chronicles of a sales leader

ChroniCles of a sales leaderA Collection of Features Written for Sales & Marketing Management

By Bill Golder

Copyright © 2009 by Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without written permission from the publisher.

Publisher Miller Heiman, Inc. 10509 Professional Cr., Suite 100 Reno, NV 89521 1-877-678-0506 www.millerheiman.com

CONTENTS 3 Tough Times Call for solid leadership

6 Can sales managers really CoaCh?

9 learn from losing

12 deCisions move up The ladder as foreCasTs move down

15 dare To differenTiaTe

18 leadership imperaTive

21 whaT’s your greaTesT asseT?

24 plan To win in The new year

26 filling The funnel

29 The laCk of sales and markeTing alignmenT in organizaTions Today

34 where are all The salespeople?

37 sales effeCTiveness and The TeCh myTh

40 The rise of proCuremenT

44 moving Cheese The righT way

ChroniCles of a sales leaderA Collection of Features Written for Sales & Marketing Management

by Bill Golder

Foreword In economies good and bad, Bill Golder’s columns for Sales & Marketing Management resonate with organizations large and small and with sales professionals veteran and new. Strong leadership should be at the heart of every organization. Sales professionals, beyond working for their respective organizations, should be working for and with their customers, counseling on opportunities that will enhance a client’s business. These are common-sense statements, but unfortunately, they are not always applied in every organization. And that’s often one of the main reasons so many organizations have stumbled.

As leaders, we must recognize that our teams (sales, marketing, and otherwise) are extensions of our brands. Our positions as leaders involve much more than reviewing spreadsheets, meeting budgetary constraints, and aiming for top- and bottom-line revenue growth: To achieve all of this, leaders must assume a position of coach and mentor. And, leaders always must remember that our people are, well, people. Like you as a leader, your teams have personal and financial obligations outside of the workplace. As a manager, I live by the following standard: If you are loyal to your team, they will be loyal to you. That simplicity has led to long-standing relationships with team members, including Lorri Freifeld, editor-in-chief of Sales & Marketing Management (we’ve worked together at various organizations for more than eight years). Of course, if that simple philosophy is not working, it’s time to make a change.

I encourage all of us to read (or reread) Bill Golder’s e-book, a collection of features written for Sales & Marketing Management, as a refresher course. He keeps it simple and sensible. We should continue to assess our own leadership development, assess our business strategies, and assess our team members’ respective strengths and weaknesses. We should always remember that organizations and people are like trees; how we nurture will allow our trees to continuously grow strong, vibrant, and add color.

Many thanks to Bill for his editorial contributions to Sales & Marketing Management over the years…and many thanks for asking us to write this foreword. To all, happy reading and refreshing. Your takeaways will aid your companies and team members today, tomorrow, and in the future.

All the best,Joyceann Cooney-GarippaGroup Publisher & Show Director

Sales & Marketing Management

Training magazine & Training magazine Events

Nielsen Intellectual Property Intelligence

Nielsen Business Media, a Nielsen Company

3© 2009 Miller Heiman, Inc. All rights reserved. www.millerheiman.com | 1-877-678-0272

Tough Times Call for solid leadership

Downward revenue and earnings reports dominate business headlines. The “R” word

echoes on the tongues of our nation’s most trusted financial experts. It seems impossible

to avoid a conversation about the economy with friends and coworkers. Yet despite the

uncertain economy, sales leaders are likely to see no adjustment in their quota.

Throughout the years, I’ve felt the effects of challenging external circumstances more

times than I can count. However, I have never received a voicemail or e-mail to inform

me that my number would be softened to accommodate difficult times. Instead, these

situations prompted more frequent forecast calls and increased pressure to drive to

the number.

Whether uncertain times are specific to the region you lead, your company, your

industry or a broader scenario like today, all sales leaders will need to lead their

team through a difficult and challenging economic environment at some point in their

careers. And when it’s here, you can count on increased pressure to produce top

line results. So, regardless of how things are looking for you today, here are some

common pitfalls and insights that identify how to address or avoid them when facing

tough economic times.


Chronicles of a Sales Leader

1. Don’t abandon the client.

As pressure to hit your numbers increases, a tendency to push the sales cycle ahead

of the client’s buying cycle is a frequent mishap. Salespeople in this situation begin to

focus on close dates and fail to solve what the customer is trying to fix, accomplish or

avoid. This leads to clients who don’t understand your value proposition because your

team is not offering up a solution. Ultimately, those in this situation end up discounting

to win or losing the sale.

In challenging times, it is even more important to make sure there is rigor and diligence

to uncover the root of client issues, identify key buying influences and their wins,

understand how the decisions will be made and how such activities will be funded. Now

is the time to make sure your team is more diligent about understanding the buying

process and less concerned with trying to slam dunk sales.

2. Steer clear of report mania.

During uncertain times, many sales leaders go into panic mode and become

micromanagers. They tell their team they need to see more calls and more appointments,

and they require reps to send in a weekly report that shows they made a million calls that

week. If you are doing this to your team, stop the madness. It won’t work. More is not

better here.

In fact, during uncertain times you should hone in on best-fit prospects and clients

and come prepared with sound strategies and valid business reasons to approach key

buying influences. Good sales leaders drive activity through one key report—their sales

funnel. Evaluate your funnel to ensure your team is spending time on the right prospects

and clients. If you find that you have too many deals sitting in the middle of the funnel,

or that the companies in your funnel do not match your value proposition, use this

information to coach and set priorities for your team.

3. Avoid the superhero syndrome.

You were likely a top salesperson in a prior life and that achievement may have landed you

in the position you hold today. However, your job is no longer a salesperson. Your job is

to help salespeople through effective coaching and guidance on deals. You cannot close

every deal for your team and if you did you will have bigger problems once you emerge

from whatever battle you are trying to win. Spend time making sure your team has solid

plans to pursue key opportunities and the resources they need to win. Get involved in

deals where you can add value. Don’t swoop in to take over like a superhero.



4. Don’t fight the wrong battles.

There’s nothing like a little pressure inside the walls of a company to bring out the blame

game. Don’t become a finger pointer. In fact, curl that index finger and bring key support

functions like marketing, customer service and your peers even closer. Invite them in to

the battle you are waging with your competitors instead of waging a battle with them.

The best sales leaders recognize that reinforcements in a tough battle are much better

than creating new battle lines.

5. Practice teambuilding, rather than killing candor.

Lastly, this is one of the hardest areas to address. As the pressure builds, it is natural to

repel bad news. Creating more tension than necessary with your team and your peers

has a disastrous side effect: happy talk. In good times and bad, you need candor to help

make decisions on strategies and tactics. If you make it difficult for your team to share

bad news with you, you will be faced with more surprises like slipped close dates on big

deals, unexpected lost deals and ultimately missed forecasts. Don’t kill the candor.


There’s a lot of talk lately about coaching, and I’m not referring to the debate on your favorite

sports blog regarding all-time great coaches in sports.

While it’s not a new topic in the world of leadership and management, it seems to be on the

minds of many sales executives looking to improve productivity. In the past, improving the

way front-line sales managers coach was often an initiative pushed by human resources.

Today, the most senior sales leader is looking to crack the code on how to get more coaching

and leadership out of their managers. Universally, most executives agree that this is one of

the toughest initiatives to implement and to gain traction.

