A GUIDE TO DRIVING SALES EXCELLENCE

Why do so many sales

development initiatives fail?

This guide was written in response to

many of our clients and business

associates who have asked us for a

thought-provoking insight into the

different levels of approaches that

companies take when it comes to

developing their B2B sales functions.

The guide examines why so many sales

development initiatives fail and how they

can be improved to take your

organisation to the next level in terms of

Driving Sales Excellence. It forms the

first of a sequence of resources that

Sterling Chase is developing to aid

business leaders and learning and

development (L&D) professionals to

ensure that their sales development

initiatives deliver the desired business

outcomes.

Sales Development Maturity

Model

We introduce the four-level Sales

Development Maturity Model (see table,

right) that is relevant to all

organisations with a sales function of

more than five people, including global

sales functions of over 50,000 people.

We give thought to each level of

maturity and explain how you, as a

leader or L&D professional, can

accelerate your company (or division)

towards the upper levels of the Sales

Development Maturity Model and, in

turn, maximise the return on your sales

development investment.

Level 1:

Tactical Interventions - models,

techniques and motivators

Level 1 of the Sales Development Maturity

Model involves sales development

initiatives which consist of a few

classroom sessions each year and rely

on the help of individual (or groups of)

freelance sales trainers.

At this level, the sales training might

make some impact in terms of

encouraging sales professionals to

revisit certain selling skills and

techniques. However, the longevity of

such an approach is limited as one or

more of the following characteristics

will reduce the likelihood of the sales

training initiative delivering a

sustained business impact:

1 The sales training interventions are

tactical and target at a specific skill or

capability gap (e.g. getting past the

gatekeeper). The problem here is that

the diagnosis is rarely 100% accurate,

so failings that have not been

diagnosed continue to impact on the

outcomes and ongoing effectiveness of

the sales function after the

interventions have taken place.

Sales Development ‘Maturity Levels’

Stages

Level 1 Tactical Interventions – Models, Techniques and Motivators

Level 2 Structured Learning and Development Programmes

Level 3 Sales Academies – Defining and Developing Best Practice

Level 4 Achieving Breakthrough – Driving Sales Excellence

2. The content is based on theoretical

examples and uses generic case studies

for applying and testing the learning, as

opposed to being tailored to the

attendees’ marketplace and applied

within the sales function’s real, day-to-

day selling context.

3. The sales training takes a ‘one-size-fits-

all’ approach with no real consideration

for each individual’s existing skills. High

performers become bored and

disengaged, while low performers and

new team members struggle to process

all of the information - let alone relate it

to their real, day-to-day selling

environment.

4. The interventions are based on sales

techniques that have been designed for

‘pushing’ products to a volume

marketplace, such as Feature Advantage

Benefit (FAB) Selling. This no longer

delivers reasonable margins in today’s

world of increasingly informed and

sophisticated business buyers.

5. The sales training initiative is based on

a sales process that is either aligned to

the sales transaction (executing the sales

call, e.g. SPIN selling) or sales campaign

(e.g. TAS and Powerbase Selling for the

field) as opposed to addressing both.

6. The sales management team’s

development is either ignored or it is not

aligned to (or integrated with) their

peoples’ development.

7. There is no follow-up from the sales

managers (in terms of monitoring,

reviews and/or coaching) to ensure that

the learning is applied on an ongoing

basis and embedded into the sales

planning and execution processes back in

the workplace.

8. A reorganisation (and often a new

leader) results in newer initiatives taking

a priority and the sales training initiative

being put on the backburner.

Any impact achieved at this level cannot

be measured in terms of its impact on the

bottom line, so return on investment

cannot be considered.

At best, the improvement achieved at

Level 1 of the Sales Development Maturity

Model is tactical. However, despite often

having the best of intentions, companies

adopting this approach are at risk of not

only taking their sales people off the road

for a considerable amount of time , but

also providing the sales force with

complicated new models which lengthen

the sales cycle and cause short-term win

rates to decline.

Level 2:

Structured Learning & Development

Programmes

At Level 2 of the Sales Development

Maturity Model, companies embark on a

more structured approach to

implement professionally planned L&D

programmes. Before the programmes

are implemented, programme managers

and suppliers agree outcomes in terms

of measures and goals to help them to

identify ‘proof of learning’, behavioural

change and business impact.

