sales competency manual - heineken careers

Sales Competency Manual

It’s all about helping Sales Professionals to do their

current job better and assist in developing their career

Competency Level ChartsDetailed guidance enabling organisation & individual capability development

Key Elements

• Definition statement

• Key knowledge and skills required

• Behavioural guidance including ‘things to do’ and ‘things not to do’

Sales Competency Level Charts

1. Category, Portfolio and Brand Understanding

Key skill requirements

• Assimilating consumer, category, brand and portfolio information and insights

• Adapting customer strategy and plans to incorporate category, portfolio and brand developments

• Articulating relevant insights to customers, shoppers and on-

trade consumers

SELF • Understands category, portfolio and brand

strategies and plans • Ensures that execution of plans support

category, portfolio and brand strategies

TEAM • Leverages insights to incorporate

portfolio and brand strategies into customer plans

• Champions consumer, category, portfolio and brand insights with key customers

• Ensures team understanding of category,

portfolio and brand strategies

ORGANISATION • Challenges and contributes to the development of appropriate consumer, category, portfolio and

brand strategies.• Champions future sales requirements in consumer, category, portfolio and brand insights and

strategies

Required behaviours

“

Limiting behaviour

• Ignores category, portfolio or brand strategy when defining customer strategies

• Fails to leverage Shopper/Consumer knowledge with the customer for company benefit

• Ignores brand communication guidelines

Key knowledge requirements

• Consumer insight and segmentation• Category, portfolio and brand strategies and plans (including

competitor positioning)• Brand communication guidelines

The ability to understand the category, brand and portfolio strategies and objectives in order to incorporate them into customer strategies and activation plans.

Limiting behaviour

• Execution of tactical activity that does not support Heineken channel strategy

• Fails to use channel, shopper and consumer understanding effectively with customers.

2. Channel, Shopper and Consumer Understanding


• Shopper/ Consumer Profiles• Channel segmentation, strategies and plans• Channel profitability drivers

• Channel trends.


• Assimilating Shopper/Consumer information and insights by channel

• Articulating relevant insights to customers

SELF • Understands Shopper/Consumer Profiles• Understands channel segmentation, profitability

drivers, strategies, plans and trends.• Ensures that tactical execution of plans supports

channel strategies.

TEAM • Champions Shopper/Consumer insights with key customers• Incorporates channel strategy into customer strategies and

plans• Ensures team understanding of channel and Shopper/

Consumer insights and channel strategies and plans.

ORGANISATION • Challenges and contributes to development of appropriate channel strategies.• Anticipates channel trends and ensures relevance of channel strategies and customer plans.• Champions future sales requirements in channel and Shopper/Consumer insights and strategies

Required behaviours

‘The ability to understand channel strategy, shoppers and consumers to effectivelyincorporate them into customer strategies and plans’

3. Route to Market Strategy


• Existing Heineken and competitor RTM structures.• Distribution logistics• Current RTM profitability• Portfolio and channel strategy

• Value chain dynamics


• Leading the RTM strategy development process• Understanding RTM risks and opportunities• Creating, evaluating and selecting RTM options• Calculating RTM profitability

SELF • Makes tactical decisions to leverage efficiency and effectiveness

in current RTM • Can explain to key customer and distributors current RTM

dynamics

TEAM • Conducts analysis and assesses existing RTM

performance and future development needs• Provides insight into opportunities for improving

RTM strategy• Monitors competitor and market developments to

understand implication into RTM strategy

ORGANISATION • Assesses need for RTM change• Leads the process to develop RTM strategy.• Optimises resources to develop and implement the strategy • Works cross-functionally and with relevant partners to define implications and agree actions• Gains agreement to implement internally and externally

Required behaviours

“The ability to identify and formulate the most efficient and effective way to sell and distribute our products.

”

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to align Route To Market strategy development to Operating Company Channel Strategy

• Fails to conduct diagnostic to identify Route to Market issues and opportunities

• Fails to consider broader cross functional impacts and implications of Route To Market Strategy.

4. Route to Market Profitability


• Basic production, transportation, distribution, warehousing costs (COGS, operating expenses, raw materials etc.)

