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| | The Marketing, Channels/Partnership & Sales Execs Network is not currently active and cannot accept new posts | | What Keeps Sales Managers Up At Night?? | Views: 610 | | Sep 09, 2004 12:40 am | | What Keeps Sales Managers Up At Night?? | # | 
Michael Lemm | | Hi Ya'll,
Here's another article by Paul DiModica....I thought you might find this one interesting. Maybe a tad different and not a topic we might usually think of. Uses IT as it's specific industry exam[ple but liklely applies to most any industry niche.
Enjoy...and learn.
God Bless,
Michael
====================
IT Selling Success Redefined
I hear from VP's of Sales and CEO's every week who say finding good IT salespeople is very difficult. But like a professional athlete, finding great salespeople is like finding franchise players - they can pull your entire team upward to a higher level of performance.
Yet, the ability for great salespeople to succeed on demand is many times dependent on other attributes beyond their own sales skills, experiences, and controls.
Like professional athletes, salespeople may have previous training, experience, or a resume which indicates they should be a successful heavy hitter, yet they can still fail.
Is your firm making successful salespeople fail?
This specific issue affects every sales manager, VP of Sales, or CEO who is trying to build a replicatable, scalable sales model to increase corporate revenue for their IT or professional service firm.
When seeking successful salespeople, managers interview, check references, give psychological tests, and probe hidden motivations of the candidates. Then they hire the best salesperson available at the time of their open sales requisition.
If salespeople are not hitting their numbers after 180 days of their employment cycle, managers start thinking about cutting their losses and letting them go because they are not successful.
But is it the salesperson's fault?
Selling technology, software, and professional services successfully requires more than the individual business and emotional characteristics that a salesperson can produce on their own. It also requires the company to be a participant and contributor in their success as well.
It is a misperception by management to believe that corporate sales will increase by hiring top performing experienced salespeople. Some managers believe, if they just hire the sales talent - POOF! Like magic - they have instant sales quota capture.
Nope - it doesn't work that way!
For experienced salespeople to sell successfully (hit quota or higher), management must participate in their sales success.
Top Sales Challenges according to Sales and
Marketing Pros in the US, 2004
(as a % of respondents)
49%
Improve effectiveness
43% Increase close rate
35% Decrease costs
31%
Improve solution selling
30% Increase contract value
24% Improve forecast accuracy
24% Reduce sell cycle
21% Reduce administration burden
21% Improve collaboration between sales and marketing
Source: Yankee Group, 2004
Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.
Here are 7 reasons why many great salespeople fail. None of these variables have anything to do with the salesperson being lazy, unprofessional, or lacking the appropriate sales skills.
The company they work for has no documented sales process.
Yes, you need to focus on specific sales techniques, but sales training is not sales performance. Having a written sales process will help you and your team build a replicatable, scalable sales program that can be duplicated over multiple prospects' buying cycles. Without a sales process, you just end up with isolated sales techniques.
Sales training is not enough - sales learning is needed.
Sixty-five percent of companies say they actively train their sales team, but only 35% actually do it. Sales is a business profession. You must continually invest in your sales staff to drive performance. Sales training is a one-time event. Sales learning is an ongoing education and investment in your revenue capture team.
Sales education investment must at least equal your development training investment.
Calculate the amount of money your firm invests per programmer in training and education and compare it to the investment in education for your sales team. If there is variance, you have an investment gap.
Incorrect sales quotas prevent great salespeople achieving their expected success.
Stop pressuring salespeople if your sales quotas or sales targets are based on assumptions. You must use qualified market demand analysis and existing sales metrics that can be documented to correctly forecast sales quotas that are attainable.
Management must supply salespeople with qualified sales leads.
Of course, salespeople should cold call and network, but what about the marketing department generating inbound leads for the sales team? Companies spend large sums of money on marketing that normally creates only a trickle of inbound qualified sales leads.
Your market gap demand must be documented.
Great salespeople cannot sell red shoes to prospects who are only interested in buying blue shoes. Your product must have a business demand for salespeople to succeed.
Your firm must provide a motivational selling environment that is positive.
Yes, good salespeople can be prima donnas, but like professional athletes who have negotiated a big compensation contract, salespeople are not just interested in money. For good salespeople to sell more, make work interesting and conducive to their personal needs to compete and succeed.
Selling is a team sport.
On any given day, when the team has practiced together and supports each other, anybody can win.
If management does not support good salespeople, they will fail.
A mediocre salesperson tells;
A good salesperson explains;
A superior salesperson demonstrates;
A great salesperson inspires buyers to see the benefits as their own.
