sales leader pov 2016jun linkedin
TRANSCRIPT
Top of Mind Issues for Today’s Sales Leaders
June 2016
Christy [email protected]
www.linkedin.com/in/christyaronson/
Agenda
1. Introduction2. Constructing a sales organization3. Top challenges of a sales leader4. Bridging the gaps5. Guiding principals for transformation6. Roadmap
GO-TO-M
ARKET
ST
RATE
GYCU
LTURE
&
LEADER
SHIP
DEPLO
YMEN
T &
CUST
OMER
ENGAGEM
ENT
PROCE
SS &
TO
OLSM
ANAGEMEN
T
Customer strategyChannel strategyProduct strategy
Field messaging (value prop)Marketing & sales strategy
Develop and execute sales strategies that align to business priorities
VisionBusiness priorities & macro goal setting
Community, collaboration & transparencyLeadership involvement & visibility
Communications & change management
Establish a strong sales culture that is reinforced by leadership
Organization structure & roleCustomer/channel alignment
Account planningLead generation
Marketing/sales alignment
Engage the customer with the right resources and planning
Sales processTerritory/segment management
CRMAnalytics tools
Other enablement tools
Embed the right processes and tools to create a repeatable formula for success
OnboardingTalent developmentReporting & metrics
Activity managementCompensation & recognition
Oversee team performance and development by setting and monitoring goal achievement
Building a Sales Organization
Top challenges of today’s sales leaders
Talent• Sales team lacking the desired skills to be successful in new sales model• Sellers who sell product rather than the value that product delivers• Sellers who can’t have executive level conversations with customers• Managers with limited management capabilities
1
Customer centric strategies are driving the need for upgraded sales capabilities Talent
• Hunters and farmers• Players and coaches (managers)• Product lists with features/benefits• High cost but sometimes poor customer
alignment
Traditional Sales Model Low Cost Sales Model Professional Sales Model
• Transactional sales handled over the phone with mid-to-low value customers
• Marketing and buyer education opportunities online
• Self service capabilities
• Shift to solution sales and selling value• Requires skilled sales people with
industry or functional expertise aligned with executive level buyer
• Managers as change agents rather than “super sellers”
How do we upgrade our talent to address the needs of our customers?
Many companies start with the development of a sales training program Talent
Legend:C = Classroom instructor-led trainingV = Virtual instructor-led trainingO = Online training
But many question the effectiveness and return on investment.
Why?Training is most often viewed as a one-time event, and it isn’t reinforced or embedded in the day to day responsibilities of a seller.
Modules developed based on assessment of sales objectives, sales training strategy and existing gaps
TalentA programmatic coaching program is critical but often overlooked
CoachingAn ongoing and dynamic series of job-embedded interactions between a sales manager and his or her direct report, designed to diagnose and correct or reinforce behaviors specific to that individual Not “informal training” Integrated real time with day-to-day workflow and directly relevant to actual business situations Completely customizable to individual needs Focus on the doing, not just the knowing
TalentCoaching programs are multi-dimensional and require strong managers
Sales motions &
call planning
Coachingpipeline review
Forecastmanagement
Win / lossreviews
Deal /opportunity
reviews
Accountplanning
Review performance against quota
Evaluate pipeline opportunity and determine if sufficient pipeline to hit sales quota
Discuss top, new, and stalled opportunities
Analyze pipeline velocity, shape and gaps
Develop action plans to move opportunities toward closure
Understand reason for win / loss
Understand competitive differentiators in the market and how competitors are performing
Identify where teams can improve vis-à-vis sales process, time management, stakeholder management (e.g. economic buyer), value proposition, proposal & pitch
Confirm and provide direction on focused strategy • Customer
objectives / needs• Customer
perceptions• Relationship/
contact with customer stakeholders
Gain fresh perspective from group participants on best practices to close open opportunities
Discuss and challenge sales strategy, meeting objectives, buyer issues, stakeholder perceptions of your company and competitors, meeting approach, and value proposition & pitch
Assess accounts and opportunities within a sales territory and assign value based on likelihood to close
Re-evaluate forecast estimates throughout the year
Understand and align solutions to customer priorities and needs
Update plans that describe new leads and prioritized opportunities that will be the focus
Plans will include a competitive assessment, SWOT analysis, strategies for cross-sell/upsell, and alignment with quota retirement planning
Executed by managers on a regular cadence using common standards and complementary tools
TalentHow we solve the talent gap
We help our customers upgrade their sales
talent by providing the complementary tools
necessary to train, coach and manage sellers
Training Program
Coaching Program
Alignment to CRMand Analytics tools
Identify and predict under/low performers
Act as a repository for1. Account planning2. Opportunity planning3. Call planning4. Win / loss outcomes5. Customer interactions6. Account team member
engagement Provide intelligence to
trigger coaching sessions Support smarter investment
in future training needs
Top challenges of today’s sales leaders
Pipeline & Forecast
Talent• Sales team lacking the desired skills to be successful in new sales model• Sellers who sell product rather than the value that product delivers• Sellers who can’t have executive level conversations with customers• Managers with limited management capabilities
• Lack of visibility and/or predictability in sales results• Low volume of opportunities, slow movement through the sales funnel, and low win rates
1
2
Some sales leaders don’t have adequate visibility into future sales results Pipeline & Forecast
Don’t
Focus on how the company benefits (e.g. ROI)• Performance visibility• Forecast accuracy• Process consistency• Account planning
Make it all about the technology
Do
Focus on what’s in it for the seller• Usability• Relevance• Collaboration• Information & intelligence• Close more sales in less time• More time for selling, less time doing administration
Make sure it fits with the sales culture, supports the sales process, and truly helps sales people sell
Poor CRM adoption is often a culprit. This can present itself in a few ways: when opportunities are not entered, entered only at the point of close or are not updated as they progress or fall away.
