building a high-performance sales team kate dunn — director, infotrends
TRANSCRIPT
Building a High-PerformanceSales TeamKate Dunn — Director, InfoTrends
Agenda
Assess Your Current State
Build Your Plan
Coverage & Compensation
Hiring
Define Objectives, Goals and Expectations
Managing Your Team
Summary and Next Steps
Where Sales Fits
BUSINESS PLAN
STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN
SALES MANAGEMENT PLAN
TERRITORY PLANS
ACCOUNT PLANS
OPERATIONAL PLANNING
WORKFORCE PLANNING
A Sales Management Plan
Sales management can be defined as planning, implementing, and
controlling the personnel and processes used to achieve the sales
and profit objectives of the firm.
Assessing Your State
The Stockdale Paradox
Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale (December 23, 1923 - July 5, 2005)
“This is a very important lesson.
You must never confuse faith
that you will prevail in the end—
which you can never afford to
lose—with the discipline to
confront the most brutal facts of
your current reality, whatever
they might be.”
What’s Your Situation?
Your sales team is a revenue machine
They have the right skills and experience
They are highly motivated and focus on activities that drive sales
You have a mix of strong and weak players on your team
Some require a lot of hand-holding and you don’t always have the time to give them the help they need
Your sales are unpredictable
Your team spends most of their time “quoting and hoping”
They have little direction and are consistent underperformers
A
B
C
Step 1: Build Your Plan
Building Your Plan
Coach & Manage
Set Goals
Build Hiring Plan
Align
Compensation Plan
Define Coverage Strategy
Develop a Training Plan
Perform Talent Assessment
Define the Required Skills
Define Company Objectives
BU
ILD
ING
YO
UR
PLA
N
From Your Strategic Marketing Plan
What to sell
Who to sell it to
Why customers need what you sell
Why customers will buy from your organization
How much you want to sell
You should know this!
Selling Processes Need To Change
There Is a Disconnect Between Buyers & Sellers
58%is the
average quota
attainment
67%of sales reps aren’t making
quota
Not Giving Buyers What They Need
Are increasingly difficult to reach
Frequently complain that reps are woefully underprepared
See no reason to meet with sales reps
Power Shifts Toward Buyer
Buyers Are: Increasingly more
educated than the seller
Already deeply aware of their problem with a well-scoped RFP in many cases
Sellers Are: Having difficulty adding
value or convincing the decision-makers to rethink their conclusions
Being forced into price-driven conversations
Differing Definitions of Value
14%
Leads to Price Comparisons
Source: Corporate Executive Board
Only 14% of customers perceive a real difference between
supplier offerings AND value the difference enough to pay for it.
You Need A New Kind of Rep
Customers put the highest value on salespeople who
make them think, bring new ideas, and find creative and
innovative ways to help their business
as many decision-makers prefer to have
discussions about business trends, business
issues, and business insights than traditional
product knowledge-driven sales conversations.4XSource: SiriusDecisions
What Customers Want
Rep offers unique and valuable perspectives on the market
Rep helps them navigate alternatives
Rep helps them avoid potential landmines
Rep educates them on new issues and outcomes
Supplier is easy to buy from
Supplier has widespread support across the organization
Insight Selling Skill Requirements
Skill Description
Communication Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Presentation Can present to a team of decision-makers using appropriate technologies
Understanding A thorough understanding of common marketing objectives by channel and key communication trends impacting the customer’s communication objectives
A thorough understanding of all solutions offered by the company and the benefits that those solutions can bring to the customer
Understands the sales process dictated by the company and can demonstrate an ability to move a new opportunity from initiation to close and apply learning to additional new opportunities
Phone Skills Can deliver a well-structured message by phone to a new contact/prospect
Research Can research potential new opportunities and decision-makers using the Internet, LinkedIn, and other applicable means
Record-Keeping
Can keep accurate and up-to-date records of contacts and opportunities with prospects using a company-supplied technology (e.g., CRM system) or other manual means dictated by the company
Ricoh has People who can Help
Ricoh Business Booster makes it easy and accessible for you to work with a trusted resource to match the right type of candidate with the current and future needs of your organization.
Ricoh has customized services that can guide you through the process of creating a high-performing sales team.
Discover
Analyze
Plan
Deliver
Manage
We understand a good hire is driven by the personality and production reality of the print shop.
Source: The Rain Group, Your Guide to Insight Selling Success, Mike Shultz & John Doerr
Get Smart & Stay Smart!
Buyers are three times more loyal
to sellers who proactively bring
opportunities to their attention.3X
of customer loyalty is a result of not
what you sell but how you sell it.60%
Training Isn’t Enough!
Source: ES Research Group study
Between 85% and 90% of sales training has no
lasting impact after 120 days.
DAY 1 DAY 120
Coaching is Essential!
A Sales Executive Board Study
found that sales representatives
who received quality coaching
achieved a 20% sustained
improvement in performance.
Which of your sales reps will
realize the greatest impact
from coaching?
Source; The Dirty Secret of Effective Sales Coaching, Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson
20% sustained
improvement
Assessing Your Current Sales Team
LOW PERFORMANCE HIGH
JANE
MARY
FRED
BOB
LOW
SK
ILL
PR
OF
ICIE
NC
Y
H
IGH
ED
Where Do You Spend Your Time?