Why is this so hard? Many of us might wonder if it’s even possible to happen in any meaningful

way. I’ve heard all the reasons: increasing spans of control in headcount and geographic

coverage, increasing responsibilities with fewer resources, multiple corporate initiatives

(such as managing a new comp plan roll-out or implementing a new CRM system), new

directions coming from the top, etc. It gets overwhelming to put our arms around something

as soft and hard to measure as coaching with all of the challenges that can get in the way.

Let’s take a step back and look at some of the issues that every organization should consider

when looking to improve effective coaching.

Can sales managers really CoaCh?



Coaching Defined

First, let’s all agree that the term “coaching” carries a multitude of meanings. Think

about the proliferation of consultants who make a good living off of a variety of

coaching angles. Career coaches, life coaches, executive management coaches … the

list goes on. It’s important that every sales leader defines what good coaching should

look like in their organization and make it as tangible as possible. For example, when a

sales manager is considered a good coach, what does he do that can be replicated?

Answering that question will help establish a definition that everyone can identify with

and measure down the road.

Another common issue is that many organizations tackle coaching before basic process

issues are addressed. The playbook has to be defined in terms of common language

and process. It must clearly establish how the organization will create opportunities,

pursue opportunities and manage relationships. Without those key processes, it’s

difficult to define a tangible coaching discipline inside the organization that can be

replicated. Get the playbook in place to outline your expectations on how you want

managers to coach.

Invest in Your Managers

The 2008 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study (for more on this study, read “Are You

the Reason Profits Are Down”) revealed that the most successful sales organizations

invest in tools to assist their managers in interviewing, selection, delivering effective

performance appraisals, and sharing best practices. You can’t expect your managers

to coach and develop their team if you don’t invest in the right support for them.

It starts at the top. As a rookie sales manager, my sales vice president ingrained the

importance of frequent one-on-one time. It wasn’t spent telling me about the latest

corporate initiative, but rather my agenda to raise the opportunities and issues in which

I needed coaching and help. He coached so I followed suit with my team. If you’re

the most senior sales leader, coaching won’t improve unless you are going first and

leading the way.

A Learned Skill

Like selling, coaching is a blend of art and science. Also like selling, too much is left

to chance, with very little science and rigor. What’s true about sales, a craft that relies

on strong effective interactions, is also true in coaching. We often forget some of the

skills that make us successful with clients when working with our people—preparing



good questions to better understand their win, figuring out what they’re trying to fix,

accomplish or avoid, providing value by raising questions that allow them to think a

bit differently, and listening so you can best understand where you can leverage your

experiences to help them achieve desired results.

Coaching is often thought of as a touchy feely skill. The best coaches clearly lay out

expectations, provide specific feedback in a timely manner, apply consistency and rigor to

the sales process, and always focus on how their coaching will contribute to the individual,

team and organizational results.

By the way, in case you are interested in my vote for the best sports coach of all time? It’s

Vince Lombardi. He was no softie.


Everyone who has ever been in sales can remember the feeling of winning their biggest

deal. In business, there aren’t many things like winning a big deal that can create that kind

of excitement and triumph to an organization. But when it comes to the deals that got

away, most individuals—and organizations—seem to have amnesia. In fact, it’s amazing

how quickly we all move on without another word on lost deals, as if they never existed.

The irony is that these deals typically took longer and used more resources than the ones

we won.

I’m in a fortunate position to be able to see how some very good organizations capture and

learn from both won and lost deals. It’s safe to say that far fewer have put a real discipline

to understanding the latter. Those that do tend to be higher performing organizations and

are learning things that are helping them sustain performance.

These organizations aren’t just talking about lost deals—they are incorporating a loss

review process into how they execute. The outcomes are helping sales and marketing

take away key nuggets that shape overall client acquisition and relationship management

strategies.

So what does a loss review process look like and what are companies learning from it?

learn from losing



Let’s start with the meaning of a lost deal. We all tend to think about losing a deal in a very

linear way—the deal moves all the way through the funnel and the customer makes

a decision. In fact, most lost deals don’t work out that way at all. It’s surprising the

number of deals that fall out of the funnel long before they reach the proposal stage

and how often they are “lost” to other factors—such as competing priorities or internal

resources vs. a true competitor. Companies who get this want to learn just as much

about those that fell out of the funnel early as those that follow the stereotypical

stages. It’s important to get everyone on the same page as to what lost means. It

may also help to create other definitions, such as “no interest” or “on hold” to begin

understanding and categorizing what happens when you don’t win.

Once everyone is on the same page with defined funnel stages and the definition of a

lost deal, you can put the process into motion. The best examples of clients we see

executing a loss review process typically incorporate the following elements:

Criteria for deal sizes that will be incorporated into the process.•

A standard format for capturing the attributes for each deal, and some sort •

of scoring system to evaluate the strength of each attribute in comparison to

scenarios when you win.

Involvement of both sales and marketing in the process: there are key findings that •

can impact how you attract new opportunities as much as how you manage them.

An environment of discovery vs. blame: candor will be critical in having meaningful •

findings that help to improve overall conversion and effectiveness.

A mechanism to cascade key findings that can benefit both sales and marketing.•

Important adjustments in both marketing and sales strategy are being made by

those organizations deploying a loss review process with the above elements. My

observation has been that organizations with this in place seem to be much more

effective in the following areas:

A well understood value proposition that better aligns sales and marketing.•

They are learning through a deal review process what resonates—and when it

resonates—with potential clients in regards to their solutions. Sales feels better



supported by marketing when this is dialed in and marketing can see their lead

creation efforts making an impact—a rarity in most organizations.

A more strategic prospecting plan that focuses the organization around ideal •

or best fit profiles of potential clients. This is especially impactful when evaluating

potential investments of time and money for the pursuit of new business.

Results.• A clear impact can be made on both conversion percentage and velocity

through a diligent deal review process.

Operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.• It’s amazing what happens

when you engage with better fit prospects. The organization leverages strengths

more frequently and avoids attempts to make round pegs fit into square holes.

Loss reviews help you understand whether or not you are chasing bad business

and potentially draining resources needlessly.

Organizational alignment.• It becomes much easier to make decisions on

segmentation strategies when you know your ideal customer and prospect. Loss

reviews become a critical component of understanding the types of resources

and talent that is needed to win business that is a good fit, and how to avoid

investment on resources on business that is not

Certainly, loss reviews alone aren’t the answer, but these reviews are an important part of

a much larger approach and strategy that is centered around understanding the customer.

However, it is an often forgotten, or even avoided component that I’ve seen deliver terrific

value when incorporated into the rigor of your sales and marketing organization.


About 90 minutes north of where we live, there’s a resort community on Lake Michigan

where we like to spend our weekends. Beside the plentiful waters of the large lake,

numerous inland lakes and rivers come together to create one of the best playgrounds

for those who spend their free time with rod and reel. While there is often debate

amongst any community of anglers about the best lures and fishing holes, there

seems to be agreement these days in this community that the fish are not biting nearly

as much as they have in past summers.

The chief culprit is a once-in-a-century rain storm that brought nearly 15 inches of

rain in June, all of which came within a two-day period. During a visit there recently,

one of the locals explained to me the various effects of what a rain like that does to

the complex ecosystem below the surface of the many waters. In short, it drastically

changes the habits and behaviors of anything that calls the lakes and rivers home. More

specifically, they are now feeding in different ways, in different places and at different

times. This is where the ecology lesson ends (especially since I am the last person who

should be sharing knowledge in this area), and the business lesson picks up.