• P&L components for Heineken, customer and category in the customer

• Key drivers of value chain profitability • Trade Terms strategy• Activity ROI analysis

• Distributor rewards and compensation schemes


• Using and applying tools (e.g. value chain, category management, space planning tools)• Gathering and maintaining total value chain data and making sound assumptions• Evaluating ROI of customer investments including promotional effectiveness • Calculating value for company, customer and competitors• Managing sales budgets

• Managing product and customer mix to maximise GP Net and EBIT

SELF • Through an understanding of profitability dynamics,

identifies operational/tactical opportunities for improving profit (e.g. pricing, range, discounts)

• Presents opportunities internally and with customers and gains agreement to implement

• Performs ROI analysis of activities

TEAM • Develops and implements profitability dynamics

insights to create and leverage strategic customer initiatives that deliver improved results (e.g. customised promotions, category building initiatives)

• Consistently tracks and optimises ROI on customer spend

• Reapplies successes to other customers and shares knowledge across OpCo sales organisation

Required behaviours

‘The ability to optimise total value chain profitability by managing costs and maximising revenue in a sustainable way’

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to complete full Route To Market process and analysis recommendations

• Fails to implement robust and sustainable tracking and analysis processes

• Fails to focus on both Internal and Customerrecommendation and action plan alignment

ORGANISATION • Drives major internal and external change programmes based on the profitability dynamics to deliver significant

benefits to customers and/or the OpCo (e.g. major SKU rationalisation, customer investment policy, distributor rewards and compensation policy)

• Challenges and influences cross-functional colleagues to develop profit enhancing initiatives (e.g. portfolio gaps, pricing strategy)

5. Distributor Management

Required behaviours

“The ability to effectively and efficiently manage distributors to deliver profitable sales growth”

Key knowledge requirements• OpCo ambition• RTM options and cost/benefit analysis• Channel segmentation and strategy• Distributor economics and value chain dynamics• Distributor market landscape• Competitor distributor strategy• Supply chain dynamics

Key skill requirements• Segmenting distributors.• Selecting, briefing, training and motivating distributors• Measuring distributor performance• Distributor planning• Managing distributor contracts• Calculating ROI and analysing profitability • Joint business planning

• Relationship building

SELF • Educates the selected distributor in portfolio guidelines

and channel objectives • Understands the needs of the distributor and meets

these with tactical business building ideas• Penetrates distributor organisation including all key

decision makers• Maximises financial returns and ensures compliance to

financial terms• Safeguards company assets• Monitors distributor performance in line with agreed

policy/objectives

TEAM • Drives selection, briefing, training, motivation and

evaluation of distributors• Sets comprehensive performance standards for individual

distributors• Manages and drives distributor performance via reward

and compensation scheme • Establishes remuneration linked objectives within overall

policy• Sets up formal review process to jointly manage

performance versus objectives • Recommends changes to relationship between Heineken

and distributor

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to align Distributor Management recommendations with detailed Operating Company

• Route to Market cost / benefit analysis

• Fails to consider Distributor Market Landscape and Competitor Distributor Management strategies in development of Distributor Management recommendations

• Fails to align Operating Company Distributor Management recommendation with capabilities and aspirations of partner Distributors

ORGANISATION • Defines and leads long term Distributor strategy• Leads and defines company policy on use of distributors and clearly defines distributor roles and responsibilities for each channel• Shapes Heineken’s distributor landscape over time (e.g. optimal number of tiers, exclusivity, distributor segmentation)• Sets benchmarks for distributor performance in the market and creates distributor development plans to address key issues• Designs and implements reward and compensation policy and structure• Proactively manages risk of distributor consolidation or credit

6. Commercial Asset Management

Required behaviours

“The ability to create and execute the commercial asset strategy to maximise resource utilisation and return on investment”

Key knowledge requirements• Channel and customer strategies• Brand guidelines• Existing assets (type, location, condition)• Different asset options• Average sales volume and returns• Best practice placement guidelines• Incremental impact of secondary placements

• Asset maintenance policy

Key skill requirements• Monitoring and evaluating asset performance and ROI• Creating asset strategy and plan • Managing the asset database• Managing contracts• Allocating resource to match asset strategy

• Managing installations

SELF • Identifies and evaluates outlet opportunities

to match the right asset selection and location to the right shopper/ consumer opportunity

• Tracks location and condition of assets• Enforces adherence to contracts• Ensures adequate delivery and maintenance

service levels are kept• Calculates the value of the asset ROI by

outlet

TEAM • Designs effective asset roll-out strategy • Identifies customer wide opportunities and implements

consistent execution• Coordinates and manages asset implementation through

the sales force• Designs maintenance policy• Sets up systems to ensure tracking and maintenance of

assets• Evaluates ROI of overall assets and recommends any

remedial action

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to understand opco policy in the placement of commercial assets.

