Sales Effectiveness - A Case For Sales Automation

SalesEffectivenessACaseforSolution-SalesAutomation

2016

1

SalesEffectiveness–ACaseforSolution-SellingAutomation

CONTENTSEXECUTIVESUMMARY..........................................................................................2LEVELSOFSALESPROCESS....................................................................................3SALESPERFORMANCEBASEDONLEVELOFSALESPROCESS................................4SALESTALENTDEVELOPMENTTHROUGHAUTOMATION.....................................8SUMMARY.............................................................................................................9WHYOCCURRŌ?..................................................................................................10

2


EXECUTIVESUMMARYAnewbreedofsalesorganisation

Salesorganisationswhichinvestintraininganddevelopmentoftheirsalestalenthavehistoricallyout-performedthosethatdon't.In2016it'sfairtosaythatnearlyallsuccessfulorganisationsnowinvestinsomelevelofsalestraininganddevelopmentwhethereffectiveornot.Anewbreedofsalesorganisationsarenowemergingthatareoutperformingeventhemostardentinvestorsinsalestalentandtheydon'tnecessarilyspendthemostonsalaries,CRMortraining.Sowhatisitthatdistinguishesthesenewpioneeringsalesorganisations?Theyhavebeenincreasinglyconcentratingtheirsalesinvestmentinclearlydefiningtheirsalesprocessandhowtheydynamicallymonitorandprovidecontinuousfeedbackontheirsalespeople'sprescribedsalesskills.Thislevelofcontrolandfeedbackhasbeenmadepossiblethroughthedevelopmentof'Solution-salesautomation'whichleveragesexistingCRM/ERPsystemstocost-effectivelyprovidevirtualreinforcementtosalespeopleandmanagersanytime,anywhere.Theresult?Over70%ofsalespeopleareachievingsalesquotawhichhavesuccessfullyimplementedsolution-salesautomation.Perhapsanevengreaterobservationistheincreaseinsalespeopleachievingtargetwhohavehistoricallybeenunder-performers.Thisstudyhighlightsmountingresearchandevidencefromtheworld’sleadingbenchmarkresearchandadvisoryservicesfirms.Researchclearlyrevealingthatinvestmentinthedevelopmentofsalestalentreinforcedbysolutionsalesautomation,significantlyimprovestheabilityofsalespeopletoclosedeals;andtherebymeetorexceedtheirrevenuetargets.Thisstudyalsoprovidesfivefundamentalattributesinthemostsuccessfulsales-effectivenessinitiativesthatfacilitatetheintroductionofstrictlyenforcedformalisedsalesstructures.

3


LEVELSOFSALESPROCESSFourlevelsofsalesprocess

InastudypreviouslypublishedinHarvardBusinessReview,almostallcompaniestendtoadoptoneoffourlevelsofadherencetosalesprocess.Tobrieflysummariseeach:

Level1—Randomprocess

Acompanymaybeperceivedasbeinganti-process,thoughwhattheyreallylackisasinglestandardprocess.Essentially,everysalespersondoestheirownthingtheirownway.

Level2—Informalprocess

Acompanyexposestheirsalespeopletosalestrainingandindicatesthattheyshouldusetheseskillsintheirsellingefforts,butthatuseisneithermonitorednormeasured.

Level3—Formalprocess

Acompanynotonlyprovidestraining,butalsoregularlyreinforcestheuseofdefinedsalesskills(sometimesreligiously).Theyconductperiodicreviewsoftheprocesstoseehow

effectiveitis,andthenmakechangesbasedonthatanalysis.

Level4—Dynamicprocess

Acompanydynamicallymonitorsandprovidescontinuousfeedbackonsalespeople’sapplicationofprescribedsalesskills.Thecompanyalsoproactivelymodifiestheprocess

whenitdetectkeychangesinmarketconditions.Thisstudyrevealsthedirectcorrelationthatexistsbetweenthelevelofsalesprocessadherenceanorganisationadoptsandthelevelofsalesperformanceitenjoys.