That visit made me think about how sales and marketing leaders are struggling right

now with the same challenge—a difficult economic environment that has changed

the behaviors and strategies of their customers and prospects. Like fish who are

deCisions move up The ladder as foreCasTs move down



adjusting to changes to their environment, our customers are changing their buying

behaviors and protocols in ways that can either mean risk or opportunity. While I can’t

provide much guidance on how to improve your daily catch, I do have some thoughts

on how to keep up with the buying process of your customers:

1. Prepare for decisions to move upward as the economic outlook goes down.

It’s always important to understand the executive level buying influences within your

customer and prospect environments. In an uncertain economy, a higher premium

will be placed on your team to interact effectively at that level. As a sales or marketing

leader, you’re advised to get your teams ahead of this curve if you haven’t done so

already. Uncover buying influences at executive levels, especially those without an

appreciation for the value you provide.

2. What worked before, may not work now and probably won’t.

This may apply even more so to marketing. When times are good, the formula for

producing leads to the sales team seems tried and true and everyone knows how

hard it is to figure that out to begin with. As the economic outlook gets darker, value

propositions and those driving new initiatives change. These changes may mean that

your message and approach may miss the mark (this applies to sales and marketing).

In addition, sales organizations that rely on more art than science will find themselves

in trouble as they find former top performers struggling to do well with the same

approaches that worked in the past.

3. Change may equal opportunity.

It’s not all grim when the economy takes a downturn. Organizations who try to adapt

to a changing environment may see new opportunities to gain appointments with

historically evasive buying influences. Dust off the prospect files—it may be a good

time to go into business development mode. Also, even executive level contacts within

existing accounts that haven’t been interested in the past may find a renewed interest

in getting closer to your company’s solutions.

4. Stay ahead by staying close.

If you haven’t instituted opportunity and key client reviews, now is the time. It is this

process that will provide the insights to adjust strategy if needed. There’s no better

way to make decisions on how you market and sell to your clients than by talking to

real customers. Sounds simple, but it’s amazing how often that doesn’t happen.



5. A sales and marketing disconnect can be costly.

Lastly, it’s no secret that most organizations struggle with the void between sales and

marketing. In good times, that void feels less important. As the client environment

changes and new approaches in both messaging and approach need to be discussed,

it becomes far more critical that sales and marketing is aligned in how to make that

shift. If you have ownership of these two functions, now is a good time to be less

tolerant of the silos.

Whether it’s a down economy or a major trend driving change, these are just a few

thoughts on how to stay connected with your clients and ahead of your competition.


Let’s face it. Despite what your marketing brochures say, there’s very little difference

between your products and services and those of your competitors. I applaud you if

you’ve convinced your organization otherwise, but you should ask your customers and

prospects to quickly rattle off the qualities that make you stand out from the others in your

arena. You might be surprised by the uncomfortable silence that follows that question.

I realize this is a harsh generalization, and that there are those that are doing a fine job

differentiating themselves. However, the point that differentiation is harder to come by

these days cannot be argued.

First let’s explore why we’re in this pickle, and then I’ll give you my two cents on what

best-in-class companies are doing about it.

Hey, Who Stole My Elevator Pitch?

The rapid pace of globalization, sprinkled with a pinch of regulation and an extra punch

of the Internet have come together to create the ultimate recipe for a level playing field

across many industries and time zones. This has resulted in easier replication of product/

service advantages while providing the buyer with greater access to information (without

having to talk to anyone in your organization) than ever. The days of buyer beware are

over. The sales process has experienced a hostile takeover by the buying process.

dare To differenTiaTe



What The Best Are Doing…

When you remove the product and service advantages, the only element left is how your

people interact with customers before, during and after a sale. In fact, we conducted a

survey of about 100 CEOs in 2006 and asked them the primary reasons they selected

suppliers. The number one answer, by a long shot, was the competence demonstrated by

the sales or account executive. I get a bird’s eye view of what some of the most successful

companies in the world are doing to differentiate themselves with client interaction, and

here are the three things I find to be most compelling:

1. Investing in building business acumen, not features and benefits. Our annual

research study, the largest in the world of sales effectiveness, found that high-performing

organizations are spending more on sales-related training vs. product training. If you go

one layer deeper into that story, organizations are getting a terrific impact by investing in

processes that provide a repeatable framework for understanding the buying process.

The most effective organizations are not just teaching their people how to manage an

effective sales process, but also putting rigor to understanding the details behind client

decision making. They are throwing the elevator pitches away for client-specific value

propositions.

2. Involving clients in strategic activity. Another clear factor that separates what we

call “winning sales organizations” from all others is their discipline around inviting clients

to the table when setting product and service strategies. It’s one thing to have a business

review and get feedback on how you can service your clients better, but that’s not different.

To dare to be different is to get your best clients behind the scenes and have them help

shape your product development and overall product/service enhancement. This brings

the organization closer to the customer and transforms your role from supplier to partner.

It also helps your customer articulate the ways you are different from the others.

3. Getting executive involvement. One thing I always see that says an organization

is serious about staying ahead on the differentiation curve is evidence that the most

senior executives are engaged with customers. I’m not talking about reacting to client

satisfaction issues or sitting in on a couple of business reviews a year. Top-performing

organizations have formal executive sponsorship programs in place. C-Suite execs in

these organizations are involved in internal opportunity and account reviews. They can

speak the language that their sales managers speak. They view accounts as strategic

assets. Client centricity is in the culture because it is a strategic priority at the top, and it

is seen by strategies focused on understanding customers.



Whether you’ve read this and think my advice is basic and your company is already there

or I’ve caused you to think about this topic, I want to leave you with one challenge; a dare,

if you will. On your next business reviews with your biggest clients, take a moment to ask

them why they do business with you. I guarantee you will learn something that will take

you one step closer to understanding how to differentiate yourself.


Recent economic events have driven many executive teams into conference rooms

to assemble action plans and strategies to respond to the current economic crises.

While these strategies are being discussed, the battles for market share wage on. But

for sales executives, this is the time to make sure your front-line managers step up and

provide leadership in the face of uncertainty, anxiety and potential distraction for your

salespeople.

Ask any military expert about the importance of front-line leadership and they will likely

tell you it is the most differentiating factor for any battle—especially the tough ones. From

the beaches of Normandy in 1944 to battles in the streets of Baghdad, most objectives

are met due to how effectively the officers on the ground execute and lead their teams to

accomplishing their mission.

In history’s greatest battles, it is often the brilliant strategy and the high-ranking leaders

who are analyzed, interviewed and presented in various forms. However, it is the amazing

stories of how front-line leaders carried out their objectives that really tell the tale of how

battles were won or lost.

The stakes are much higher on a military battlefield than any of us can comprehend, but

the differentiating factor in business is exactly the same. In fact, not much should change

in terms of how the front lines execute right now in your office.

leadership imperaTive



The reality, however, is that the incoming barrage of dismal news, rumors and anecdotal

stories create a slow down effect to your sales force if not managed with effective

leadership. We’ve all seen how the sales organization, instead of stepping up it’s rigor

and activity, hunkers down with the rest of the company. It doesn’t happen by design, but

as a result of poor leadership.

Leadership Boot Camp

Recognizing that leadership vs. management is not an easy attribute to attain, let’s explore

five best practices to develop leaders amongst your front-line sales management team:

1. Know your leadership profile. If you look at the Marine Corps Book of Strategy,

it has a couple of pages on the meaning of leadership. It’s a list of attributes and

expectations written very specifically for what is required of leaders that fit the culture of

their organization. Not a job description. A job description is what managers do. And not

a resume either. That’s just the experience required to get in the job.