So how do we boost user adoption?
Other causes of poor forecast accuracy Pipeline & Forecast
• Lack of a process for creating and updating forecast• Not engaging the right stakeholders• Creating only a top-down or bottoms-up view• Implementing a compensation program with unintended consequences (e.g.
incentives that cause sellers to over or under-estimate forecast)
Pipeline health is a common concern Pipeline & Forecast
• Unclear expectation on how and when sales people should manage leads
• Misaligned value propositions or lack of clarity of customer business problems and needs
• Weak management oversight and expertise• Poor/no use of account and opportunity
planning techniques• Limited analytics capabilities and
understanding of key sales metrics• Time management, sellers focused on the
wrong things
Lead generation
Lead conversion
Cycle time
Time in stage
Channel mix
Close rate
Retention rate
Speed to delivery
Pursue
Develop
Identify
Secure
Talent relate
d issues
• Sales process & CRM adoption• Limited lead generation capabilities• Lack of consideration for customer experience
throughout sales process• Channel confusion
Reasons for poor pipeline health
Directly relate to what is
and isn’t in the
pipeline
How we solve pipeline related issues Pipeline & Forecast
Channel confusion
• Clarify which customers should be using which channels and what the value proposition is for each channel
• Obtain visibility into pipeline across channels, whenever possible
Limited lead generation capabilities Lack of consideration for customer experience throughout sales process
• Adopt a customer centric view and align sales tools that focus on the customer’s movement through the buying process
• Develop a keen understanding of how the customer buys your products – what are they trying to solve for, what factors are they weighing
• Use analytics to design campaigns with the highest ROI
• Nurture leads until they reach a minimum lead score and then do hand-off to sales team
• Use marketing automation and CRM to streamline process and ensure the best leads get worked
Marketing Funnel
SalesFunnel
• DTV• Direct mail• Paid search• Banner ads
• Email• Web• SMS/text• Social
• Affinity• Events• Call
• Web• Landing
pages
• Enterprise Marketing Automation• Lead scoring• Transfer to sales via CRM
Top challenges of today’s sales leaders
Pipeline & Forecast
Incentives
Talent• Sales team lacking the desired skills to be successful in new sales model• Sellers who sell product rather than the value that product delivers• Sellers who can’t have executive level conversations with customers• Managers with limited management capabilities
• Lack of visibility and/or predictability in sales results• Low volume of opportunities, slow movement through the sales funnel, and low win rates
• Misalignment of rewards to behavior• Sales people focused only on achieving quota• Unintended consequences of having some mechanics in the plan• Plans that are overly complex and not well understood
1
2
3
Compensating a sales force Incentives
Driving Desired Behaviors
Plan Design Simplicity
Designing the right compensation program is part art and part science, and many sales leaders struggle to find a balance between compensating for desired behaviors and plan design simplicity
Think of each behavior you expect a sales person to
perform and pay for each
Consider about how much each component is worth to
the seller
Streamlined calculation and low cost of administration
The man-hours, systems and tools required to manage, calculate and pay
sales incentives accurately
The training, explanation and difficulty to understand a complex plan Ensuring that sellers have the
right level of focus
Solutions for the top challenges of today’s sales leaders
Pipeline & Forecast
Incentives
Talent1
2
3
• Consider the role that customer centricity plays in your business and design processes with the customer in mind
• Know how customers wish to interact with you, how they buy, and how the sales process should align to the customer buying process
• Develop a well-defined, well-understood sales process before implementing CRM
• Encourage adoption of CRM by designing it with the seller’s needs as top priority
• Leverage CRM and analytics tools to monitor and reinforce desired behaviors, identify coaching opportunities, and support smarter investment in training
• Integrate marketing automation and CRM to optimize lead generation and lead handoff process
• Leverage compensation plan automation tools and seller payment calculators to streamline administration and limit seller confusion in rewards program
Listen to your customers and
your sales people, bring them in early
You probably won’t get it
right the first time; continue
to evolve
Leaders must be visibly
engaged and “walk the talk”
Communicate, communicate,
and communicate
some more
Know who you are and where you are going
Guiding principles for transformation
GO-TO-M
ARKET
STRA
TEGY
Do we understand our customers, the unique capabilities we offer them and how we meet our customers’ needs?
CULT
URE &
LEADER
SHIP Do we understand our inherit strengths?
Do our sales people see this as a place where they can learn and grow?
DEPLO
YMEN
T &
CUST
OMER
ENGAGEM
ENT Do we have a plan for how we engage our customers?
Do we always bring our “A” game?
PROCE
SS &
TOOLS Do we have the right process and tools to support sales
success?
MANAG
EMEN
T Do we have solid sales managers and an plan for how we coach our coaches?
Do we reward the right behaviors?
Pipe
line
& F
orec
ast
Ince
ntive
s
Tale
nt
Getting on the transformation path
Thank you.Please contact me for more information
Christy [email protected]
www.linkedin.com/in/christyaronson/