• Fails to act when a commercial asset is underperforming versus agreed customer objectives.ORGANISATION

• Formulates asset investment policy by outlet type• Identifies strategic opportunities for major asset initiatives• Drives internal development of new solutions to meet new opportunities with customers

7. Sales Organisation and Performance Management

Required behaviours

The ability to efficiently and effectively cover the market bybuildingperformance driven, customer oriented and accountable sales organisation”


• OpCo ambition• Outlet universe, channel segmentation and strategy, existing

performance standards, call coverage and frequency• Cost/benefit of calls and existing resource • Sales information system

• Customer service metrics


• Understanding current productivity• Journey planning• Segmenting accounts• Setting SMART sales objectives • Recruiting, training and coaching sales people

• Assessing and evaluating sales performance against standards

SELF • Uses knowledge of customer landscape,

segmentation, channel strategy, and portfolio to contribute to the design of an optimal sales organisation

• Contributes to developing clear roles and responsibilities, accountabilities, reporting and control structure, and ways of working

• Monitors and evaluates sales performance in area of responsibility

TEAM • Identifies sales performance gaps and opportunities for improvement. • Uses quantitative tools to design optimal sales coverage (resource,

call activities, frequency, duration)• Sets realistic but stretching Sales KPIs, aligned with opco strategy• Proactively develops, coaches, promotes, recruits, and terminates

sales people to ensure the organisation stays competitive • Embeds clear roles and responsibilities and ways of working • Consistently monitors and evaluates sales performance• Sets SMART sales KPIs that are aligned with trade marketing strategy

and objectives

Limiting behaviour

• Creates ambiguity by failing to set objectives or by setting non-SMART objectives.

• Fails to act on consistent poor performance of individuals versus defined objectives.

• Fails to support further development of high performing individuals.

ORGANISATION • Challenges the organisation’s performance standards• Creates a performance driven culture, ensuring the sales organisation has the appropriate structure, skills, knowledge and best-in-

class tools• Designs a performance-based remuneration policy including an incentive scheme • Leads internal process with customer service, supply chain, finance etc. to enhance customer interfaces and improve service levels• Drives a culture of sales KPI achievement.

8. Customer Insight

Required behaviours

“The ability to consistently generate customer insights (both at a category and company level)that drive customer strategies and plans, in order to create and maintain competitive advantage”

Key knowledge requirements• How the customer makes money overall and with Heineken• Customer contribution to Heineken profitability • Customer strategy and plans (corporate and category)• Competitive environment (for customer and for Heineken within customer)• Customer specific consumer/shopper behaviour and drivers at the POP• Key decision makers in the customer’s organisation, their needs and the

decision making process

Key skill requirements• Using multiple data sources to gather and maintain customer

data • Analysing customer expectations, needs, behaviours,

organisation, strategy and performance• Segmentation techniques• Turning customer data and field observation into insight• Identifying strategic implications of customer insight

• Creating key customer profiles

SELF

• Uses customer insights to influence the customer’s behaviour and POP activation

• Regularly contributes relevant information that will drive insight

TEAM

• Generates strategic and operational customer insights to jointly develop business

• Ensures integration of customer insights with brand, portfolio and channel strategies

• Shares effectivrly customer insights and

incorporates them into strategies and plans

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to generate, gather and share customer insight

• Fails to use identified Customer Insight and associated best practices to develop customer relationship and mutual profitability.

ORGANISATION • Creates or finds new data sources and insights that deliver major strategic change in the customer/market• Champions internally the importance of customer insight in any market related activity to deliver integrated cross-

functional plans

• Optimises resource allocation to ensure generation of practical insight

9. Customer Management

Required behaviours

“The ability to efficiently manage independent customers from planning through to execution to deliver profitable sale”


• OpCo ambition• Channel segmentation and strategy• Customer objectives, strategy and plans• Business planning process (internal and external)• Customers’ key decision makers and their needs

• Outlet situation (including POP drivers) by channel


• Analysing outlet and customer data• Effectively collecting feedback from customers• Outlet planning• Influencing different interpersonal styles• Networking and account penetration• Developing customer relationships• Dealing with conflict

SELF • Understands channel segmentation, strategy, and

outlet planning• Contributes to a successful business relationship

through understanding and responding to customer/outlet needs

• Knows and influences key contacts in customer/outlet

• Proactively observes changes and opportunities in

customers/outlets and feeds back internally

TEAM • Coordinates overall independent customer planning • Organises internal and external resources to support

initiatives in customer outlets• Manages conflict when it arises whilst maintaining

the relationship

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to recognise the differences between customers and adjust behaviour and activity to accommodate.

• Misses opportunities through failure to develop effective business relationship with customers.

• Ineffectively uses resources due to lack of customer knowledge.

ORGANISATION • Assesses overall effectiveness of the plans and creates new options and ideas to deliver them• Leads organisational change to support customers with the right level of resource • Leads major conflict resolution with the most important customers

10. Key Customer Planning

Required behaviours

“The ability to create, embed and implement clear strategies and customer plans for long term sustainable business growth with key customers through effective collaboration”

Key knowledge requirements• Category, portfolio, brand, channel and RTM strategies• Category policies on assortment, consumer pricing, shelf

presentation and promotion• Customer insights and shopper/on-trade consumer

understanding• Profitability dynamics• Customer and third party performance metrics• Customer strategy and plans • Business planning process • Competitive environment

• Customer’s key decision makers and their needs

Key skill requirements• Creating key customer plans• Setting SMART customer objectives• Understanding and influencing the customer decision making process• Developing customer relationships (including contact strategy)• Coordinating and allocating OpCo resources• Managing third parties/partners/extended team (e.g. field sales, distributors,

field marketing agencies) to deliver results

• Cross functional planning, including supply chain.

