how to build a great sales management function

How to Build a Great Sales Management Function

Sales Management Series Class 2

Agenda

1. Review of successful sales management characteristics

2. Develop a strategy

3. What processes, tools, and systems you need

4. How to build and train your team

5. How to motivate and lead your team

6. How to coach your team

7. Understand what skills you need

8. What reports to use

9. How to stay focused on your goals

Characteristics of Successful Sales Managementa. Has a seat at the table to help craft the vision

b. Is the voice of the customer and the sales team throughout the organization – cross functional

c. Always looking for a better way of doing things to get better results

d. Knows how to prioritize and motivate others

e. Methodical approach to the market – able to direct resources

f. Wants to win

g. Can build a team – Coach – Make tough decisions

h. Uses data to guide decisions

i. Not afraid to give credit to others

j. Sells more through the team than they can on their own

Define Where You Want To Go

a. Goals of the organization

b. Long term and short term

c. Keep it simple

d. Alignment on the goals

i. Customer focused

ii. Market oriented

Create a Plan

a. Know your market

b. Know your competition

c. Use business intelligence (BI)

d. Develop your strategy

i. Review handout

e. Strategy vs. tactics

Process, Systems, and Tools

a. Everything that is not your people

b. Benefits

i. 45% Greater sales

ii. 35% Increased time to sell and manage

Process, Systems, and Tools

c. Necessities

i. Sales

ii. Recruiting

iii. Sales management

iv. Metrics or measurables

v. Pipeline

vi. Compensation

vii. Territory management

viii. On-boarding

ix. Development

Sales Manual

a. The 4P’s

i. Position

ii. Products

iii. People

iv. Processes

Sales Process

a. Standardized

b. Match your buyer’s process

c. Review handout

Sales Systems

a. Scripts

i. Consistent and customer focused

b. On-boarding

c. Servicing

d. Follow up

e. Selling tools

a. Review handout

Recruiting Your Team (Sports)

a. Starting line up

b. Bench strength

i. Upgrade C’s to A’s

ii. 1 for 3

c. Winners vs. losers

d. Good vs. bad

Hiring Right

a. Assessing talent

b. Assessment tools and services

c. Using the information for training

Territory Design

a. Geography

b. Product line

c. Customer type

d. Market segment

Sales Structure

a. Organizational chart

b. Work flows

c. Make them mobile!

Training

a. Product training

b. Service training

c. Sales training

d. Expectations and feedback

Motivating

a. Psychological

b. Lead by example

c. Shared mission and vision

d. Give them credit

e. Monetary

i. Reward them well

Compensation Structure – What is the Right Formula?

a. Salary

b. Cash incentives

c. Premium incentives

d. Contests and SPIFs

e. Reward and recognition programs

Leading

a. Your skill set and knowledge

i. Review handout

b. Leaders show the team how to do something, not just tell them to do it

c. Leaders continually identify opportunities to coach

d. Leaders work across the entire organization for improved performance

Help Put Money in Their Pockets

a. Lead development

i. Organic vs. new

b. Sources of lead

c. Marketing

d. Networking

e. Referrals

Help Put Money in Their Pockets

f. Forward pipeline management

g. Reverse engineer activity levels

i. Review handout

h. Set goals

i. Define activity levels

Demand Discipline

a. Cure cancerous employees

b. Make them accountable

c. Metrics – leading indicators

d. Top to bottom

e. Team statistics

Coaching

a. Teaching vs. coaching

b. Don’t sell for them

c. Pre-game

d. During the game

e. Post-game

Coaching Opportunities

a. Disciplines of sales

b. Funnel management

c. Opportunity assessment and management

d. Field observations

e. Probability management

f. Productivity/time management

g. Cross pollination of best practices

Coaching Tools

a. Tell stories

b. Role play

c. Team selling

d. One-on-one (relevant to tenure and talent)

e. Plan development

Coaching Times

a. Spontaneous vs. scheduled

b. Cadence and consistency

c. Get out of the way

Reporting

a. Forecasting

b. KPI/leading indicators

c. Data collection

d. Business intelligence (BI)

i. Review handout

e. Tracking and visibility

i. War board

CRM

a. Business case not ROI

i. Increase “business knowledge” (BI)

ii. Support “change management”

iii. Provide “coaching” platform for performance

iv. Give “leaders” a mechanism to accomplish goals

v. Measure progress on “vision” of business units

Allocating Resources

a. Definition of economics

b. Prioritization

i. Must do

ii. Have to do

iii. Want to do

Focus

a. Stay three steps ahead of the team

b. Dynamic planning

c. People development

d. Continuous improvement

e. Delegate

f. Sharpen your saw

g. Board of advisors

h. Surround yourself with mentors

Peter C. Rathmann, MBAPresident

262-442-0896 | peter@salestechnik.comwww.salestechnik.com