We spend an awful lot of time thinking about job descriptions and not enough time thinking

about what leadership attributes we need from those who manage people. My guess is

that there were some important people who decided exactly what leadership should look

like in the Marine Corps. The best organizations have a tangible understanding for what

their leadership profile is. They are also using sophisticated assessment tools to develop

profiles from their very best leaders and see how others match up.

2. Leaders are experts in their craft. Selling is a craft that is centered on understanding

your customers first, then deploying a common/replicable process to create and manage

opportunities and manage key customer relationships. Whatever that sales system looks

like inside your company, your sales managers have to walk the walk and demonstrate

expertise. Confidence and improved decision making in the field happens when your

leaders are experts.

3. Culture of execution and action. There’s a tempo to execution that’s typically

tied to how organizations do the basics—such as forecasting, deal reviews, account

reviews, performance reviews, etc. Keep it simple, but ensure there’s precision and clear

expectations to how things will consistently get done.

Great leaders also have a bias toward action and reward those who keep moving forward

with a low tolerance for hunkering down. General George S. Patton is famous for his belief



that to win you must keep moving. He said, “You keep moving and the enemy can’t hit

you. When you dig a foxhole, you dig your grave.” Make sure account, opportunity and

prospecting plans have smart actions, but ensure those actions are being taken and that

they are tied to moving closer to gaining commitments from customers. Specific plans

with verified action will win the day in a tough environment.

4. Coaching drives candor. Many organizations are investing in improving the way their

sales managers coach. There are many benefits to this focus, but one solid outcome is

creating a more candid environment. Why is this important? Think about how important

forecasting is right now and the amount of pressure that comes down to achieve the

targets that have been assigned. Without a coaching-oriented leadership team, you will

see overcommitted forecasts, opportunity pursuit plans with missing risks and a burned

out sales manager coming up short trying to save the day on every deal. Top organizations

are focusing their coaching efforts around accounts and opportunities to keep it centered

on results.

5. Monitor and measure. Lastly, it isn’t enough to look at lagging indicator metrics,

such as achievement to plan or productivity per salesperson. Sales organizations that are

winning are putting emphasis on looking at leading indicators by using the funnel to track

metrics like the number of new opportunities identified or the funnel stages of important

deals. Also, while strong organizations are staying away from activity measurement, they

are looking at the quality of the activities by making sure there are increased interactions

that are helping to move specific sales opportunities forward. Lastly, the use of assessment

tools to get feedback on both salespeople and the sales manager’s effectiveness are

being used more and more as a way to benchmark progress beyond revenues.

This is a time when many organizations will cut back, hunker down and forget about

developing people, especially their management. Now is when you need to think about

developing your managers into leaders


I’ve spent most of my career inside of larger companies. It’s amazing how much is acquired

or leased to support infrastructure. It is so significant that many companies invest even

more to make sure none of it walks out the door. Loss prevention specialists armed with

sophisticated asset management systems work hard to keep the company’s costs at a

minimum. No more office supply closets where workers just grab what they need. You

need a ream of paper? I’ll need your employee identification and department cost center

number. Every asset accounted for. Find an instance of a missing asset and you will find

loss prevention specialists huddled together like detectives from an episode of Law and

Order. While none of this “stuff” ever increases in value or delivers sustainable returns to

the top or bottom line, we certainly put a lot of energy in making sure it never gets lost.

First of all, if you are in loss prevention (which is highly unlikely if you are reading this),

please don’t take offense. In fact, I might suggest a lot can be learned from the rigor

placed on tracking and managing basic assets. The sad reality is that most companies

are placing more investment in keeping track of basic assets than arguably the most

important assets of all—customers.

The other unpleasant truth is that most companies don’t begin thinking about taking

better inventory of their customer base until some dramatic event like either the loss of

a major client or a significant downturn in the economy. Blind sided is the word we hear

whaT’s your greaTesT asseT?



often when C-level executives share stories about the major client that walked away or

surprised them with a dramatic decrease in volume.

The good news is that it is times like the one we are in when companies choose to invest

wisely and establish greater process and rigor around managing key relationships. Here

are what I consider to be core components of a solid asset management program for your

key customers:

1. Define the assets.

Not all of your customers need or should be put into a rigorous asset management

process. Take the time to choose those that are most strategic to supporting the

health of your business. Best practice organizations are looking beyond just revenue

contribution and including things like future growth potential, impact on operations,

margin contribution, partnership orientation and contribution to strategic initiatives like

new product development. No matter how you get there, just make sure you set a criteria

for segmenting your most important accounts and a way to continually evaluate who

comes in and who goes out.

2. Establish a protocol for tracking, managing and maintaining the assets.

Strategic or key accounts always involve multiple internal resources to support. It is

critical that a standard process and common language is implemented to get everyone

on the same page and understanding both the short and long term objectives for

supporting the account.

3. Capture the data.

This isn’t just about whether or not to have a sales force automation solution. While it

is understood that adoption rates on SFA is alarmingly low, that shouldn’t be the case

related to your most important accounts. Have a solid data capture compliance plan for

this segment that is unwavering.

4. Align the right people to manage and grow the assets.

Our annual research study reveals the best practices of top sales organizations and one

key attribute is how they are utilizing assessment tools to better align talents to specific

roles in the sales organization. No matter how you get there, know that strategic account

management requires a unique set of skills that combine selling, business acumen, the

ability to collaborate with key resources and C-level interaction skills.



5. Joint plan with your assets.

Traditional account management and planning has been one-sided. Most account plans

are all about the selling actions regardless of what is happening on the buy side. Best

practice selling organizations are conducting periodic joint reviews that involve the client

side of the equation in strategic discussions that go beyond just satisfaction with service

levels. We are seeing top organizations involve their strategic accounts in discussions

related to new product initiatives and overall strategic planning. This forges relationships

that go beyond vendor status.

Certainly tougher times call for a strong strategy to get closer to your top customers.

However, a strong asset management plan for your most strategic clients is a sustainable

best practice that you can leverage in good times and bad.


Somewhere between that classic business book collection and the last quarterly report

on your bookshelf is last year’s strategic plan. You know the one. It’s nicely organized. It

might even have an attractive cover page with an inspirational graphic and catch phrase.

Knock the dust off, peel it open and reflect on how you did.

Whether you’re wrapping up a record year or trying to pick up the pieces, it’s time to

reflect on what went well, what didn’t and what’s going to be different about your plan for

the new year.

First, most of us will be putting our plans within the context of a much tougher economic

climate. Many of today’s sales leaders have not experienced executing plans in the

environment we are currently in, so it’s important to recognize that many of you will be

navigating uncharted territory.

That said, here are a few key elements to help you assess and put together a plan to not

just survive, but come out ahead in 2009:

1. Start with the Customer

The best sales leaders start with thinking about what they’ve learned from their customers

of the past year. What’s the nature of those clients who you contracted/transacted with?

plan To win in The new year



Any particular trends related to industries or the reasons they are buying from you now

vs. a year ago? How has their buying process changed? What is their view of the current

relationship; are you a partner or a vendor? Is there more or less price pressure? Why?

Changes to product/service mix? This is just a sampling, but best practice leaders are

beginning their assessments and business planning around a healthy understanding for

what is happening with customers.