LOW PERFORMANCE HIGH
Smaller Account Opportunities
Training
LOW
SK
ILL
S P
RO
FIC
IEN
CY
HIG
H
Direction
Change of Role
Happier Elsewhere
Non-evolving Role
Minimize Impact
Business Development Role
Mentoring
Empowerment
Teach Managers to Coach
SALES MANAGEMENT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT SKILL SET
Set clear expectations for the amount of time that managers should spend coaching
– In high-performing organizations, managers spend 25% - 40% of their time coaching
Set new expectations for sales managers
– Productivity of new reps
– Breadth of participation
– Team developmental objectives
Coverage & Compensation Planning
During Your Transition
Change coverage strategies
to reduce the impact of
those not motivated to sell
the new way
Reduce the size of
territories for those tasked
with account development
Align Compensation
Focus New Product or Service
Transitioning to MSP Selling Print
Rep Characteristics
High energy, emotional, and enthusiastic
Aggressive and impatient
Handles rejection well
Driven by money
Challenges the status quo
Even-tempered, analytical, logical, competitive, controlled ego
Can navigate complex and lengthy sales cycles
Negotiates well and has a high degree of business acumen
Career-oriented
Disciplined, organized, and reliable
Service- and relationship-oriented
Detailed oriented
Dependable
Compensation Type
Lower base or draw plus high % commission
Transaction based
Immediate commission
Higher % of base salary plus commission for growth and new business
Salary
Recognition Highly visible Promotions/bonuses for exceptional effort
Access to additional learning
Retention bonus
Non-pay-related perks
The Best Plans…
Are aligned with corporate objectives– Sales of New Services
– Focus on Profitability
– New Business
Are documented and clearly defined
Are evaluated regularly
Create accountability
Create a Culture of Accountability
Starts at the top of the
organization
Requires focus and
consistency
Is more difficult if reps
see your new focus as
the “flavor of the week”
Build Accountability Into Your Plan
Set clear behavior and performance expectations
Define the “check up” process and timeframes
Define steps in advance that will be taken if milestones are missed
Apply the process consistently!
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL
Hiring New Reps
Hiring: Rules of Thumb
It will always take longer than you think!
Be realistic about the ramp-up time
Develop a position description first
Use multiple sources
– Networking, Online, Recruiters, Employees
If you have the resources, have bench strength
Define your interview process
Interviewing Process Tips
Pre-set interview questions
Multiple interviews/interviewers
Schedule meeting at different times of the day
Build in ways to evaluate writing, phone and presentation skills
Use outside resources to validate your thinking
Do not hire recent college grads without a structured on-boarding process
Defining Sales Goals & Activity Standards
Be Clear About Objectives
Revenue
Profit/Margin
New Business
Retention
Key Product /
Service Sales
Market Penetration
You Need to Measure Activity
Activity data helps identify training needs.
A CRM System really helps.
Make Adjustments As Needed
Model best practices
Evaluate problem areas and adjust activities/training
If your goals are too easily reached, extend them!
Follow your accountability plan
Define measurement milestones in advance
Managing YourSales Team
Your Role as the Sales Leader (1)
Skills Assessment Value proposition
Demonstrations
Insight delivery
Proposal presentations
Training and Development Support small group training
sessions on sales skills and business acumen
Insight development
Vertical/Horizontal market knowledge
New products/services offered
Best practice sharing
Your Role as the Sales Leader (2)
Coaching Reinforcement of training
Continuous improvement of skills
Motivation
Planning
Reporting Sales
Pipeline
Productivity
Personal Development
Review Sessions Are Critical
Weekly Funnel/Forecast Reviews
What’s in and out?
What help is required?
15 mins per rep
Monthly Planning & Review Sessions
One on One – 1 manager and rep Agenda Items
– 30 & 60 day forecast delivery vs. plan• Includes upside opportunities
• Qualification criteria
– YTD Actual vs. Plan
– Top Strategic Suspects*• Insight to be delivered
• Engagement strategy
– Existing Accounts*• Insight to be delivered
• Engagement strategy
– Resources needed
1 hour per rep
Outputs Travel Days Schedule
(2 per month)
Updated
Developmental Plan
Updated Commitment
Action Document
*If rep assigned new business responsibilities
Monthly Team Meeting
Management Team and Sales Team
Training
– Product
– Sales Skill
Best Practices/Customer Case Studies
– One per rep
Lessons learned
Revised/New Insight
– Presented by management
60 – 90 minutes
Outputs Best Practices Shared
Case Studies for
Marketing (includes
metrics)
Process Improvement
Requests
Revised/New Insight
Annual Planning Sessions
Reps present their
strategy to achieve their
sales goals
Critical Opportunity
Reviews:
– High risk accounts
– High potential accounts
Summary & Recommendations
Buying has changed forever, so your sales team must evolve for you to be successful.
Focus your efforts on core performers; moving the needle even a little can have a tremendous impact on overall performance.
Use your resources. Make training, coaching, and mentoring part of the development plans for “Role Model Reps”; seek outside resources to assist you and peer groups to hold you accountable.
New hires from outside the industry need infrastructure in the form of training, coaching, management, and specific goals.
Build a plan that lets you transition by minimizing the impact of “won’t dos” and providing support for current “can’t dos.”
Jump-Start Plan
Steps What Must Be Done? Who Will Do It?
When Can it Be Completed?
Define Sales Skills Needed Add additional skills our business requires to list provided in webinar.
Assess Existing Team Using Performance/Skill Graph
Use performance/skill graph and newly defined skills list to assess current talent; research 3rd party assessment tools.
Develop a Training and Coaching Plan
How can you help existing team and potential new hires develop the skills they need to be successful?
Analyze Compensation and Coverage Strategy if Required
Do you have the right reps focused on the right things? (see slide 19)
Does your comp plan incentivize the behaviors and activities that will determine your success?
Determine Sales Headcount Required Including Sales Hires
Assess whether company’s growth goals for 2016 are realistic given existing sales talent.
Build a Hiring Plan Position description Sourcing channels Interview process Compensation Target dates
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