SELF • Contributes to the development of the

customer plan• Takes ownership of delivering all or part of

the agreed plan• Identifies variances to the plan and

recommends corrective action• Ensures cross functional collaboration,

including supply chain.

TEAM • Leads the development and effective delivery of strategic

customer business plans• Effectively manages internal and external teams/third

parties/cross functional colleagues• Effectively involves customers and internal stakeholders to

ensure alignment and overcome barriers• Monitors and evaluates plan implementation and

performance versus goal

Limiting behaviour

• Weak understanding of the Customer’s key goals and decision making process

• Fails to effectively network with key decision makers within a customer resulting in missed opportunities

• Fails to translate opco brand, portfolio, channel and category strategies into customer plans.

ORGANISATION • Leads the development of the customer planning process and assesses its effectiveness• Assesses risks and opportunities across key customers and ensures consistent approach• Utilises multi-functional approach and step-change thinking to create change agendas with key customers

• Allocates resources across key customers to optimise profitability

11. Selling and Negotiation

Required behaviours

“The ability to reach mutually profitable agreements with customers”

Key knowledge requirements• Customer and channel plan• Pricing and profitability, trading terms, customer objectives • Contracts and historic agreements• Key decision makers in the customer’s organisation, their

needs and the decision making process

Key skill requirements• Selling skills (e.g. understanding customer needs, strong questioning and

listening, turning features into benefits, financial acumen, closing)• Negotiation skills (e.g. power analysis, creating shopping lists, trading variables,

managing conflict)• Objection handling skills• Adapting to and influencing interpersonal styles

• Mapping the decision making process

SELF • Demonstrates an understanding of the

difference between selling and negotiating • Uses questions to understand the customer

situation before proposing• Uses features and benefits to underline the

value of the proposition to the customer • Uses a confident close to secure a deal• Demonstrates ability to deal with buyer

tactics

TEAM • Sells concepts effectively, securing customer buy-in to the

big idea• Uses negotiation planning to leverage power, shopping lists

and variables needed• Coaches team in effectively selling and negotiating• Decides selling approach to customers (e.g. managing

conflict when needed) • Enrols key internal and external stakeholders in delivering

agreements

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to know and understand the key features, advantages and benefits of our brands and translate those to explain customer benefit

• Fails to prepare effectively for customer negotiations thus missing opportunities and failing to achieve maximum value for Heineken and the customer.

• Fails to adapt style of selling and negotiation to different customers and individuals.

ORGANISATION • Manages the implications of negotiations across channels/customers by ensuring a consistent, defendable

position• Negotiates agreements with impact at national or international levels• Networks at most senior levels

• Effectively closes major conflicts

12. Excellence in Execution

Required behaviours

“The ability to ensure the flawless execution of point of purchase activities to generate sustainable competitive advantage in outlet”

Key knowledge requirements• Customer plan• Shopper/Consumer drivers by channel and sales impact of

changes• Customer drivers • Promotion mechanics and merchandising standards• Customer decision making and implementation (by channel)• Responsible consumption policy

• Activity tracking and evaluation methods

Key skill requirements• Using category management and

space planning tools• Managing third parties • Managing POP execution projects• Communicating and feeding back lessons learned in outlets• Analysing the ROI of activities

• Tracking and evaluating execution against SMART objectives

SELF • Ensures activation at POP is simple and

practical for the sales force or customer to execute.

• Monitors execution through in-field observation

• Conducts on-the-road coaching of team to improve execution

• Evaluates effectiveness and ROI of specific

activities

TEAM • Drives the execution of the yearly customer plan • Sets sales force local operational POP execution targets.• Provides clear guidelines and tools for the sales force to

execute• Continuously monitors and evaluates the plan to ensure it

is on track. Intervenes if required • Consistently monitors and evaluates activities on

effectiveness and ROI

Limiting behaviour

• Fails to use both internal and external resources effectively to ensure high quality execution of POP activities

• Fails to set SMART execution objectives

• Fails to measure the results of execution activities and misses opportunities in the POP.

ORGANISATION • Sets challenging performance standards for execution• Optimises sales resource and merchandising team mix to enable market coverage, reduce cost to serve, and

improve performance

• Orchestrates internal cross- functional resources to improve customer execution and optimise profitability

sales competency manual - heineken careers

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