2. Assess the Health of Your Sales System

We’ve seen that top sales executives organize their strategies around some fundamental

“system” components that drive priorities. They start with the understanding of the

customer first, then assess whether or not the core operating fundamentals are in line. A

sales system that is firing on all cylinders typically has proficiency in the following areas:

creating new sales opportunities for a healthy funnel; managing and pursuing sales

opportunities to closure; managing key customer relationships; the right organizational

design with the right talent necessary to win; the right tools and resources to enable

success; and finally the key levers to drive management execution.

3. Blocking and tackling: Working the plan

The best plan is one in which you can execute. Take a look at how this year played out in

terms of execution quality. The best sales leaders have simple plans that are executed

flawlessly. It’s easy to lose sight of the basics when preparing for bigger challenges

ahead. Many sales leaders get caught up in analysis and strategy while losing sight of

day-to-day execution. Our CEO often cites an important principle—”once we agree,

we execute.” It’s a principle that can often get lost once a plan is put on the bookshelf.

Ensure you have the right communication, reporting and tempo to drive action and

accountability with your teams.

4. Contingencies: The Best Laid Plans

This year will especially be one in which you will place some bets that won’t work. That’s

ok, just be prepared to know your alternative actions if they don’t. Think through the

potential risk factors on specific strategies and ensure there’s a plan B that can quickly

get you back on track if they don’t work. General George S. Patton said it best, “One does

not plan and then try to make circumstances fit those plans. One tries to make plans fit

the circumstances. I think the difference between success and failure in high command

depends on the ability, or lack of it, to do just that.”


It’s a new year and there are some common themes that are resonating in the strategic

plans for those charting a course to succeed, or at least survive, in what is going to be a

challenging selling climate.

In particular, there’s a drive toward more immediate results, and more attention is being

paid to funnel health than ever before (while this is good, it’s an excellent lesson that this

focus is a best practice in good and bad times). There seems to be much more focus on

activity to fill the top of the funnel. This is always an important component for any selling

organization, but few do this well. In the best of times, the top of the funnel seems to

manifest all by itself and in the worst of times the drive to replenish it turns into unfocused

activity with disappointing returns.

Our annual research study of best practice selling organizations consistently highlights

effective prospecting plans as a key attribute for their success, so here are a few things

to think about as you fill the funnel:

1. Start with a profile, not an activity plan.

As much as we all know that traditional cold calling is a thing of the past and proven to

not have ROI, organizations are still falling into the trap of setting activity quotas to drive

urgency. While it’s important to have some standards around activity expectations, it’s

filling The funnel



more important that the activity is not allocated into the wrong places. Before you set

activity quotas, make sure you’ve built a strong profile on the most likely suspects. This is

best arrived by knowing as much as you can about why your current customers see you

as different from the competition, which brings me to my next point…

2. Know why your customers buy from you.

I know I’ve hit this before in more than one previous column, but it’s worthy to repeat

how astonishing it is how many sales leaders cannot put a succinct answer to why

their customers are buying from them. This is fundamental and critical to developing

a successful sales system, but even more critical related to deciding what new clients

to pursue.

I’ve been in the midst of helping many companies solve major sales and operations

breakdowns due to a campaign that attracted poor fit clients. A tough economy will often

entice salespeople and the entire organization to see any business as good business.

The likely result is pursuing opportunities that will never come to closure. The best result

is a successful short term campaign that sets the stage for failure down the road as

unsatisfied clients and distracted salespeople produce devastating implications.

Narrow down your suspects in ways that best align with the attributes of your best clients.

Top sales organizations are nailing this down with process and consistency vs. letting this

happen by accident.

3. Sales and marketing collaboration.

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on this one, as this will be an entire column next

month. However, suffice it to say that the top of the funnel absolutely is the critical overlap

between sales and marketing. If your sales and marketing strategies are not aligned related

to new client acquisition, then you are missing an enormous opportunity. I’ll provide more

on this topic next month.

4. Timing is everything.

As part of understanding the attributes of why your customers buy from you, take a look

at when they made the decision to buy initially. What was driving the decision? What

was happening inside their organization or within their respective industry? What was

happening with the specific buying influences that made the decision? It’s important to

know the key “triggers” that might exist and these can often be found in the research

phase. CEOs are much more specific these days in their strategic initiatives often outlined



in quarterly updates and earnings announcements. Take a close look at these details and

you may find some nice comparisons to some of the deals you won in the past.

5. Lose faster.

More is definitely not always better when it comes to what is in the funnel. A concentrated

campaign to pursue new clients will produce a lot more potential time wasters. If you

have a current opportunity review process in place, reflect on any deals that have been

sitting in your funnel far too long. My guess is that you will find some common attributes

to those that we never win but take up our time. Make sure your organization has a system

for quickly assessing new opportunities before they zap too many resources. The best

selling organizations have a scorecard that allows them to spot the red flags early and

move on to greener pastures. When you lose, it’s far better to do it fast and quickly move

on to those you have a real shot to win.


“If only there were more leads for the sales team.”

“If only the sales team would actually do something with the leads they are given.”

If you have been in sales or marketing for any length of time, you’ve heard that conversation

more than once in your career. Despite all of the added technologies and sophistication

over the years to better understand customers, the argument is still out there in cubicles

and board rooms. Research on this topic, including work done by Miller Heiman, validates

the void between sales and marketing continues to be an issue in most organizations. We

also know that those organizations that are outperforming their peers have done a much

better job at aligning these two critical functions.

Truth be told, having spent most of my career leading sales organizations, I am not a

marketing guy. Knowing that this is an important topic to many of you, I thought it best

that I invite a true expert on sales and marketing alignment to this month’s column. Brian

Carroll, author of “Lead Generation for the Complex Sale,” a title that is quickly becoming a

resource for many organizations attempting to get their sales and marketing teams to join

forces in driving top-line sales more effectively. These were his insights:

The laCk of sales and markeTing alignmenT in organizaTions TodayFeaturing Brian Carroll, author of “Lead Generation for the Complex Sale”



Bill Golder: In the 2008 Miller Heiman Sales Best Practices Study, only 37 percent of

respondents agreed that their sales and marketing organizations are aligned in what

their customers want and need. Why is sales and marketing alignment difficult for most

organizations?

Brian Carroll: I think it’s because organizations aren’t taking a holistic approach that

considers all of the marketing and selling components on a total, complete and ongoing

basis. The lack of synergy between sales and marketing regarding lead generation is

so common as to risk cliché. Marketing feels that sales doesn’t follow-up on marketing-

generated leads. Sales counters that the leads aren’t any good, and the information

they provide isn’t helpful. My experience confirms that this communication breakdown

affects nine out of ten companies.

BG: What are you seeing as the most common pitfalls in attempts to get this right?

BC: Companies sensing the need for cooperation and teamwork sometimes believe

they can perform miracles by reorganizing the sales and marketing departments. But,

really what matters most is having everyone on the same page, integrated and viewing

each other as pro forma customers.

Ask most executives what salespeople need to help them sell and they will say, “More

leads.” I’d say your salespeople don’t want more leads. They want more effective selling

time. In my experience, the average sales force spends around 20 percent of their time

actually doing productive selling (up to 40 percent if you’re great).

Don’t get me wrong, lead generation is still extremely important to salespeople. But

we need to realize that the extreme time pressure salespeople face—especially those

with a complex sale—requires them to ignore “early,” “is not immediately relevant,” and

“highly likely” to produce revenue.

Before you invest any more money in lead generation, ask this question: How can we

give our salespeople more selling time? Write down your thoughts and then ask your

sales team, “How can we help YOU get more selling time?” Then, shut up and really

listen.