These learning and development

programmes are often based on proven

tools and techniques (or ‘methodologies’),

with plans to embed the learning back

into the sales function’s day-to-day

activities and managerial reviews so that

the benefits can be realised, tracked and

sustained over the long-term.

At this level, good implementations of

structured sales development

programmes are often linked to the

organisation’s personal development

planning (PDP) processes and

performance management processes.

Hence, individuals are required to

take personal ownership for

embedding the learning themselves,

as well as demonstrating in reviews

that they have continued to apply the

learning to deliver improvements in

performance.

There is usually some form of post-

training or coaching at this level,

which is typically provided by line

managers or dedicated coaches and

implemented to help drive initial

momentum and results.

Nevertheless, too often companies at this

level are still left wondering why their

structured L&D programmes fail to

deliver a sustainable performance

improvement and, ultimately, fail to

provide a return on their sales training

investment, despite commitments and

measures having been embedded into the

programme.

This is typically because:

1. After initial focus and dedication from

the sales leaders, the programme loses

its novelty and the embedding is left to

the sales people themselves. This is

especially common during mergers and

acquisitions and at times of poor

divisional performance, particularly

near the financial year when the

pressure encourages senior

management to take a short-term view

at the expense of more strategic and

long-term L&D programmes.

2. Although the programme addresses

the development of sales planning

processes and the tactical

competencies required when engaging

with client decision makers, it fails to

address other critical elements such

as the sales function’s culture,

attitudes across the sales force, the

embedding of tools and techniques

learned in management reviews, and

the focus required to successfully

execute individual, team and divisional

campaigns in a way that gains real

momentum.

3. Some key people are allowed to get

away with not engaging with the

programme because they are too busy

with specific campaigns or other

projects. This has the effect of telling

other attendees that these key people

are ‘above’ the sales development

programme and that, with the right

excuses, they too can get out of the

hard work (and the fear of the

unknown) involved in learning new

skills.

4. Managers and leaders lose sight of their

ownership for coaching and leading their

people towards excellence and, instead,

they focus on just managing (often on a

command and control basis) with an

emphasis on measurement dashboards

and analysis. The problem here is that

repetitively weighing a baby doesn’t make

the baby heavier or make it grow into a fully

functioning human being. You have to feed,

nurture and develop it before it will grow.

5. As described above in Level 1, a

reorganisation can result in new initiatives

taking a priority and the sales development

programme being put on the backburner.

From our research, over 90% of structured

learning and development programmes

fail to deliver the desired outcomes on a

sustained basis for at least one of the

above reasons. This has naturally led

forward-thinking companies to address

the failings of structured L&D

programmes and move to the next level of

the Sales Development Maturity Model.

Level 3

Sales Academies - defining and

developing best practice

The issues experienced at Level 2 of the

Sales Development Maturity Model has led

many large organisations to invest in more

sophisticated sales development academies

that assess, develop and accredit the selling

competencies (i.e. techniques, skills and

behaviours) of their people against a

competency framework that has either

been developed in-house or is a benchmark

for best practice across all industries.

This breakthrough has directly paved the

way for many companies to move to Level

3 of the Sales Development Maturity Model,

whereby sales academies are launched to

develop their sales people towards best

practice. These academies typically involve

pre-training assessments, interim coaching

sessions and post-training assessments,

leading to accreditation. Some even provide

their people with the opportunity to work

towards external professional sales

qualifications to further embed the learning.

These programmes are typically measured

in terms of their business impact and return

on investment.

At this level, the following factors are

critical to the success of any sales

development academy.

1. The programme must be treated as an

initiative for taking the people, the sales

function and the company to the next

level in terms of a sustained performance

improvement and professional

recognition, rather than it being regarded

as a ‘quick fix’ for poor performance or a

‘last chance saloon’ for closing a gap in

this year’s numbers.

2. A clear definition of ‘what good looks

like’ must be agreed for the processes,

skills, attitudes and behaviours of each

key role within the sales function. This

provides a benchmark for developing

each delegate across each of their

respective roles. The benchmark for

‘what good looks like’ must be agreed by

all of the key stakeholders before the

programme is designed, communicated

and implemented.

