SalesPerformance,CRM Automationand IntegrationWHITE PAPER

Sell Smarter. Manage Better.

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CRM SALES RESISTANCEFrom the sales organization’s perspective, seeing the return on CRM deployment and investment has been problematic to say the least. CRM systems are enterprise-wide and serve more than one master: sales, sales operations, marketing, customer service, product management, and finance, to name a few. It’s easy to see how the specific needs of each division can become blurred or lost.

Furthermore, the quality of the data is often suspect and any forecast or reporting that is generated can only ever be as good or reliable as the underlying data. Sales people are not motivated to enter the quantity or accuracy of data that is often asked of them. They have to have a laser-like focus on what will bring in revenue and consequently they do not see the value of taking time away from selling to input data

Sales Performance, CRM Adoption And Integration

INTRODUCTIONThis White Paper is about CRM and your Sales Team. It covers the role that sales performance solutions, built around the needs of today’s sales professional and sales manager, can play in driving up CRM Adoption and increasing your CRM Return on Investment. It also speaks to the benefits of integrating sales methodology and sales process into the CRM system for sustained and predictable profitability. As such, it leans heavily on solutions from The TAS Group.

As with any of our White Papers, there will be a big variance in the seniority and experience of the readership. Some of you will perhaps be in your first managerial role looking to focus on what’s really important in the deal. Others may be more seasoned sales leaders at Director, Managing Partner, or VP level tuning in to make sure you’re in step with the latest thinking and technologies. This White Paper aims to provide something for the complete range of

requirements, since the ideas and recommendations have applicability right up the leadership hierarchy. However, if you want to dig deeper or move wider, we urge you to get in touch with us individually. You can do this via email to: info@thetasgroup.com.

This White Paper will cover 4 key areas. We’ll start by analyzing why CRM systems aren’t great for the sales professional or sales manager, drawing on expert independent opinion as well as our own. We’ll then outline the good things that happen when you fix CRM compliance and have the sales teams wanting to actively use their CRM system because it helps them make more money. After that, we’ll cover how you get to that nirvana situation by looking at the deep integration of sales methodology within the CRM system. We’ll conclude by summarizing the benefits that we’ve covered.

that will benefit other departments. As a result, it is fair to generalize that sales productivity results from CRM system deployments have been poor.

However, you shouldn’t just take our word for it. A lack of ‘What’s In It For Me’ (‘WIIFM’) for sales is shared with independent sales analysts as well, such as ES Research. ES Research goes so far as to say: “We have spoken with dozen of sales and sales operations leaders who come to us seeking new ways to try to get their sales people to input data into their corporate CRM systems. There is really only one answer: Make sure that the CRM system delivers value to the rep by helping them sell more.” (ES Research, Technology and sales Force Productivity, 2007, www.ESResearch.com).

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THE BENEFITS OF IMPROVED CRM COMPLIANCEThe secret to increasing sales use of CRM systems, as ES Research has said, is to help them sell more. This is all about installing and integrating a sales methodology into their CRM system, which is designed, built and optimized around how they want to do their job more successfully; where the data they enter directly helps them do their job and get better at it.

The TAS Index ran from 2007 to 2009 and surveyed around 2000 companies to help them benchmark their own sales effectiveness. (In November 2011 we launched the Dealmaker Index, which extends the scope of The TAS Index, and you can take the Dealmaker Index for free at www.dealmakerindex.com.) We found that CRM systems were used more than 75% of the time by just 45% of respondents. When the CRM system integrated a proven sales methodology, however, CRM system usage increases by 44% (those companies using it more than 75% of the time). This is an almost doubling of the 33% (those using it more than 75% of the time) measure that applies when the methodology is not integrated.

Under these conditions, CRM data quality improves because it benefits sales leaders and professionals. Also, with an integrated sales methodology, sales best practices become self-reinforcing since sales professionals and managers make more money, are happier, and stay longer in their current role, thus reinforcing the virtuous circle.

Again, we have the benefit of outside expert opinion on this. ES Research goes much further and they comment as follows: “We espouse, wherever possible, building or adopting, then using a sales methodology for a period of time before acquiring a CRM solution. In most cases the CRM package should be customized to the methodology and not vice-versa. When the CRM package was installed and implemented without a foundation methodology in place, the result was little more than the automation of the chaos that existed from the start.” (ES Research, Technology and Sales Force Productivity, 2007, www.ESResearch.com)

THE VALUE OF SALES METHODOLOGY TO SALESSales Process and Sales Methodologies are terms that tend to be used interchangeably. A sales methodology, however, is not a sales process. Sales Process is what people do day-in and day-out, more or less consistently, as they prospect, qualify, propose, negotiate and close deals. These are the activities that sales people do every day and they are also the ‘Where am I in the Sale?’ In other words, the steps you take from A to Z.