4


SALESPERFORMANCEBASEDONLEVELOFSALESPROCESSInstartingtoassesssalesperformance,thefirstfigurewelookatisthepercentageofsalespeoplewhoaremeetingorachievingsalestargets.Thefollowinggraphsummarisestheresultsfromthestudydata.

WeseethatassalesrepsmovefromLevel1to2,and2to3,thepercentageofsalespeopleachievingtheirquotasincreases,andthenjumpssignificantlywhentheymovefromLevel3to4.Inlookingtoseewhatwascontributingtothishigherdegreeofsalessuccess,wedrilledfurtherintothedataandcomparedtheoutcomeofforecastdealsbetweenthesefourgroups.Thefollowingtableshowstheresultsofthatanalysis.

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

Level1-RandomProccess

Level2-InformalProcess

Level3-FormalProcess

Level4-DynamicProcess

59.9% 62.2% 63.7%

71.8%

PercentageofRepsMakingQuotaBasedonLevelofSalesProcess

5


Theinterestingtrendisthatascompaniesgetmorefocusedonsalesprocess,thewinrateofforecastdealsincreases.Themaincontributortothisimprovementinperformanceisthatcompetitivelossesdecrease.Andwealsoseethatwhencompaniesgettolevel4,therateof‘nodecisions’starttogodownaswell.Welookedatoneothersetofmetricsthathelpspointtowhysalesresultsimprovebasedonthelevelofsalesprocess.Thesecondtablewewillshareshowsthepercentageofsalespeoplewhoareactivelyadoptingthesalesskillstheyhavebeentaughtconsistentlyastheypursuenewdeals.

AtLevel1therearenocompaniesreportingsalesskillsprocessadoptionratesbecausethereisnoprocesstoadoptinthefirstplace.ButassalespeoplemovetoLevels2,3,and4,weseethatthepercentageofcompaniesreportingthatatleast75%oftheirsalespeopleareconsistently/regularlyusingtheirsalesprocess,salesskillsadoptionratesgofrom25.4%to52.9%to84.8%.Thefindingspointtothehighvalueofensuringthatsalespeopleconsistentlyapplyskillsaftertheylearnthem.Conductingtrainingwithoutapost-coursestrategyforhowtoreinforceandenforcethesalesprocesswillsignificantlyreducethereturn-on-investmentcompaniesgeneratefromtheirtraininginvestments.

6


[SourceHBR2015–‘Whattopsalesteamshaveincommonin5charts’]

TheHBRstudyshownaboveconcludedthat50%ofhigh-performingsalesorganisationshavesalesprocesseswhichwerecloselymonitored,strictlyenforcedorautomatedcomparedtojust28%fromunderperformingsalesorganisations.Thestudyconcludedthat48%percentofunderperformingsalesorganisationsindicatedtheyhadnon-existentorinformalstructuredsalesprocessescomparedtoonly29%fromhighperformingsalesorganisations.AfurtherHBRstudy‘Companieswithaformalsalesprocessgeneratemorerevenue’reinforcedthesefindingsandrevealedthatthereis“adirectcorrelationbetweeneffectivepipelinemanagementandstrongrevenuegrowth.”Companiesthathadaclearlydefinedsalesprocess,trainedsalesmanagersonpropersalespipelinemanagement,andspentatleastthreehoursamonthonsalespipelinemanagement“saw28%higherrevenuegrowth.”