BG: Salespeople, at a very basic level, want two things from marketing: quality leads

and effective collateral support for their client interactions. This seems simple, but most



salespeople would say these two things fall short of their expectations. Why is this so

hard to do right?

BC: Sales leads often land on the scrap heap because marketers throw leads over the

wall, and then expect salespeople to catch them.

What sales really needs are more sales-ready leads. Qualify those leads, then create ongoing,

meaningful dialogue with the prospect. Lead nurturing is all about identifying and capturing

longer-term opportunities.

Also, I’d say most companies don’t do a good job of managing the leads they already have.

A study by the Aberdeen Group concluded 40 to 60 hours of the salesperson’s month is

spent re-creating sales-ready, customer-relevant collateral material, which he or she believed,

sometimes with good reason, marketing should have generated better in the first place.

Aligning for Better Leads

BG: Clearly, there’s research that points to sales and marketing alignment being a critical

success factor in driving top-performing organizations. What are they doing differently

that’s making this work?

BC: Organizations that perform match readiness of the buyer with expectations of their

sales team. Successful programs examine each lead and ask if they are sales-ready,

meaning that they are ready to speak to a salesperson.

Successful organizations understand that prospects can spend months researching

solutions to their needs and usually aren’t ready to speak with a sales representative right

away. Marketers who hold back and nurture early stage leads (with a human touch) on

behalf of their sales team drive results.

Lead nurturing maintains a relevant and consistent dialog with viable leads, regardless of

their timing to purchase, until they are sales-ready. The idea is that through the process

of offering valuable education and information to prospects up front, you become more

than an expert. You become a trusted advisor.

Without lead nurturing program in place, I’ve found that early stage leads receive just one,

or maybe two, touches before they are handed off to salespeople. And that’s not enough,



especially if you have a complex sale. At InTouch, we’ve found early stage leads may

require 8 to 12 (or more) meaningful nurturing touches before they are truly sales ready.

BG: If you were approached by a sales or marketing executive struggling with alignment,

what would be your advice?

BC: The unrealized potential can be likened to the batteries in a flashlight. If the batteries

aren’t inserted in the right direction, or are otherwise out of proper contact, their power is

unusable. The harmonious interaction of sales and marketing is crucial.

1. Sales and Marketing must collaborate on definingleads and marketing objectives.

You can make a huge impact by focusing first, on creating an Ideal Customer Profile

(company-wide, for each product, service or solution). Then, create the Universal Lead

Definition of a “sales-ready lead.” Finally, connect the marketing/sales process to

customer’s buying process.

By developing an Ideal Customer Profile, I saw one client’s average sale of $60,000,

increase by more than 30 percent to $80,000, while overall revenue increased by 20

percent. By utilizing a Universal Lead Definition, one company achieved a 120 percent

gain in ROI, using the same tactics and budget as the previous year.

Once you’ve developed a collaborative culture by focusing on those three things, you can

then commit to closing-the-loop on each marketing investment.

2. What gets measured gets done. Connect sales and marketing metrics together.

3. Create content that’s relevant for each stage of the buying cycle.

4. Focus on the data points you REALLY need to measure in your CRM.

5. Ask: Is your value proposition clear? Does your sales team have sales-ready

messaging?

In developing a lead generation program, it is incumbent on marketers to view the sales

team as the customer. It’s no different than directing a consulting firm project where

the client is involved in each stage of the project. The sales team should become so

integrated that it has program ownership just like everyone else.



BG: Our research has also shown that the C-Suite often perceives alignment to be

much better than how it is perceived in the field. How do you suggest alignment

should be measured and monitored in way that makes it clear how an organization is

doing in this area?

BC: To create an open dialogue to obtain sales lead feedback you continuously have to

ask:

Was this helpful? Why? Why not? •

What else should we be doing? •

What should we have asked to make the lead even better? •

What are we doing that we should stop? •

To break the cycle, we must close the loop with sales and start measuring opportunities

with real-world metrics:

Number of inquiries •

Number of leads (qualified as “sales-ready”)•

Number of opportunities (leads in moved into sales pipeline) •

Number of closed deals from marketing leads •

If you know those metrics you can start to track the following key performance indicators

such as:

Inquiry to lead ratio•

Lead to opportunity•

Lead to proposal ratio•

Lead to sale (win) ratio•

Leaders and marketers with a value-driven mindset will plan and budget for the long

term and take a holistic view that goes beyond cost-per-lead budgets. Cost-per-lead

budgets are irrelevant unless you can first measure cost-per-opportunity or cost-per-

lead-pursued. Lead quality is a key driver in insuring that those leads are pursued.


I’m a little disappointed in many of the conversations I’m having with salespeople lately.

I’ve been hearing things like:

“My phone isn’t ringing.”

“I’m having a tough time even getting clients to call me back.”

“No one is spending right now.”

“I have to cut my prices to just stay in the game.”

The last time I checked, a salesperson is in the business of selling. Were times just so

good before that we didn’t have to actually sell? I am certainly not suggesting that these

days are not unusually hard—perhaps the hardest we’ve seen in a lifetime. However, these

are the days that give those who are truly salespeople the opportunity to differentiate

themselves from the pack. It’s time to be a salesperson.

If you are truly a salesperson, you’re seeing opportunity in these trying times. This is

the time that separates real salespeople from the pretenders. Real salespeople are

recognizing that their clients and prospects are open to change now more than ever,

and they are thinking through how they will leverage their products and services to help

where are all The salespeople?



those companies with immediate priorities. Real salespeople are thinking through how to

have strategic conversations with executive level buying influences because the current

economy has C-level decision makers involved in the buying process like never before.

Real salespeople are crafting proactive business development strategies and not waiting

for the phone to ring.

Solve and Sell

I spoke to a sales VP recently from a company that is facing no fewer challenges than

anyone else. He commented that one of his competitors is “rethinking” its strategic

accounts program in the face of the current economic conditions. His response? “Let

them think while we act and go after those accounts,” he told me. He is a salesperson

who sees opportunity amidst chaos.

Real salespeople are standing up to the challenge and not allowing the business wire to

serve as their guide. Anecdotes are killers to productivity and good salespeople know

the opportunities are in the details of every client and every deal. There are companies

spending money. The budgets are tighter and the dollars are being spent in wiser ways,

but there are salespeople who are winning. They are winning by being better than their

competitors. They are focused on solving strategic issues for their clients. That means they

are having more meaningful dialogue with clients about problems they are trying to solve.

It means they are coming to the table with ideas on how they are solving similar problems

with similar organizations. It means they aren’t selling products, but instead tethering their

solutions to strategic priorities. They are problem solvers. They are salespeople.

When you solve problems, you get out of the price discounting business. At worst, you

can come from a position of getting something in return for your discount. You can have

a true negotiation because C-Level decision makers are interested in partners who can

help them fix, accomplish or avoid something key to their strategic priorities.

Salespeople that solve problems are relevant and get their calls returned. Are you relevant?

Instead of spending your time piling up the general business news reports, spend it on

understanding the news inside your customers and prospects. Very few companies are

status quo today, so there’s real opportunity in the strategy adjustments being made

in every organization. Those that spend their time making it their job to know what’s

happening inside the specific accounts, prospects and their industries will have a greater

chance to be relevant.