Methodology is the common vocabulary to describe and structure how they do these things. How am I doing in this deal relative to my competitors? How can I progress this opportunity? For example, step one of your sales process may to be to qualify a lead. Among other things, a sales person needs to determine whether a budget exists, the degree of urgency for purchase, and if so, what’s driving the urgency, the identification of the key players and so on. A methodology or program will offer suggestions of how best to phrase, map and track roles and functions of individuals. Sales processes and sales methodologies are very powerful when leveraged by sales technology.

CSO Insights research shows the statistics. Sales methodologies, which support a consistent sales process, are the optimal way to drive improved results. We know that in a down economy pipelines are likely to be smaller; therefore our win rates have to be higher to achieve targets. We also know that as fewer deals are pursued by your sales team and their competitors,

customers realize that they have significantly more power in the sales cycle and can put intense pressure on pricing – which can erode profitability. (CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Survey 2007, www.csoinsights.com)

The percentage lift from a sales methodology can be higher. If you automate that methodology and integrate it with your CRM system, the results are significantly better. When sales

people use technology-enabled methodologies in intelligent applications like Dealmaker, the critical components are in place to insure adoption.

Level of Methodology Adoption <50% >75%

Quota Attainment 51.9 65.7

Win/Loss/No Decision 47/31/22 55/22/33

Seen by Buyer as:

Vendor 19 9

Preferred Supplier 26 16

Consultant 30 30

Contributor 19 33

Partner 7 12

(All figures in percentages)

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To illustrate this further, when the sales people have entered into their CRM system the details of a new opportunity, they can immediately go to the sales process or opportunity management screen, transparently integrated into the CRM system. The opportunity details have all been pulled through from the CRM system, needing no further rekeying or duplication of effort. Now the sales people can immediately start to work the opportunity, follow the on-screen process, qualify the deal and progress through the sales stages which have been configured specifically for the company.

So in this example, the opportunity called ‘New Opportunity’ drops users in at the first sales stage, Qualify, and presents them with the qualifying questions they need to satisfy before they can either qualify out early or progress the deal to the next stage. Updating the plan and forecasts are therefore done automatically in a few clicks. There are also text fields for them to document further details.

DEALMAKER – SALES PROCESS, METHODOLOGY AND CRM INTEGRATIONOur opportunity, account management and planning methodologies have been automated in an easy to use solution – Dealmaker. The sales methodology application sits transparently in the CRM environment, and the organization’s sales process is optimized and configured to their specific set-up. Sales people reuse CRM data which are pulled through automatically to Dealmaker with no need for information re-keying. Plus, the encapsulated methodology and sales process intelligently guide sales people to do the right thing, thereby freeing up sales leaders to coach, not chase.

An everyday example of this is that the sales person can take just a few clicks to update their Opportunity plan using Dealmaker Smart Playbook and Forecast. They learn the next steps that they need to perform in order to advance their opportunity right inside the application, which reinforces continuous learning. In this hosted, web-enabled environment, a virtual sales team can see the changes in real time. Also, leadership can monitor usage and understand what has changed week to week, month to month.

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“We consider the architecture of the Dealmaker methodology revolutionary in the sales performance arena. The TAS Group is the first methodology-based sales training company to deliver a methodology that separates step-by-step process from skills-based techniques...The Dealmaker solution incorporates both the work-flow management technology and the step-by-step process in a unique, electronic platform.”

When sales people are committed to using a system that is built around their needs, their compliance improves and the quality of the data they input improves. Databases and reporting are only as good as the underlying data, so when the data is of the right quality the reporting is more reliable and it brings more predictability to things like forecast analysis and pipeline analysis. This in turn breeds confidence and certainty around sales leadership decisions and more focus on what is working and what is not.

So the Dealmaker sales performance automation technology guides the sales person through the sales process, the ‘what’ they should do. It also, of course, automates the sales methodology, the ‘how’ they should progress the deal (see above). Again, information on things like competitors is pulled through from the CRM system, eliminating re-keying.

Dealmaker is an intelligent application, and as you can see towards the bottom of the screenshot above, the TAS 1-20 ‘how am I doing’ methodology is interleaved with the sales process questions (for those customers who take both Dealmaker Smart Opportunity Manager and Dealmaker Smart Playbook and Forecast) to make sure there are no inconsistencies in responses, which throws up a red triangle warning system.