7


VentanaResearchcomplementsHBR’sfindingswith“Inconsistentsalesexecution”toppingthereasoncitedbysalesleadershipforfailureinmeetingorexceedingrevenuegrowthexpectations:

WeaknessesinSales

AfinaltrendwheretheenforcementandautomationofstrictsalesprocessisprovidingasignificantcompetitiveedgeishighlightedbyTheBridgeGroup’s‘SalesDevelopment2016–MetricsandCompensationResearchReport’.Accordingtothisrecentstudy,theaveragetenureofSalesDevelopmentReps(SDRs)is1.4years.Thisisdownfromnearly2.2yearsin2014.Forthefirsttimeinthehistoryofthereport,SDRsarebeinghiredwithlessexperiencethanever:today’sSDRshavefewerthantwoyearsofexperience,withanaverageof1.3years.Fourtimesasmanycompaniesarehiringrepswith“lessthan1-yearsalesexperience”in2016asdidin2010.

8


SALESTALENTDEVELOPMENTTHROUGHAUTOMATIONInbenchmarkingLevel4firms,specificallyinregardstotheirsaleseffectivenessinitiatives,thefollowingfivecharacteristicswerecommoninall:

1. SalesGoals/TrainingAlignment:First,weseethattrainingisdirectlyalignedtothecompany’ssalesgoals.Forexample,ifthefirmisfocusedonclosingnewaccountsthentrainingskillscoursesonprospectingareapriority.Ifavoidingdiscountingisakeyobjective,theneducationisprovidedonsellingvalue.Or,iftheemphasisfortheyearispenetratingexistingaccountsmoredeeply,thenthefocusfortrainingcouldbeoncross-selling/up-selling.ThekeypointisthattrainingisrelatedtoclearbusinessobjectivesthathaveanROIassociatedwiththemfromdayone.

2. TrainingCustomisation:Secondly,becausethesecompanieswanttheskillstaughtto

becomepartofasalesperson’sdailyworkflow,thecoursesareadaptedtofitthecompanyversusexpectingthecompanytoadapttofitthecourses.Thismakesiteasierforrepstounderstandandseethevalueofwhattheyarebeingaskedtolearn.

3. FocusonSellingSkills:Thirdly,whileproducttrainingwillalwaysbeneeded,Level4

companiesrealisethatprospectstypicallyconductsignificantonlineresearchbeforemeetingwithasalespersonand,asaresult,arenolongerreliantonthesalespersonforinformation.So,theprimaryfocusofthesecompanies’traininginitiativesisonimprovingthesellingskillsoftheirsalespeoplesothattheycanhavemeaningfulbusinessdialogueswithprospects.

4. Manager/RepCoachingCommitment:Fourthly,inadditiontotrainingsalespeople

onhowtousetheskills,managersarealsotrainedonhowtoreinforcethemthrougheffectivesalescoaching.Oncetheinitialtrainingsessionsarecompleted,managersprovidetheirsalespeoplewithongoingsalescoachinginordertoensurethattheyareapplyingthenewsalesskillsonthejob.

5. VirtualReinforcementThroughAutomation:Finally,thesesalesorganisationsare

leveragingthepoweroftechnologytocost-effectivelyprovidevirtualreinforcementtosalespeopleandmanagers.Anytime,anywhere,repsandmanagerscanaccessInternet-basedcoursesandtoolstoreviewtrainingconcepts.(e.g.DealCatalystSolutionSellingAutomationforCRM)–SolutionSalesAutomation