If you’re an effective sales leader, you have already communicated the reality of this tough

environment but you’ve also rallied the troops to stay focused on securing time with key

buying influencers inside of important accounts and prospects. You’re encouraging

them to get better at understanding the buying process deal by deal in the funnel and

not operate on anecdotal information. You’re pushing the team to proactively create

opportunities and not wait for the phone to ring. Real sales leaders are recognizing the

movement of buying decisions to more senior levels and thinking through how to arm their

teams with resources to navigate that shift.

I believe this is an exciting time for the sales profession. We have an opportunity to

validate the craft and demonstrate why the sales force should be a significant strategic

lever in these challenging times. Many of you will look back on this time period as the one

in which your career was made because you provided value at a time when the company

most needed it.

Stand up, get out there and be a real salesperson.


Let me start by saying I’m no “techno weenie.” In fact, I spent most of my days on the

front lines before much of what exists today was ever available related to sales force

automation tools.

I was unfortunate enough to have experienced the bleeding edge of SFA as a fairly

unseasoned sales leader during the dot-com craze. That’s when technology solutions

were sold as the answer to sales effectiveness issues and promised to get us closer to our

customers. Many of us who participated in that folly learned what we should have already

known to be true: Someone actually has to interact with a customer effectively in order

for positive results to occur.

Unfortunately, this has left a really bad taste in the mouths of both front-line

salespeople and executives over the years. It’s also led to the creation of a new

myth: The adoption of sales force automation is impossible, and consequently, the

expected ROI is a pipe dream.

One of the things I appreciate about where I work is the privilege to see firsthand what

is and isn’t working in some of the biggest sales forces in the world. I get this vantage

point partially due to frequent interactions, but also due to the research study we conduct

every year. The latter is extensive, and it’s always interesting to see what separates those

organizations that are world class versus those who aren’t.

sales effeCTiveness and The TeCh myTh



There are tons of interesting data points, but one in particular stands out related to

technology: A staggering 82 percent of sales forces we classified as world class see

their CRM system as helping them to be more effective.

What’s with the Huge Gap?

In order to be considered world class in our study, there had to be high agreement

amongst the participants that there were formalized processes in place in how the

company operated as a selling organization. In other words, there was a common

approach with defined practices for how the organization created opportunities,

managed opportunities, and managed relationships.

We then validated these practices actually helped their organizations out-perform

their peers by comparing key metrics and overall revenue growth. There’s a bit more

to it than that, but fundamentally it centered on that distinction. As an example, a

question within managing opportunities asked whether or not there was a process

continually utilized to review all large deals. The world class response rate was 87

percent affirmative versus 40 percent for everyone else.

We asked 51 questions in all, and everything pointed back to process, rigor, and common

language as the differentiator. These companies then could leverage technology to

support that framework and provide tools that enable the process to live and breathe

in the organization.

I was recently on a client visit, and the sales vice president there is responsible for

multiple selling organizations. He had one organization that had great process and rigor

in place and they were seeing solid data coming in and out of their CRM application—

thus, it was a valuable tool for everyone.

Then he explained how his CRM application was nearly useless for the other group

he managed. They had yet to implement common process for how that group would

consistently engage with customers, so there was much more inconsistency around

approach. In his defense, the organization without the rigor was a much more

transactional sales force with less complexity related to the buying process. But it

was a good case study of how technology without some level of process to drive

consistency can create adoption challenges.



It’s also important the sales process itself is one in which the front lines feel it actually

helps them succeed. A repeatable process with tools to help a salesperson sell more

stuff usually helps on the adoption front (hopefully, you can hear the sarcasm in that

statement).

Only when you can embed those tools into your CRM or SFA system do you have

something salespeople see value in and have a desire to connect to. I am seeing

tremendous best practices in which companies are linking not only sales process tools,

but also lead generation capabilities, best practice libraries, case study podcasts, and

so forth.

If you’ve almost given up on the investment you’ve made or if you’re trying to figure

out the right time to make that technology investment, take a look at how well you

are executing on sales process first. Regardless of the size or complexity of your

organization, adoption of whatever technology application you invest in will grow

increasingly tougher—that is, if there isn’t an operating model in place for how your

sales organization will engage with customers and prospects.


Guess who’s been invited to the C-Suite?

From cubicles and offices salespeople have been taught to avoid at all costs, the

procurement and sourcing professionals have surfaced…and they’ve become the savior

for many CFOs and CEOs looking to reduce costs in this challenging economic storm.

They talk in a language that leaves most of us running for cover—consolidation, spend

control, normalize costs, vendor elimination, cost categorization, commoditization, RFP,

and the most feared of all terms: online reverse auction. I got a chill just writing it.

This is their time. They are in executive committee meetings. With impressive charts

and graphs they are telling the story of how better times allowed departmental execs to

get sloppy on supplier negotiations. Tighter process is needed—a tighter procurement

process. More charts and graphs. Impressive margin impact on full display. Long lists

of suppliers are presented. It’s time to let those who know how to buy get this situation

under control.

Ok, that’s a bit dramatic (although not too far from reality), but the involvement by

procurement on sourcing decisions is definitely on the rise.

More and more of our clients and prospects report having to navigate buying processes

The rise of proCuremenT



managed by sourcing and procurement (S&P) professionals. For those who sell within

the world of tangible products or more commodity-oriented offerings, working with

procurement is not new. For those in the non-tangible or services space, many are

being introduced to the world of procurement for the first time in their careers.

Either way, strategic procurement initiatives are in full steam like no other time. And

we’re not talking about the purchasing guy you remember sitting in the windowless

office next to the facilities manager, who you avoided at all costs. It’s a new day.

According to “Fred,” an S&P executive in the professional services industry, “There’s

a window of opportunity right now [for procurement professionals] to impress the

CPO (Chief Procurement Officer) and expand their landscape.” Fred asked to be

anonymous for this column out of fear his S&P peers may forever label him a traitor.

I can vouch for his expertise in this area, as he works within one of our client

organizations and now spends his time helping his organization better understand

how to navigate the increasing involvement of procurement within their client

environments. Recognizing procurement is a key buying influence in more and more

buying processes, I interviewed Fred to get a firsthand perspective.

As Fred points out, “expanding their landscape” means it’s no longer about the typical

nuts-and-bolts commodity sourcing, but is expanding into non-tangible goods. This is

putting many sales professionals into scenarios they’ve not experienced before. Here

are the top three takeaways from our conversation:

Know the process. Ask early and often about the exact steps of the buying process

and know at what point potential negotiating will take place. Fred notes many sales

professionals assume they’ve finalized pricing and payment terms, only to find out

there’s an additional step with no room for further negotiating. It’s also important to

understand the nature of the relationship between S&P and the business owner. Fred

suggests there are typically four types:

Collaborative•

Sourcing leads/business follows •

Business leads/sourcing follows •

Adversarial•



“You have to work both sides of the street effectively,” says Fred. In order to do so,

he advises, you must understand how the two will work together during the buying

process. This also helps you better understand how well their buying process aligns

with some of your better-fit customers. Knowing this early could potentially help you

identify which opportunities are better fits to your ideal customer profile.

Get a sense for the “maturity” of the procurement organization. More mature organizations

will have well developed processes, are well partnered with the users/business owners

for the goods or services, display a strategic vision, communicate clearly, and are

transparent about the process. More mature organizations will even factor a value to

“in place” suppliers by looking at the potential costs or risks associated to transitioning

to new suppliers. This is important to know if you are a current or incumbent supplier.

Less mature traits are those that provide roadblocks to the users, have a confusing or

poorly executed process, appear much more tactical in their approach and seem to be

disconnected from the business owners.

