Focus On Core Competencies: Management Sales
James Roumeliotis focus on addressing the “Core Competencies” necessary for effective Sales Management, which deliver extraordinary results
Viewpoint by James D. Roumeliotis, WCW Columnist
When Faddy Sidaros, a Regional Sales Director for Pitney Bowes, was asked what he considers to be his biggest challenges, his emphatic response was: “Coaching the coach to be on the same wavelength and linking the sales representatives’ personal goals to those of the company.”
There is no doubt that sales are the heart and soul of any public or private enterprise. It’s about the need for a constant stream of new business, which brings in the necessary cash flow. This should explain why nothing happens until a sale is made. That simple point underscores the critical importance of sales to the business – regardless of its size. However, in today’s global marketplace, owners and managers face many challenges related to fulfilling the customer’s ever-changing needs and expectations. With that come refined methods of selling a product or service to a well-informed and discerning customer – especially with the advent of the information age and plethora of choices.
Sales management can be most easily defined as planning, implementing, and controlling personal contact programs designed to achieve the sales and profit objectives of the firm. Overall, sales managers and sales directors are responsible for leading the firm’s sales program. More specifically, they are accountable to reviewing and analyzing sales performance against programs, quotas and plans to determine effectiveness. To excel in those areas requires discipline, planning, executing, as well as frequent checks and balances.
Business Development and Account Management: What do they really signify?
Business development is about techniques and responsibilities which aim at gaining new customers and at penetrating existing markets. Given that the title “Sales Representative” on business cards and in casual conversations may be perceived negatively, there are businesses that have replaced the traditional title for their representatives with “Business Development”. This is merely image sprucing for the sales person. In spite of this, the end result is to make sales rather than merely develop business.
Account Management, according to businessdictionary.com, is defined as, “An employee who is tasked with day-to-day support of a particular customer’s account with a business, and who serves as the primary point of contact between the customer and the company. The account manager position can provide customer support, technical support, planning and optimization for the account, as well as developing a relationship with the customer.”
“Consultative Sales”, on the other hand is what all sales people should be striving for. The days of pushing for the close through high pressure techniques has been replaced with a method, which educates and guides a client who will be making a sound purchase because it will fulfill a practical need. It’s now the logical purchase decision versus strictly the emotional.
B2B versus B2C – The difference is in the sales process
Selling to B2B customers can be accomplished through a direct sales force or a channel sales force. The biggest difference in the two is the time frame from start of a sale to the close of a sale. Typically B2B requires more time than B2C, though there are exceptions to every rule. For this reason, the methods and approaches used by the sales people are naturally different.
Sales vs. Marketing – The latter compliments the former
Marketing and selling are two different things. Selling focuses on closing the deal, often as quickly as possible. Marketing is about developing an image and a presence in the market place and ensuring that people know about your company/organization. Marketing is a longer-term activity and requires an investment of both time and energy. Both of these should work in harmony and by strategically combining both efforts, a business will experience a successful amount of business growth. A salesperson can be provided with real-time insights and marketing support that can be beneficial, as well as to the company, in retaining, cross selling and up-selling the customer profitably.
Recruiting high caliber sales people for a quick start and sustained growth
There are few challenges as trying to recruit an effective sales force. Because of its impact on the company’s bottom line, selecting the right sales people is a critical area that requires a lot of attention. Kelly Parker Hanna, a marketing and business development strategist with Key Group management consulting, surmises the hiring dilemma this way:
“I think that managers have a tough time identifying if they are hiring a star to begin with. If the sales manager would have potential hires take a sales assessment, they could weed out the people who may not do well in the job.”
Seeking potential sales oriented candidates begins with a qualifications criterion, which can be translated into a final job description, along with where to actually look for them. Always start by working with referrals and your networking group rather than delve right into ad/job boards. Interviewing should be conducted by the sales manager and avoided by anyone else unfamiliar with the sales task such as a human resources staffer – as is usually the case.
A potential new sales person’s most telling first test is selling himself/herself to you. Interviewers should look for three characteristics that will tip them off to a promising new representative including presentation, Personality, and a track record of sales success. If one wants to take it one step further, the candidate can be asked to complete a profile assessment/questionnaire. Recent validation studies and thousands of observed experiences prove that personality traits give managers an advantage in hiring salespeople who can meet and exceed expectations. Last but not least, the prospective sales person should believe in the product or service he/she will be selling, as well as fit within the organization’s culture.
Training, Development & Coaching:
Managing salespeople by managing their activities
Nowadays, customers expect salespeople to be more knowledgeable, respond faster and provide value-added, customized solutions to their problems. To accomplish this, sales people must develop closer, longer-term relationships with their customers than in the past. Given that the demands of the job have changed, it follows that the type of person the organization selects for this job and the training he or she receives must also adapt with the times.
Companies should not hesitate to invest resources with structured and ongoing training/development programs for their sales staff. These include a new sales recruit orientation curriculum, a comprehensive sales assessment, targeted training activities, real-world applications and one-on-one coaching. The sales manager can be given the task of training or if the organization is large enough, a dedicated trainer will be undertaking such a task. However, the sales manager is the person who is solely responsible for one-on-one coaching of his/her respective sales people, which should be performed at least once per week.
Training subjects should place emphasis on:
1) Ways to increase client numbers and revenue
2) Understanding the marketing processes better by including a SWOT Analysis
3) Systematizing the sales (and marketing process) to reliably generate additional new inquiries
The salesperson would be at an advantage concentrating on activities, such as making calls, rather than on sales objectives. As a result, the salesperson’s motivation will be higher, hence, better results. Managing salespeople by managing their activities (a.k.a. Management by Tactics or “MBT”) is a process, which has been proven to create a positive effect on sales performance.
