Columbus Compensation Association: Sales Operations Forum:Program Vision and Initial Planning

Spring 2013

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Vision: Connecting Sales Operations Practitioners

While other functional areas have professional associations, sales operations as a “hybrid function” struggles to develop a community of interest. No common language of what “sales operations” does or does not include

Ownership of sales operations as an organizational competency resides in different functions from company to company

As a result, companies find it difficult to connect with other companies facing similar sales operations challenges. The Columbus Sales Operations Forum intends to create a community of interest that can: Serve as a resource for companies in identifying functional and business process best practices

Foster business relationships through networking opportunities

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Program Structure Guidelines

Regular, but appropriately spaced, meetings to create community and cover topics of interest, while recognizing difficulty to pull time away from business needs. As a starting point, we suggest meeting two or three times annually (January, May, September) for 3-4 hours per session.

Agenda topics will be suggested by the members, and final agenda topics will be determined by a Steering Committee selected from the membership.

Each member company will have a “lead” contact, who will determine the appropriate attendees from their company on a meeting-by-meeting basis according to the agenda topics

Participants will rotate through hosting the meetings at their business site, subject to providing a relatively central location for other meeting attendees. Program locations will be based on member preferences and the availability of hosts. If a member is unable to host a meeting, Aon Hewitt will host at one of its offices

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Forum Roles: Overview

Steering Committee

Forum Members

Facilitation Partners:Aon Hewitt

Participant Company

Participant Company

Participant Company

Participant Company

Company Lead

Meeting ParticipantsIdentified for each meeting for the specific agenda topics

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Forum Roles

Steering Committee: Review suggested agenda topics and determine final agenda; champion the recruiting and engagement of members; provide overall guidance on forum operations and growth

Facilitation Partners (Aon Hewitt): Coordinate communication; assist Steering Committee in identifying agenda topics; contact and bring in third-party speakers (e.g., technology specialists, outsourced recruiters, etc.) as determined appropriate by the Steering Committee; facilitate the overall functioning of the meetings; serve as note-taker

Company Lead: Serve as the coordinator for the forum for that member company; attend regular meetings, as possible; suggest potential agenda topics based on current areas of interest; identify 1-2 appropriate meeting participants from their company, based on selected agenda topics

Meeting Participant: Actively participate in the discussion

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Initial Meeting Agenda?

Introductions

Defining “Sales Operations”

Current State of Sales Operations for Forum Companies

– Responsibilities: Who “owns” the various functions and processes?

– Roles: How are jobs defined within the sales operations function and beyond to address the sales operations capabilities?

– Resources: How many people are included? How does the investment compare to the sales organization it supports?

Creating the “Ideal” Sales Operations Organization

Forum Feedback and Next Steps

– Steering Committee

– Potential Agenda Topics

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Other Potential Future Agenda Topics

Sales Analytics / Reporting: Products Used, Best Practices, Future Plans

Selling Process / Methodology: Definition, Key Practices, etc.

Sales Training: Programs Used, Typical Amounts, Measuring ROI, etc.

Candidate Assessment and Selection: Process, Tools, Best Practices

Quota Setting: Process, Tools, Best Practices

Compensation Design: Process, Roles, Timing, Key Challenges

Compensation Administration and Governance: Roles, Technology Tools, Number of Resources Allocated

Sales Enabling Technology (e.g., Sales Force Automation, CRM): Products Used, Implementation, Usage Challenges, Best Practices, etc.

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This Concept is Already Working In Chicago

Chicago Aon Hewitt led initiative, building on our strong historical relationships in the greater Chicago area.

11 forums held since Spring of 2009 at various locations. (See separate document for example of meeting material and list of topics)

Current active membership of 150 sales operations, compensation, and sales management professionals from just under 65 companies of various sizes.

Some better known participating companies include Allstate, American Hotel Register, Astellas, Baxter, CDW, Constellation Brands, Discover Card, Kraft, Morningstar, Morton International, Motorola, S.C. Johnson, Tellabs, Transunion, United Stationers, Walgreens, and Wolters Kluwer.

We meet 3 times a year, each four hour event being hosted by a different company. (Aon Hewitt provides a box lunch.) There are typically 25-40 people at each session.

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This Concept is Already Working In Minneapolis

Minneapolis Aon Hewitt has partnered with the WorldatWork affiliated Twin Cities Comp Network to lead the

“Twin Cities Sales Compensation Sub Group”. (We facilitate each meeting but do not manage or control the mailings or attendee lists.)

This forum is held twice a year—5 forums since the Fall of 2011, where each session is attended by 60-80 people. Similar to Chicago, a different company hosts each event.

Better known companies that participate in this group include 3M, Andersen, Best Buy, Cargill, Carlson, Deluxe, Ecolab, General Mills, Lifetouch, Medtronic, Supervalu, Target, Thomson, and UnitedHealth Group.

The Sales Compensation Sub Group, as it sounds, was initiated with a sales compensation rather than a broader sales effectiveness focus; however, TCCN would like this effort to move beyond compensation over time to grow their membership as well as the skills & abilities of its members.

TCCN asked us to facilitate this initiative because of our expertise in this area, our experience in running Chicago forum, and a desire to minimize their costs.

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Facilitator Contacts

Aon Hewitt Associate Partner and Manager, based in Lincolnshire, IL

~17 years sales compensation and effectiveness experience

Insurance/financial services, consumer products, health care, manufacturing

Aon Hewitt Partner, based in Lincolnshire, IL

>25 years sales effectiveness experience

Medical products/pharma, CPG, financial service, general manufacturing

Steve GrossmanRob Bentley