(Anonymous)
Paul R. DiModica
President
DigitalHatch, Inc.
(770) 632-7647
http://www.digitalhatch.com
Private Reply to Michael Lemm | | Sep 09, 2004 2:04 pm | | re: What Keeps Sales Managers Up At Night?? | # | 
Michael Spitz | | Totally agree with the article which is universally applicable.
In addition:
Different industries have different, and sometimes...very long sales cycles, particularly with high-capitalization types of services.
Often, management goals and quotas are totally unrealistic, building a self-fullfilling prophecy of failure and...lots of turnover, which is not good for the company in the long run.
Hiring companies should make their choices carefully and back and support their hiring decisions, as well as being very cognizant of the company's own shortcomings and handicaps in their chosen market. They should also be open to input from their intelligently-chosen hires in order to correct these shortcomings as they are "in the trenches", acquiring much valuable business intelligence during their business acquisition efforts and routine.
I would be wary of so-called proven sales "techniques" as they could easily be perceived as "canned" and unpersonalized insults to the prospect who I'm sure in most cases would appreciate an informed, consultative and caring approach of a professional rep who knows when to "walk away"...
It is often said that selling is a "team effort" but often, it is not. Good salespeople "dig in" to the core of their organization and extract the gems of wisdom, knowledge and experience of non-selling staff. These morsels become key pitch components.
I hope this positively augments this good article that more upper management execs should see more of...
--Michael Spitz
> Michael Lemm wrote:
> Hi Ya'll,
>
>Here's another article by Paul DiModica....I thought you might find this one interesting. Maybe a tad different and not a topic we might usually think of. Uses IT as it's specific industry exam[ple but liklely applies to most any industry niche.
>
>Enjoy...and learn.
>
>God Bless,
>Michael
>
>====================
>
>IT Selling Success Redefined
>
>I hear from VP's of Sales and CEO's every week who say finding good IT salespeople is very difficult. But like a professional athlete, finding great salespeople is like finding franchise players - they can pull your entire team upward to a higher level of performance.
>
>Yet, the ability for great salespeople to succeed on demand is many times dependent on other attributes beyond their own sales skills, experiences, and controls.
>
>Like professional athletes, salespeople may have previous training, experience, or a resume which indicates they should be a successful heavy hitter, yet they can still fail.
>
>Is your firm making successful salespeople fail?
>
>This specific issue affects every sales manager, VP of Sales, or CEO who is trying to build a replicatable, scalable sales model to increase corporate revenue for their IT or professional service firm.
>
>When seeking successful salespeople, managers interview, check references, give psychological tests, and probe hidden motivations of the candidates. Then they hire the best salesperson available at the time of their open sales requisition.
>
>If salespeople are not hitting their numbers after 180 days of their employment cycle, managers start thinking about cutting their losses and letting them go because they are not successful.
>
>But is it the salesperson's fault?
>
>Selling technology, software, and professional services successfully requires more than the individual business and emotional characteristics that a salesperson can produce on their own. It also requires the company to be a participant and contributor in their success as well.
>
>It is a misperception by management to believe that corporate sales will increase by hiring top performing experienced salespeople. Some managers believe, if they just hire the sales talent - POOF! Like magic - they have instant sales quota capture.
>
>Nope - it doesn't work that way!
>
>For experienced salespeople to sell successfully (hit quota or higher), management must participate in their sales success.
>
>Top Sales Challenges according to Sales and
>Marketing Pros in the US, 2004
>(as a % of respondents)
>
>49%
> Improve effectiveness
>43% Increase close rate
>35% Decrease costs
>31%
> Improve solution selling
>30% Increase contract value
>24% Improve forecast accuracy
>24% Reduce sell cycle
>21% Reduce administration burden
>21% Improve collaboration between sales and marketing
>Source: Yankee Group, 2004
>Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.
>
>Here are 7 reasons why many great salespeople fail. None of these variables have anything to do with the salesperson being lazy, unprofessional, or lacking the appropriate sales skills.
>
>The company they work for has no documented sales process.
>
>Yes, you need to focus on specific sales techniques, but sales training is not sales performance. Having a written sales process will help you and your team build a replicatable, scalable sales program that can be duplicated over multiple prospects' buying cycles. Without a sales process, you just end up with isolated sales techniques.
>
>Sales training is not enough - sales learning is needed.
>
>Sixty-five percent of companies say they actively train their sales team, but only 35% actually do it. Sales is a business profession. You must continually invest in your sales staff to drive performance. Sales training is a one-time event. Sales learning is an ongoing education and investment in your revenue capture team.