Cold Calling: Prospecting Hard vs. Prospecting Smart
The old school of thought on the subject of prospecting continues to exist today. There are still too many Sales VPs, Directors, C-level execs, and peddlers of out-dated sales books, who insist upon more cold calls. In this day-and-age, cold-calling does not make sense especially when we consider that technology and consumers themselves have evolved. Likewise, there are far better ways for you to communicate with prospects in a less frustrating and obnoxious way.
It is no longer acceptable or wise to randomly call a business professional. They are far too busy to waste time dealing with interruptions. This situation offers more the reason for Sales to work intimately with Marketing to create lead generating sources.
The following modern day effective prospecting techniques can be applied in lieu of cold calling:
1) REFERRALS from existing clients or spheres of influence. A referral gift program can be created and promoted to existing clientele and perhaps others.
2) PRE-APPROACH/WARM LETTERS to specific/named decision makers with a promise to do a follow-up call days later.
3) The INTERNET
Exposure and lead generation from the company’s Website and third party sites. Google Ad-words, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), affiliate marketing, and banner ads.
4) Trade-Show Presence/Participation with leads to be processed and followed-up
5) Direct Mail & Special Offer Campaigns created by the marketing staff. The campaigns should involve multiple touches over a specific period with strong calls-to-action.
6) Attend Networking Events locally and beyond (depending on sales territory).
7) Social Media: Uncover and engage with prospects. It’s surprising how many people are on Twitter and LinkedIn discussing problems a sales person can solve and inquiring about what is sold. Reaching-out to them and finding ways to help works – although with time consuming results.
Sales Structure=policies, guidelines, procedures & tools
In any organization, let alone in the sales division, without any sort of structure the chances of failure increases. By clearly defining the structure of a sales team, a business ensures that each and every member of the sales force knows his/her boundaries, responsibilities and duties. The structure of the sales team to a great extent depends on the number of people in the sales force.
In a small organization with a few sales employees, it is essential not to draw too many boundaries because then you will need to hire additional staff to do the work that is left over. However in a larger organization it is important that structural lines are clearly drawn so that no one steps on another’s toes.
Sales Compensation: Creating a win-win formula
Since no two companies are alike, a sales-driven compensation plan can vary from one organization to the next. However, the following factors should be taken into account when devising a win-win payment reward plan.
- Industry (B2B or B2C)
- Sales cycle
- Deal sizes
- Sales type (group sale, consultative, one-on-one)
- Industry knowledge
- Inbound lead quality
The two emotions that drive most sales representatives are fear and greed. For this reason, the easiest way to motivate them is to structure their compensation plan accordingly. For the most part, this will include a reasonable basic salary along with a sliding commission scale, based on volume and/or size of a deal, including a quarterly, semi-annual or annual bonuses depended upon a set quota.
Exploiting technology and CRM: Vital assets for sales efficiency
When it comes to Customer Relationship Management, (CRM) software/tools, the data, analytics and technology are merely tools that should be used only after the customer-centric culture is embedded within the sales force and the organization itself. A properly implemented CRM system such Sales force can bring significant benefits to organizations. The system/application covers the so-called 3 “P”’s as in People (employees & culture), Procedures (way of doing business) and Programs (supporting applications) – not just an application running on a computer.
The practicalities of technology use are many and varied. Tools such as wireless computing, mobile telephony and “cloud computing” can increase efficiency, as well as access to the information they need to accelerate the sales process. In addition, the sales force can be kept connected to the office, update information automatically, deliver required information promptly and enable mobile order placement and signature capture. This, undoubtedly, makes the sales job easier, so representatives/account managers can focus on what they do best, and in the process, enhance customer service.
Outsourcing Sales Management: A solution for small and medium size companies
If sales are not an enterprise’s core competency, particularly in the start-up phase, or if it’s ready to expand to the next level of corporate growth, then outsourcing the sales management function should be considered. Like so, owners can focus their time and resources on their main capabilities – most notably their products/services and operating issues.
This solution would alleviate the pressure to deal with developing sales processes and hiring a sales team. By outsourcing this, a company will be able to progress more rapidly by getting the sales execution focus from an outside experienced sales director. Furthermore, this can be accomplished for a fraction of the monthly cost of full time hire and without a permanent obligation.
Putting It All Together
Consider a sales force that behaves more like “consultative agents” instead of aggressive peddlers. Along with the thorough knowledge of the company’s products/services, the charismatic, enthusiastic, motivated and competent sales force should be constantly trained, developed and coached – along with all the necessary tools at their possession for added competitiveness. Sales people should be client centered. That is, focus on needs/wants and fulfill them with specific products/services – solutions.
This is how trust will be earned. Clients don’t like being sold to – they prefer to buy (push vs. pull). Businesses ought to know their ideal customer/target market, the competition and how they can be approached most effectively. The sales force should not have to resort to the daily grind of making cold calls. Instead, they can be provided with techniques and tools to make better use of their prospecting time. In the end, more of their valuable time can be spent in the field in front of prospective clients rather than working on the law of averages in search of appointments.
Better still; the lead generation activity can be outsourced to a company specializing in those services. Marketing should collaborate closely with Sales and a mutual goal. Management focusing on activities and results can in place and its data constantly monitor a simple to use yet comprehensive CRM system.