9


SUMMARYWiththerapidrateofchangethatsalesteamsareexperiencingeachday;newproductlines,enhancementstoexistingofferings,changesinthecompetitivelandscapeandhighercustomerexpectations,continuousinvestintheprofessionalisationofsaleshasbecomethenorm.However,thegapinthereturnonanorganisation’ssalesinvestmentisincreasing.Thekeyistoensurethatthefundsthatareinvestedultimatelyhelpmovetherevenuedial.Therefore,themorecompaniescanbringsciencetotheartofselling,themoreeffectivesalespeoplewillbeatclosingdeals.Thenewbreedofsuccessfulsalesorganisationsinvestdirectlyinthelevelofsalesprocessadherence,ensuringitisbothformalanddynamicthroughautomation,viaexistingsalestechnologies.Withtheaverageexperienceandtenurefornewsaleshiresfallingsteeply,thosethatbringthislevelofautomationtosaleswillrealiseafargreaterreturnontheirconsiderablesalestalentinvestment.Consequencessufferedbyorganisationswithamoreinformalorrandomsalesprocessareincreasingtimescalesforlessexperiencedsalespeopletomakeasalescontributionandcompoundinglevelsofstaffturnover.Expertsandpractitionerspointoutthatwithoutanalytics,salesorganisationswillcontinuetostruggletogrowrevenuesandoptimiseperformance.In2016,thetoolsandtechniquesexisttogaincontroloverthesalesorganisationanddelivermoreconsistentprocesses,messages,targets,monitoringandfeedbackvitaltoachievesalesgrowthsuccess.Ifyouarecreatingtherighttools,training,messagingandcontentandsalesteamscannoteasilyaccessthem,thenyouareeffectivelyfightingwithonehandtiedbehindyourback.Furthermore,ifyoucannottrackwhatisbeingusedandhoweffectiveitisinhelpingsalesteams,thevalueofwhatyouprovidewilldiminishovertime.Today,businessescannolongerignorethemismatchbetweenwhatscienceknowsandwhatsalespeopledo.Therealityisthatsellinghasbecomeanexclusiveclubofhighlyskilledprofessionalswherethereislessandlessroomforapprenticeship.

10


WHYOCCURRŌ?

Overthelast30-years,Occurrōhasledthewayintheformalisationoforganisation’ssalesprocesswithdramaticeffect.Yearsinadvanceofmainstreampublishedresearchandfindings,Occurrōwasoneofthefirsttorecognisetheimmediateimpactonsalesandearlytopioneertheworld’sfirstsolutionsalesautomationsoftware.Today’ssalesleadershiptrulycommittedtoconsistentorganisationalgrowthareimplementingsalesautomationacrosstheenterprise.

Occurrōisanestablishedinternationalsalesconsultancy,specialisinginsalestraining,salesprocessimplementationandautomation.WearepioneersinaligningbusinessesandITtoimprovesalesperformance.

Ourextensiveexperiencewithinbusiness-to-businesssolutionsalesspansacrossEurope,TheAmericas,AfricaandAsia-Pac.Ourclientsrangefromsmallstart-upsandSME’sthroughtomulti-nationalcorporations.Whatunifiesourclientsisthattheyareboldandambitiousleadersintheirrespectivefields.

Ourcollaborativeapproachataseniorlevelcreatesempathyandin-depthunderstandingoftheon-goingproblemsfacedbybusinessdecisionmakers.Asaresult,wecreatepracticalandinnovativesalessolutionswhichsignificantlyenhancestaffandbusinessperformance.

OURPHILOSOPHY

Ourphilosophyisbasedonanobsessiontochallengeandevolvestakeholdersofcorebusiness-processes.Ourcollaborationwithourclientsisasmuchaboutbuildingorganisationalcapabilitiesasitisaboutdevelopingindividualskills.

Ourrelationshipswithourclientsarebasedonastakeholdermentality.Weinvestourtimeextensivelyinunderstandingyourbusinessandtakeownershipofissues.Webecomepartofanon-goingsolutionprovidinginvaluablesupporttobusinessmanagersandowners.

Webuildpartnershipswithourclients,workingaspartoftheirteam,constantlychallenginganddevelopingpracticalsolutionstobusinesscriticalissues.

Wetakeimmenseprideinourabilitytoprovideinspiration,directionandconsistentlyimproveproductivityandprofitabilityoforganisationsgloballythroughdeliberatedevelopment.

PioneersinaligningbusinessesandITtoimprovesalesperformance

+44(0)2088498120

www.occurroconsulting.com

Sales Effectiveness - A Case For Sales Automation

Documents

Transcript of Sales Effectiveness - A Case For Sales Automation