>
>Sales education investment must at least equal your development training investment.
>
>Calculate the amount of money your firm invests per programmer in training and education and compare it to the investment in education for your sales team. If there is variance, you have an investment gap.
>
>Incorrect sales quotas prevent great salespeople achieving their expected success.
>
>Stop pressuring salespeople if your sales quotas or sales targets are based on assumptions. You must use qualified market demand analysis and existing sales metrics that can be documented to correctly forecast sales quotas that are attainable.
>
>Management must supply salespeople with qualified sales leads.
>
>Of course, salespeople should cold call and network, but what about the marketing department generating inbound leads for the sales team? Companies spend large sums of money on marketing that normally creates only a trickle of inbound qualified sales leads.
>
>Your market gap demand must be documented.
>
>Great salespeople cannot sell red shoes to prospects who are only interested in buying blue shoes. Your product must have a business demand for salespeople to succeed.
>
>Your firm must provide a motivational selling environment that is positive.
>
>Yes, good salespeople can be prima donnas, but like professional athletes who have negotiated a big compensation contract, salespeople are not just interested in money. For good salespeople to sell more, make work interesting and conducive to their personal needs to compete and succeed.
>Selling is a team sport.
>
>On any given day, when the team has practiced together and supports each other, anybody can win.
>
>If management does not support good salespeople, they will fail.
>
>A mediocre salesperson tells;
>A good salesperson explains;
>A superior salesperson demonstrates;
>A great salesperson inspires buyers to see the benefits as their own.
>(Anonymous)
>
>
>Paul R. DiModica
>President
>DigitalHatch, Inc.
>(770) 632-7647
>http://www.digitalhatch.com
> Private Reply to Michael Spitz | | Sep 13, 2004 12:38 pm | | re: What Keeps Sales Managers Up At Night?? | # | 
Sudhir Deva | | Hi
There are a few more things -
1. Sales Persons have to first blend in to the environment of the Company
2. Recruitent is by the Human Resources Department who have "assumed" knowledge of chemistry between Sales Manager & Sales Person
3. Customer Needs have to be presumed from word go to hit the ground running
3. Inadequate products or services do not meet customer expectations but are defended by Product Group and blame passed to Sales Person's inabilities.
Strong words :-) :-) :-) I am sure your Company DOES NOT do any one of these things.
Sudhir
> Michael Lemm wrote:
> Hi Ya'll,
>
>Here's another article by Paul DiModica....I thought you might find this one interesting. Maybe a tad different and not a topic we might usually think of. Uses IT as it's specific industry exam[ple but liklely applies to most any industry niche.
>
>Enjoy...and learn.
>
>God Bless,
>Michael
>
>====================
>
>IT Selling Success Redefined
>
>I hear from VP's of Sales and CEO's every week who say finding good IT salespeople is very difficult. But like a professional athlete, finding great salespeople is like finding franchise players - they can pull your entire team upward to a higher level of performance.
>
>Yet, the ability for great salespeople to succeed on demand is many times dependent on other attributes beyond their own sales skills, experiences, and controls.
>
>Like professional athletes, salespeople may have previous training, experience, or a resume which indicates they should be a successful heavy hitter, yet they can still fail.
>
>Is your firm making successful salespeople fail?
>
>This specific issue affects every sales manager, VP of Sales, or CEO who is trying to build a replicatable, scalable sales model to increase corporate revenue for their IT or professional service firm.
>
>When seeking successful salespeople, managers interview, check references, give psychological tests, and probe hidden motivations of the candidates. Then they hire the best salesperson available at the time of their open sales requisition.
>
>If salespeople are not hitting their numbers after 180 days of their employment cycle, managers start thinking about cutting their losses and letting them go because they are not successful.
>
>But is it the salesperson's fault?
>
>Selling technology, software, and professional services successfully requires more than the individual business and emotional characteristics that a salesperson can produce on their own. It also requires the company to be a participant and contributor in their success as well.
>
>It is a misperception by management to believe that corporate sales will increase by hiring top performing experienced salespeople. Some managers believe, if they just hire the sales talent - POOF! Like magic - they have instant sales quota capture.
>
>Nope - it doesn't work that way!
>
>For experienced salespeople to sell successfully (hit quota or higher), management must participate in their sales success.