ES Research said in the 2008 Sales Training Vendor Guide: “The first TAS Group breakthrough is a recognition that process (what) is separated from method (how)”. They go on to say,

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Small/Mid Enterprise Requirements• Intuitive• Methodology Automation• Sales Process Automation• Sharing plans across teams • CRM Integration (read and write)

- Account Data, Opportunity Data, Contact Data, Buyer Roles, Sales Hierarchy

- Activity/Task Management, Progress Reporting, Administration

• Customizable• Secure, robust and scalable• Reinforcement and sustaining technology

The degree to which The TAS Group’s Dealmaker integrates with the CRM system is evidenced by the amount of data we read from the CRM system, collect within the Dealmaker application, and write back to the CRM system.

Dealmaker is synchronized with the CRM system at all times, reading the CRM data and writing it back to the CRM system, which it has collected within the sales methodology and process application. Below is an example of write-back, where Dealmaker allows you to draw a Political Map of the Opportunity in your customer’s organization in an easy-to-use graphical way. Contact names, titles and reporting lines are pulled from the CRM system automatically, and any additions you make or any reporting lines you change are then written back to the CRM system.

Sales Process, Sales Methodology, and Sales technology are the components that enable you to achieve sustainable and measurable behavioral change in your sales force. It is these new behaviors in your sales force that enable you to achieve sustained, predictable and profitable sales growth.

The TAS Group has designed Dealmaker to fundamentally improve how companies approach or adopt sales performance solutions. Because we have our own multi-million dollar R&D center and our own world-class software engineering team, we have been able to achieve the standards we believe are necessary to provide a world-class, complete, enterprise-wide, sales performance solution. These are the minimum requirements we believe enterprises should expect.

Large Enterprise Requirements• Intuitive• Methodology Automation• Sales Process Automation• Multi-lingual, multi-currency• Multiple concurrent sales processes• Sharing plans across teams • CRM Integration (read and write)

- Account Data, Opportunity Data, Contact Data, Buyer Roles, Sales Hierarchy

- Activity/Task Management, Progress Reporting, Administration

• Consolidation• Customizable• Secure, robust and scalable• Reinforcement and sustaining technology

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Dealmaker brings sales methodologies right into your CRM system so that sales best practices are instilled in sales people from day one. Tight integration ensures that data is always up to date and optimal individual and team productivity is assured. The TAS Index Sales Benchmark Study found that organizations who effectively deploy sales methodology and sales process integrated with their CRM system achieve sales quota nearly twice as often as those who do not.

SUMMARYDealmaker can deliver impressive, measurable benefits to organizations looking to drive up CRM adoption and in so doing, increase revenue growth. One customer of The TAS Group reported back that CRM compliance was 20% before a Dealmaker implementation. Sometime after implementation, compliance was re-measured and was found to be 92%, a more than fourfold increase in CRM use by sales people.

To recap on the main points of this White Paper:• Salesteamsoftendon’tseethevalueinCRM

systems

• Salesteamsandleadersseetangiblevaluewhen sales methodologies are integrated into the CRM systems

• Dealmakersalesperformanceautomationprovides the components that equip sales people to win more deals, make more money, be happier and stay longer with their employers

If you wish to find out more, please contact us at info@thetasgroup.com.

Intelligent Sales E�ectiveness Dashboard

ForecastAnalysis

PipelineAnalysis

PerformanceCoach

VirtualLearning

Intelligent Sales Platform Con�gurator

Embedded Sales Methodology, Sales Process • Account Management • Opportunity Management • Channel Management

Company Tailored • Business Rules • Pipeline Structure • Industry Context

CRM Integration

salesforce.com

Oracle CRMOn Demand

StandaloneDealmaker

MicrosoftDynamics CRM

Siebel SAP Other

ABOUT THE TAS GROUP  The TAS Group helps sales professionals sell smarter and manage better. Through a unique combination of deep sales methodologies and intelligent software applications, customers achieve measureable results including increases in win rates, deal sizes and qualified opportunities, as well as decreases in sales cycle length. According to the Aberdeen Group, customers of The TAS Group realize 21 percent greater attainment of sales quotas.

Dealmaker® intelligent software is the engine driving revenue growth and sustained adoption of improved sales practices.

The TAS Group has helped more than 850,000 sales professionals in more than 65 countries, from small private companies to market leaders. For more information visit http://www.thetasgroup.com and read the dealmaker365 blog at http://www.dealmaker365.com.

ABOUT DEALMAKERDealmaker software from The TAS Group delivers real-time opportunity and account management, intelligent deal coaching, accurate sales forecasts, smart playbooks, self-paced learning, and predictive analytics, resulting in measurable sales growth.

Dealmaker can be delivered as a standalone application or can be integrated with Salesforce CRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM, Oracle CRM On Demand, Oracle’s Siebel CRM and SAP CRM, or with any third party software application through the Dealmaker API. For more information visit http://www.thetasgroup.com.

Copyright © The TAS Group. All rights reserved. This briefing is for customer use only and no usage rights are conveyed. Nothing herein may be reproduced in any form without written permission of The TAS Group.