Fred suggests organizations might want to rethink applying sales resources against

opportunities where there is strong control by procurement with less mature traits.

This would also be the one scenario in which going around procurement, especially

when your contact is unreasonable, may be the only way in which to gain a win for

both sides.

Be prepared and well organized. Know your value proposition and how you differentiate.

“If you’re one of 20 options that look the same, it’s going to be brutal,” says Fred. Standing

out requires making sure you have a solid understanding of what your product or service

is helping to fix, accomplish, or avoid for the business owner that is unique. And no, your

calendars and logo-emblazoned coffee mugs don’t count as differentiators.

Fred recommends every organization have a strategic pricing plan and to know the

walk-away point. “Any good procurement professional will want something of value

from you to claim as a win,” says Fred, although he points out it isn’t always price. It’s

important to have a well thought out hierarchy for what you’re willing to trade that’s

of value. Fred says you need to ask yourself, “What are you willing to give to get what

you want?”

Elements like longer payment terms, discounts in exchange for longer contract terms,

or payments up front are all examples of approaches that should be explored. This



requires sales professionals that can collaborate with internal resources, like their CFO

or finance executive to come up with creative deal structuring. “The best know how to

improvise, adapt, and overcome,” says Fred.

Lastly, demonstrating professionalism with well-organized verbal and written

communication can be both a differentiator…and keep you out of trouble, as savvy

procurement executives keep detailed records on what you’ve presented. Be accurate

and consistent when it comes to conveying pricing and terms. Any deviations or

discrepancies will come back to bite you.

While this column is focused on how best to understand the procurement buying

influence as it’s a rising influencer for many deal pursuits today, it’s important to have

a similar understanding of all of the buying influences involved in an opportunity or

the renewal of an existing contract. Know the process and what roles will have even

the smallest amount of influence. Consider procurement as one of potentially multiple

buying influences playing a role in the selection or renewal process.

Thanks to our new ally, Fred, you should be a little better prepared.


Certain things in life just seem to go hand in hand: thunder and lightning, salt and pepper,

pigs and mud.

Similarly, tough economic times often go hand in hand with organizational change. The

most obvious and often necessary move is to cut jobs when the top line drops, but it is also

a time when companies often look to make changes to the structure of their organization.

This is certainly not new to the nature of downturns, and it absolutely can be a good time

to make changes—when it feels like less risk.

I’ve lived through these organizational change initiatives from about every angle. To prove

it I have my very own copy of “Who Moved My Cheese,” by Dr. Spencer Johnson. I now

have a job that gives me a bird’s eye view of how many companies execute their change

initiatives; accordingly, here are some observations the might help if you happen to be in

the role of leading changes and moving cheese around.

Start with what’s going on in your customer environment. Whenever anyone contemplates

change to their organization, I always want to start with the customer. Of course, you say,

that’s an obvious statement.

And yet, it’s striking how many organizations devote serious resources to a change

initiative and completely forget whether or not it helps them get better aligned with what’s

moving Cheese The righT way



happening in their customer environment. It can get incredibly myopic really fast as the

internal operations and organizational culture begins to creep into the design. This is

especially seen with regard to compensation, but that’s a column for another day.

The key question to start with, before any reorganizational planning is done, is to ask what

has or will change with regard to how your customers buy from you. If nothing is changing

about what you are selling, then what is happening with how the customer is buying? If

you are embarking on an initiative to add new products or services, how will that impact

how the customer will buy from you?

If you are frustrated with how certain products or business lines fail to penetrate key

segments, then assess what that means in terms of how customers will buy. Will any of

the changes you are contemplating help your customers fix, accomplish or avoid key

business issues more effectively than you can today?

Starting with these kinds of questions will lead to more questions, but keep the initiative

focused on actually driving results. If you start with the customer and can figure out how

to better align with how they buy, then you might actually sell more of what you have to

offer. Crazy concept, I know.

The next area I see as a pitfall is to not spend enough time analyzing execution within

the organization as it is currently designed. When this happens, organizational change

becomes simply a cosmetic fix versus something that will truly produce legitimate results.

Lipstick on a pig.

Spend some time analyzing performance inside of the current structure. Who are

your top performers? Why are they succeeding, and what makes them different than

the rest of the pack? Can any of their attributes be replicated either through training or

recognized in the hiring process? Our annual research study showed sales organizations

that are outperforming others put some real energy into identifying and cascading best

practices.

How about your field sales management? How are they doing in terms of driving execution

and accountability? Even if you’ve done your homework and determine there is a need

for organizational change, a key success factor will be the capabilities of your frontline

management to lead people. I’ve seen many well-planned change initiatives die quickly

due to poor leadership in the field. I’ve also seen great success with less-than-stellar



strategies because the field leadership knew how to execute. Either way, it’s important to

assess the level of execution and where the failure points are. Determine what is the result

of organizational design flaws or just plain lack of execution.

This leads to another important point: Can your talent make the shift into whatever

roles and responsibilities come with the new organization? I see this most commonly

play out when top producers in general selling roles get placed into strategic or key

account management positions, or when great individual contributors get promoted

into management roles. It’s so important to understand what will be required in terms of

attributes and skills in the future organization and really assess what it will take from a

talent perspective to make the shift.

Too many sales leaders set lofty expectations on how quickly organizational change will

make a positive impact. This is largely due to underestimating the ramp-up period as the

organization makes the shift. The end result leads to a cycle of short-lived organizational

changes that play out like a bad rerun for everyone. Consider the ramp-up implications

and create enough time to deal with those factors.

Then there’s the little thing we all still stumble at called communication. I am amazed to

see how little is put into the communication plan as sales leaders go down the path of

changing their organization. Despite countless books, articles, and white papers on the

importance of communication during change, it still doesn’t happen as well as it should.

My theory? Leaders get so wrapped up in spreadsheets and org charts, they forget the

human factor. The names on the org chart, assuming they all work full-time, spend most

of their waking hours doing their job. Their livelihood and how they support their families

are dependent on their success in that job. It’s easy to lose sight of that when you’ve

spent weeks, if not months, thinking and planning for the change. The sales leader has

had time to contemplate, digest, and get excited for the change. So when the time comes,

too much of the communication is on the what versus the why.

It’s so important to take everyone through the same journey you’ve been on that resulted

in the decision to change. Tell the story of what’s changing with your customers, and

therefore your business, and what the future looks like. If the change is significant, invest

the time and money to communicate live instead of by e-mail. Be more accessible than

ever for people to hear your passion for why the change is important.



Lastly, organizational change should not be treated as a one-time event to be thrown like a

big party. Assemble a long-term plan featuring milestones, key metrics, and contingencies

when things don’t go as planned (which is the only thing that can be guaranteed). Continue

to merchandise and communicate the best practices along the way. This will ultimately

better prepare you and your team for change in the future, as well.

That’s it for now. All this talk of cheese has made me hungry.

Miller Heiman Corporate Headquarters10509 Professional CircleSuite 100Reno, Nevada 89521 USA1-877-678-0506

Miller Heiman EuropeNelson HouseNo 1 Auckland ParkMilton KeynesMK1 1BU England+44 1908 211212

Miller Heiman Asia PacificLevel 212 Waters RoadNeutral Bay NSW 2089 Australia+61 (02) 9909 8699 www.millerheiman.com

chronicles of a sales leader

Documents

teams sales

lack of sales

sales effectiveness

sales managers

sales professionals

marketing alignment

respective organizations

organizations large