>
>Top Sales Challenges according to Sales and
>Marketing Pros in the US, 2004
>(as a % of respondents)
>
>49%
> Improve effectiveness
>43% Increase close rate
>35% Decrease costs
>31%
> Improve solution selling
>30% Increase contract value
>24% Improve forecast accuracy
>24% Reduce sell cycle
>21% Reduce administration burden
>21% Improve collaboration between sales and marketing
>Source: Yankee Group, 2004
>Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.
>
>Here are 7 reasons why many great salespeople fail. None of these variables have anything to do with the salesperson being lazy, unprofessional, or lacking the appropriate sales skills.
>
>The company they work for has no documented sales process.
>
>Yes, you need to focus on specific sales techniques, but sales training is not sales performance. Having a written sales process will help you and your team build a replicatable, scalable sales program that can be duplicated over multiple prospects' buying cycles. Without a sales process, you just end up with isolated sales techniques.
>
>Sales training is not enough - sales learning is needed.
>
>Sixty-five percent of companies say they actively train their sales team, but only 35% actually do it. Sales is a business profession. You must continually invest in your sales staff to drive performance. Sales training is a one-time event. Sales learning is an ongoing education and investment in your revenue capture team.
>
>Sales education investment must at least equal your development training investment.
>
>Calculate the amount of money your firm invests per programmer in training and education and compare it to the investment in education for your sales team. If there is variance, you have an investment gap.
>
>Incorrect sales quotas prevent great salespeople achieving their expected success.
>
>Stop pressuring salespeople if your sales quotas or sales targets are based on assumptions. You must use qualified market demand analysis and existing sales metrics that can be documented to correctly forecast sales quotas that are attainable.
>
>Management must supply salespeople with qualified sales leads.
>
>Of course, salespeople should cold call and network, but what about the marketing department generating inbound leads for the sales team? Companies spend large sums of money on marketing that normally creates only a trickle of inbound qualified sales leads.
>
>Your market gap demand must be documented.
>
>Great salespeople cannot sell red shoes to prospects who are only interested in buying blue shoes. Your product must have a business demand for salespeople to succeed.
>
>Your firm must provide a motivational selling environment that is positive.
>
>Yes, good salespeople can be prima donnas, but like professional athletes who have negotiated a big compensation contract, salespeople are not just interested in money. For good salespeople to sell more, make work interesting and conducive to their personal needs to compete and succeed.
>Selling is a team sport.
>
>On any given day, when the team has practiced together and supports each other, anybody can win.
>
>If management does not support good salespeople, they will fail.
>
>A mediocre salesperson tells;
>A good salesperson explains;
>A superior salesperson demonstrates;
>A great salesperson inspires buyers to see the benefits as their own.
>(Anonymous)
>
>
>Paul R. DiModica
>President
>DigitalHatch, Inc.
>(770) 632-7647
>http://www.digitalhatch.com
> Private Reply to Sudhir Deva | | Sep 14, 2004 2:51 am | | re: re: What Keeps Sales Managers Up At Night?? | # | 
Sanjeev Kumar Vyas | | Hi,
I believe that whenever a company is facing a high turn over rate among its sales and marketing people it should look into it very seriously. this is a problem that cannot be solved by individual people and needs people of the higher management nad the HR to make people of the different departments understand the importance of Product that satisfies customers. Unless you have a product that Satisfies some of people's needs no sales person in the world can sell it. Product people should be trained in customer satisfaction so that they understand th sales team when they complain about the product. Product team should not take the complain as criticisum but should accept it as changes required.
regds
Sanjeev
> Sudhir Deva wrote:
> Hi
>
>There are a few more things -
>
>1. Sales Persons have to first blend in to the environment of the Company
>2. Recruitent is by the Human Resources Department who have "assumed" knowledge of chemistry between Sales Manager & Sales Person
>3. Customer Needs have to be presumed from word go to hit the ground running
>3. Inadequate products or services do not meet customer expectations but are defended by Product Group and blame passed to Sales Person's inabilities.
>
>Strong words :-) :-) :-) I am sure your Company DOES NOT do any one of these things.
>Sudhir
>
>> Michael Lemm wrote:
>> Hi Ya'll,
>>
>>Here's another article by Paul DiModica....I thought you might find this one interesting. Maybe a tad different and not a topic we might usually think of. Uses IT as it's specific industry exam[ple but liklely applies to most any industry niche.
>>
>>Enjoy...and learn.
>>
>>God Bless,
>>Michael
>>
>>====================
>>
>>IT Selling Success Redefined
>>
>>I hear from VP's of Sales and CEO's every week who say finding good IT salespeople is very difficult. But like a professional athlete, finding great salespeople is like finding franchise players - they can pull your entire team upward to a higher level of performance.
