New Book:Promoted to VP of Sales:

The Year 1 Toolkit(A few highlights from the new book)

Navigating the first 19 months…

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www.salesbenchmarkindex.com info@salesbenchmarkindex.com 1-888-556-7338

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CSO Average Tenure is 19 Months

Impacts of CSO turnover:• Missed financial expectations• Disruption in field spikes• Customers suffer• Competitors see run on talent• CSO suffers wage, reputation and

marketability

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Benefits of Success• Bonuses for all execs• Surplus profits drive new projects• Field is spared from reactive initiatives• CSO enjoys income, rising share price and

builds personal brand

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Root Causes of Failure23 Symptoms but only 4 root causes:

Root Cause Evidence Result

Thrashing Wrong solutions implemented due to incorrect diagnosis

Lots of effort but very little results

Detachment Sales Strategy selected in a vacuum

Go-to-market plan out of synch with target markets

Sequencing Poorly ordered programs that cancel each other out

Change fatigue surfaces from improper sequencing

Alienation No appreciation for impact on rest of the company

Declining sales destroys morale

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Thrashing – Lack of Strategy• Typical approaches• Skip strategy• Fast track one• Do it right

“Once you make a decision on the sales strategy, you make a decision on short term tactics that help you put points on the board with the sales force. This then paves the way to do medium and long term items that are more strategic in nature.”

– Paul Rolls, IDT

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Thrashing – Summary

Urgent Chaos Panic1-6 months 7-12 months 13-19 months

Sales Performance Management Sales quotas are missedno action taken due to VP direct reports pleading incorrect measures

CSO reacts to pressure by pushing team for more results

Key Account ManagementBest customers are not being given enough attention

Best accounts receive more resources but at high costs

growth rate not improved; inordinate pressure on team to drive cross sell

Sales CompensationPressure mounts to make compensation changes

changes made but out of alignment with rest of company strategy

recognition over payment and pay for top performers is not on track; complaints heard

Lead Generation Sales force is not finding enough leadsinvest in a variety of short term marketing tactics without tangible ROI

Marketing budget cut due to lack of ROI while sales force still complains due to lack of leads

Sales TrainingPressure builds from organizational development and HR

outside training launched; event based with no knowledge transfer to team

training budget cut due to no ROI on first spend and lack of adoption/tangible results

Sales Strategy not linked to corporate strategyOperations/Product questioning why certain decisions made in Phase 1

CEO senses trouble and feels CSO is panicking

Sales Goals undefined and unmanaged Low hanging revenue fruit is already pickedCFO looks for evidence of sales leader's success as skepticism grows

Sales Managementclear direction but wrong priorities due to misdiagnosis

Higher reporting and quota standards put in place

Multiple initiatives without clear direction

Resource Planninginitially adding headcount without understanding market potential

Some C players are replaced by potential A players

cutting headcount due to overspending from 12 months ago

Sales Forceanxious about new leadership; willing to see if positive change comes

realizing broken promises of first 6 months are a reality

Lost confidence in the leader and the company for zero follow through

Go to Market Strategy fail to understand market position realizing analysis was too short or incorrectSales leader becomes more dictatorial and less collaborative in recovery effort

Sales Force Drivers

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Thrashing - The CureDevelop your diagnostic capability and follow a framework• Does the organization know a problem exists?• Is the perceived problem a symptom or is it a

root cause?• If it is a root cause, is the organization willing to

undergo the disruption to solve the problem? • When they fix this one problem, it will create a

new problem. How will the org prepare for continued improvement?

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Detachment - Root Cause #2Sales Strategy detached from life cycle of industry, company and product

Example: • Mature Industry and company• Mature product• Sales force arranged for growth• Head winds prevent results

“when I arrived, I had to quickly orient myself with where the industry, offering, sales force and customers were on the maturity curve to ensure I deployed the right go to market strategy”

– Glenn Collins, CDI

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Detachment – The CureAvoid detachment by considering where you are on the maturity spectrum:

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Sequencing – Root Cause #3Installing best practices out of order yields failure:• Deploying sales force automation without a

sound sales process• New comp plans before quotas are established• Sales Training before skills assessment• Add headcount before coverage analysis

“As an outsider, you can come up with the new ideas but in a strong culture you will be rejected. Use the insiders and informal leaders to help you drive the right change in the right order through the organization”

– John Gleason, Ryder Systems

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Sequencing – The Cure• Use a framework to determine sequence• Conduct stakeholder analysis• Manage disruption

“I spent 60 days on the road and brought the team together to build a set of goals. We then sat with the entire management team, laid out our roadmap, including what was required from each and asked for buy in. From there, it was about execution; they knew what we were doing, in what order and why”

– Alex Shootman, Eloqua

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Use a Framework

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Manage Disruption

Start with sales strategy and sequence down through infrastructure• As you solve one problem, another appears• Align to the org’s appetite for change

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Alienation – Root Cause #4Inadvertent isolation through “us vs. them” posturing:• Collaboration is key but CEO is ill-equipped to

guide you through sales transformation• Remaining executive team views strategy

through 1 of 3 lenses:• Product Differentiation (innovation—Apple)• Operational Efficiency (cost management—Wal Mart)• Customer Intimacy (customer experience—Ritz Carlton)

“One of the first things I recognized was we had distinct silos…we went from a functional sales organization to a matrix which forced more collaboration in the field. We set strategy around collaboration. ”

– Barry Somervell, Kindred Healthcare

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Alienation – The CureTo avoid alienation:• Understand level of disruption the culture can

handle• Leverage peer interviews to identify agility of

the executive team

“I knew I could get more done through my peers vs. going around my peers. I focused on being objective and ensuring the sales department was optimized before I pointed any fingers at other functional groups”

– Alex Shootman, Eloqua

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Disruption Tolerance

RISK CATEGORY IMPACT* LIKELIHOOD* PREVENTION STEPSExecution

Results obtainable

Methodology (how will we change)

Executive sponsorship

Past performance on similar change initiatives

Operational

Too disruptive

Implementation plan

Executive turnover

Project team turnover

People

Do we have sales rep talent?

Capable sales management

Unknown stake holders

Unexpected resistance

Chemistry between VP of Sales and peers

Ineffective communications

Financial

Leading vs lagging indicators

Time to recognize result

Perform Risk Assessment on Organization

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Next Steps

Does your plan consider these concepts?

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