3. Everyone must attend the programme,

be bought into the programme and be

committed to making it work for

themselves and the company. This is a

performance management issue that

should be dealt with early on, from the

top down.

4. Personal learning journeys must be

implemented based on individual pre-

training assessment outcomes, which are

then used to tailor the content and

formalise individual commitment within

a Personal Development Plan (PDP). This

should form the basis for in-house sales

coaching by the sales managers.

5. The programme must ensure that the

sales managers are trained to be

effective sales coaches who are able to

coach their people to optimize and

embed the tools, techniques and

principles provided within the

programme, as well as attitudinal buy-in

at every stage. The sales managers must

be able to demonstrate sales planning

and execution competencies on both the

sales floor and in the field, while they

have to be capable of supporting and

leading their people in the planning and

execution of their campaigns to ensure

that they hit their numbers.

6. Supplier partnerships must be chosen

based on a blended capability which

encompasses individual sales training,

sales management training and coaching,

and sales leadership coaching and

consulting.

Even at this level of the Sales Development

Maturity Model, however, the impact of

sales academies can become a problem if

they are not fully aligned with the rest of

the organisation’s vision, strategy and

other strategy-enabling change

initiatives. Consequently, the full extent

of any sustained performance

improvements and return on investment

will not be realised.

In the complex and interconnected world

of today’s large organisations, for a sales

development programme to achieve a

sustained improvement in terms of

driving sales excellence, the sales

leadership team must implement a fully

integrated approach to driving sales

excellence - this leads us to Level 4 of the

Sales Development Maturity Model.

Level 4

Achieving Breakthrough—Driving Sales

Excellence

To achieve breakthrough in terms of

driving a sustained level of sales

excellence, sales development

programmes require a determination on

behalf of the sales leadership team to

make a real and sustainable improvement

in the processes, attitudes, competencies

and execution, in the field and/or on the

sales floor. It’s the same with any change

initiative at any organisation: sustained

success requires people at every level to

be committed on a sustained basis to

making change happen.

At Level 4, the sales development

programme should be planned, tailored,

communicated and implemented as part of

a clear strategy for shifting the skills,

behaviours, attitudes and performance of

the sales function at both the sales person

level and the sales management level. As a

sales leader (or L&D professional), you

need to fully integrate your sales

development programme with your

business growth strategy and ensure that

it is communicated as a ‘critical success

factor’ for the company’s delivery of

growth in the immediate, medium AND

longer term.

7 Steps to Driving Sales Excellence

To achieve breakthrough in driving sales

excellence at Level 4 of the Sales

Development Maturity Model, the sales

development programme must adhere to

the following 7 steps:

1. An applied and tailored solution must be

implemented that develops and embeds

sales excellence in a way that is integrated

into the company’s wider strategy for

delivering growth. The sales development

programme needs to be aligned to other

change initiatives so that everything is

joined up into a single overall strategy for

change. In essence, the sales teams must

know that everything that each person

does will contribute directly to the

strategy for driving sales excellence.

2. The leadership team needs to champion

the programme. For the programme to

work, it is crucial that your people see,

hear and feel the executive team’s

commitment to the sales development

programme – not just in terms of words,

but also in terms of involvement and an

ongoing commitment to making a

sustained change that will lead to a

performance improvement. As such, the

sales leaders and managers need to

embody, role-model and champion change

from the front.

3. The programme must develop all

aspects of sales excellence in a way that

encompasses the sales process (and

planning), critical sales competencies (i.e.

skills, attitudes and behaviours) in the field

and on the phone and the actual execution

(i.e. delivery of the numbers) in the

workplace by every individual at every

level, right up to the Sales Director, in the

short, medium and longer term.

4. The new tools, techniques and

behaviours developed by the programme

must be embedded into the culture of the

organisation, as well as management

reviews, coaching sessions, personal

development planning processes and

performance management processes.

5. The programme has to develop the

effectiveness and efficiency of individual

sales interactions, sales campaigns, sales

territory planning and sales performance

management across the sales function.