>>
>>Yet, the ability for great salespeople to succeed on demand is many times dependent on other attributes beyond their own sales skills, experiences, and controls.
>>
>>Like professional athletes, salespeople may have previous training, experience, or a resume which indicates they should be a successful heavy hitter, yet they can still fail.
>>
>>Is your firm making successful salespeople fail?
>>
>>This specific issue affects every sales manager, VP of Sales, or CEO who is trying to build a replicatable, scalable sales model to increase corporate revenue for their IT or professional service firm.
>>
>>When seeking successful salespeople, managers interview, check references, give psychological tests, and probe hidden motivations of the candidates. Then they hire the best salesperson available at the time of their open sales requisition.
>>
>>If salespeople are not hitting their numbers after 180 days of their employment cycle, managers start thinking about cutting their losses and letting them go because they are not successful.
>>
>>But is it the salesperson's fault?
>>
>>Selling technology, software, and professional services successfully requires more than the individual business and emotional characteristics that a salesperson can produce on their own. It also requires the company to be a participant and contributor in their success as well.
>>
>>It is a misperception by management to believe that corporate sales will increase by hiring top performing experienced salespeople. Some managers believe, if they just hire the sales talent - POOF! Like magic - they have instant sales quota capture.
>>
>>Nope - it doesn't work that way!
>>
>>For experienced salespeople to sell successfully (hit quota or higher), management must participate in their sales success.
>>
>>Top Sales Challenges according to Sales and
>>Marketing Pros in the US, 2004
>>(as a % of respondents)
>>
>>49%
>> Improve effectiveness
>>43% Increase close rate
>>35% Decrease costs
>>31%
>> Improve solution selling
>>30% Increase contract value
>>24% Improve forecast accuracy
>>24% Reduce sell cycle
>>21% Reduce administration burden
>>21% Improve collaboration between sales and marketing
>>Source: Yankee Group, 2004
>>Provided to Paul DiModica by eMarketer.com under contract.
>>
>>Here are 7 reasons why many great salespeople fail. None of these variables have anything to do with the salesperson being lazy, unprofessional, or lacking the appropriate sales skills.
>>
>>The company they work for has no documented sales process.
>>
>>Yes, you need to focus on specific sales techniques, but sales training is not sales performance. Having a written sales process will help you and your team build a replicatable, scalable sales program that can be duplicated over multiple prospects' buying cycles. Without a sales process, you just end up with isolated sales techniques.
>>
>>Sales training is not enough - sales learning is needed.
>>
>>Sixty-five percent of companies say they actively train their sales team, but only 35% actually do it. Sales is a business profession. You must continually invest in your sales staff to drive performance. Sales training is a one-time event. Sales learning is an ongoing education and investment in your revenue capture team.
>>
>>Sales education investment must at least equal your development training investment.
>>
>>Calculate the amount of money your firm invests per programmer in training and education and compare it to the investment in education for your sales team. If there is variance, you have an investment gap.
>>
>>Incorrect sales quotas prevent great salespeople achieving their expected success.
>>
>>Stop pressuring salespeople if your sales quotas or sales targets are based on assumptions. You must use qualified market demand analysis and existing sales metrics that can be documented to correctly forecast sales quotas that are attainable.
>>
>>Management must supply salespeople with qualified sales leads.
>>
>>Of course, salespeople should cold call and network, but what about the marketing department generating inbound leads for the sales team? Companies spend large sums of money on marketing that normally creates only a trickle of inbound qualified sales leads.
>>
>>Your market gap demand must be documented.
>>
>>Great salespeople cannot sell red shoes to prospects who are only interested in buying blue shoes. Your product must have a business demand for salespeople to succeed.
>>
>>Your firm must provide a motivational selling environment that is positive.
>>
>>Yes, good salespeople can be prima donnas, but like professional athletes who have negotiated a big compensation contract, salespeople are not just interested in money. For good salespeople to sell more, make work interesting and conducive to their personal needs to compete and succeed.
>>Selling is a team sport.
>>
>>On any given day, when the team has practiced together and supports each other, anybody can win.
>>
>>If management does not support good salespeople, they will fail.
>>
>>A mediocre salesperson tells;
>>A good salesperson explains;
>>A superior salesperson demonstrates;
>>A great salesperson inspires buyers to see the benefits as their own.
>>(Anonymous)
>>
>>
>>Paul R. DiModica
>>President
>>DigitalHatch, Inc.
>>(770) 632-7647
>>http://www.digitalhatch.com
>> Private Reply to Sanjeev Kumar Vyas | | |
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