.
If is to work properly, your company’s system for getting customers to act needs to be designed. It requires the best selling savvy you can muster. It must be as automated as possible. Your salespeople need be able to implement the portions of the process that cannot be automated.
Executives who cling to old-fashioned notions about selling (hire the best people! make more sales calls! twist more arms! work harder!) are riding the Titanic to the bottom and will be looking for bail outs, just as the American automotive companies are doing today.
The quality of your people is important, but it is not the most important thing.
The most important thing is the quality of your business process.
Michael Webb
http://www.salesperformance.com
Why People Are NOT Your Most Important Asset
B2B Sales executives often believe that hiring the right people and training them well is the most important success factor in their business. Unfortunately, believing this is a serious mistake. Want proof? Consider: You would probably agree there are a LOT Read more
Help for improving your sales process
Hello everyone,
The inauguration today makes this a great day to get work done!
We've been working night and day to get the new website prepared for your use:
- A new member's area – with both free and paid memberships
- New videos, articles, polls, and feedback systems for all levels of involvement
It is going to be the most in-depth high-impact resource available for getting serious education on how to help your organization improve its sales process.
Last month we released the "How to Conduct a Sales Kaizen Event" guidebook, and this month we're still planning to release another new guidebook – but we've been swamped by the details of putting this new site together.
As a result, the "How to Conduct a Sales Kaizen Event Guidebook" is still available – at the old price of $297!
That will go away as soon as we switch the new website on. List price for nonmembers will be $470. When will we flip the switch?
As fast as I possibly can!
These things are hard to predict, so you probably have a couple of days before we cut over. But after that, it's over.
Look for some announcements soon on the new website and on a new teleconference coming Thursday next week!
All the best,
Michael Webb
January 20, 2009
P.S.,
All products and services from Sales Performance Consultants are 100% satisfaction guaranteed, or your money back. So be frugal and visit the ordering page "How to Conduct a Sales Kaizen Event" now. You'll save about a hundred bucks and help accelerate your organization's sales effectiveness at the same time. Plus, you get your first month's membership in SPIF! for free!
Implementing a Formal Selling Process and Performance Measures in a Sales Organization
January 8, 2009 by admin
Filed under Case Studies
Implementing a Formal Selling Process and Performance Measures in a Sales Organization[1]
Joe Vavricka and Barry Trailer
Trailer Vavricka, Inc.
Summary: This paper describes implementing a process management framework and performance measurements into a corporate sales organization. It begins with describing the traditional approach to sales management and the potential impact of improving sales performance on revenue and profits. Then, the company s process-based approach to sales management is described along with the key performance measures most relevant for monitoring sales revenue production across sales, marketing, and customer support departments. This case illustrates that viewing sales as a production process and implementing process performance measures will enable a company to significantly increase sales and improve sales predictability by increasing productivity throughout the process.
THE TRADITIONAL SALES MANAGEMENT APPROACH
Role of the salesforce
The purpose of the majority of corporate salesforces is twofold:
- Keep sales revenue coming into the company at a rate that meets or exceeds budgeted revenue and growth targets.
- Create customer expectations and relationships which will produce high satisfaction, desire to buy more in the future, and customers who are willing to act as references to influence prospects, generate referrals, and provide feedback that will help improve products and services.
The traditional sales approach
Sales departments traditionally operate informally, that is, without having a formal selling process followed by Read more
What’s Wrong With Six Sigma?
January 8, 2009 by admin
Filed under Six sigma selling
By Michael J. Webb Sales Performance Consultants, Inc. February 2005 At a conference not long ago a speaker (who happened to be a friend) raised objections to applying Six Sigma in sales and marketing. The objections were oddly tangled, with some based on legitimate concerns Read more
Why Your Sales Process Cost Matters, and What You Need to Know to Get it Right
January 7, 2009 by admin
Filed under Sales Process Cost
By Michael J. Webb (pdf of this article) One of the most important management systems for the senior executive is the one that measures the costs of production. Executives must know not just the Read more
What Is Operational Excellence in Sales and Marketing?
January 7, 2009 by admin
Filed under Sales and marketing management
by Michael J. Webb (with Robert Ferguson) (pdf of this article) A reader from Microsoft recently asked me an interesting question: “What are the key parameters which define Operational Excellence in a sales and marketing organization?” I like the question, because Read more