6. Commitment to the programme must

not waiver in times of pressure and

excuses cannot be allowed to get in the

way, while market conditions that require

a different pace must be considered. Don’t

raise the bar for everyone too soon – make

the stages of the journey achievable on an

individual basis while making it clear that

the objective of sales excellence (in terms

of process, attitude, competencies and

execution) must be achieved by all.

7. The sales leadership (or L&D) team

must choose and nurture the right

partnerships, both externally and

internally across the stakeholder

community to enable your organisation to

get there.

Since founding Sterling Chase in 2004, we

are yet to have seen a successful, people-

led company in which the ongoing

( continuous) professional development of

its sales function and the people therein is

not a critical element of the strategy for

delivering growth. But it’s not all down to

the sales leadership team’s commitment

and effort to make a sales development

programme a real success. Much of this

comes down to the leadership team’s

choice of sales training provider.

To reach breakthrough with a sales

development programme, sales leaders

need to pick a sales training provider that

will:

· Tailor the programme (in terms of its

content, communications, role-play

scenarios, workshops, live coaching

interventions, etc.) for you, your

organisation and your target markets.

· Provide proven selling tools and

techniques that can be applied to your

selling environment (i.e. your client base),

your target sectors, your portfolio and

your proposition strategy.

· Have experience in developing and

implementing programmes in a way that

wins the hearts and minds of the sales

force and drives real application and

momentum in terms of results in the field

and across the sales floor.

· Be able to assess and train the sales

teams; train, coach and mentor the sales

managers; and consult the sales leaders in

a way that ensures that the programme is

fully integrated into the wider growth

strategy and ensure that it delivers a

ground-breaking return on investment for

your organisation.

Written by Steve Eungblut,

Managing Director of Sterling Chase

About the Author

STEVE EUNGBLUT is Managing Director of

Sterling Chase Associates. Steve has a track

record in transforming the relationships,

revenues and profits of companies that sell to

the commercial and public sectors. He has

always led by delivering a shift in process,

skills, attitude and behaviour. Steve holds an

MBA from Leeds Business School and

attended Harvard Business School.

Learn more about Steve and his company’s

sales development programmes at

www.sterlingchase.com

About the Sterling Chase

Established in 2004, Sterling Chase offers sales training, coaching and consulting programmes that deliver and accelerate

success for corporate and mid-market clients in the UK and across the globe. We differentiate from competitors with an

applied approach to sales development that drives measurable business results, ground-breaking return on investment and

transformational change in the skills, competencies and behaviours of the sales force - at the selling, management and

leadership levels.

Our programmes have delivered over £2bn of incremental sales pipeline and over £300m of incremental contracted

revenues for their clients. We are the only company in the UK that offers applied, blended professional development

programmes that combine real performance improvement with external qualifications. As an ISMM (Institute of Sales &

Marketing Management) Recognised Centre for professional sales qualifications, we offer internationally recognised,

applied sales qualifications from levels 3 to 6 (on the Ofqual QCF Framework) for sales professionals, sales managers and

sales leadership teams.

At Sterling Chase our coaches and consultants encompass all disciplines of sales force development. All of them have at

least 15 years’ experience in coaching sales people, sales managers and sales leaders across multiple industries.

What Our Clients Say

“I have been thoroughly impressed with Sterling Chase and the commitment they have given to the npower Sales

Academy. Their ability to understand the training requirements, organisational drivers and industry context to drive

performance sets them streets ahead of other training and development providers. I would have no hesitation in

recommending them to any organisation.”

Chris Billing – Head of Indirect Sales, RWE npower

“Sterling Chase have delivered exceptional value for BT during the last six years, with extraordinary increases in sales

and pipeline year on year without fail – circa £60 million.

Steve and the team are truly inspirational – providing specifically targeted and tailored training for our needs.”

Ian McVae - Senior Learning & Development Buyer, BT Retail

“Complete new view on how to deliver new business. Brilliant!”

Jeremy Clark - Account Manager, ONI PLC

To find out how Sterling Chase can enable you to deliver sustainable sales excellence and ground-breaking return on

your sales development investment, contact us on +44 (0) 845 371 3099 or email us at enquiries@sterlingchase.com