SPIF TIP #49: How is Lean Different From Other Sales Process Methodologies?
The Sr. VP of Sales for a high technology company asked: “How is Lean (sales process excellence) different from other sales process methodologies (e.g. QBS, Forum), in that many salespeople will quickly discard and revert if they don’t easily perceive results?” Lean (a well known variant is known as the Toyota Production System) is a management system that enables relentless increases in business […]
SPIF Tip #48: Respect for Salespeople
In any organization, improving begins with open, frank discussions around crucial questions, like these: Why do we have to change? Why should we do this all alone? Why should we do this in addition to other work? What if sales problems are not caused by us? Why is this important to the organization? What are objective measures […]
SPIF Tip #47: How Information Quality Impacts B2B Sales Performance
We know that poor quality in the engineering or manufacturing process impacts production performance. The same principles apply in revenue production. Poor quality impacts performance. One primary focus of sales quality should be the information the sales channel uses to close the sale. Like any other process, managing revenue production quality levels requires standards. Not following the standards results in defects […]
SPIF Tip #46: Frustrated with B2B Revenues and Margins? Deep Thinking Improves Results
According to CSO Insights, the percentage of salespeople meeting or exceeding quota has declined for five years in a row! If you are responsible for B2B sales and marketing, that statistic should take your breath away. How can it be? There were more than 1700 B2B companies in those studies. It is not like they […]
SPIF Tip #45: Beware What You Measure About Sales Performance
A recent article by an HR consultant made the following argument (summarized): If you want to increase sales by 20% – 30%, simply Rank order the salespeople by performance Divide the resulting curve into thirds Identify the characteristics of the people in the top third Replace or upgrade the people in the bottom two thirds […]
SPIF Tip #44: Improving Your Value Proposition Requires the Whole Company
Professional B2B salesmanship is a noble endeavor. We don’t celebrate it often enough! Great salesmanship helps people to do things they should do, and would not otherwise do. It requires the ability to listen and develop relationships at all levels of an organization. It requires facing facts, and overcoming adversity. Most importantly, it requires earning […]
SPIF Tip #43: How To Double Your Sales Productivity Watching Your Kid’s Aquarium
When she started working at PetSmart, Kira, my college-age daughter, got interested in aquariums. She now has five including a 60-gallon masterpiece in the family room. Aquariums have never interested me too much. They are messy. The paraphernalia create a chronic shortage of wall plugs. And, in return, you get to watch some beta fish fluttering […]
SPIF Tip #42: Five Steps Guaranteed to Increase B2B Sales Revenue and Margins
So, how is your company’s sales process working? Responses to that question often paint an ugly picture: “We just don’t have the discipline to make a sales process work.” “We put it in place but the people just don’t follow it. They like to do their own thing.” “We have trouble because our sales managers […]
SPIF Tips #41: How to Solve the Biggest Sales and Marketing Problem
Improving productivity and predictability is the biggest problem in sales and marketing. The reason for it is that managers struggle with a conundrum: Should they focus their sales team on results, or on activities? Managing results When managers focus on results, salespeople tend to develop their own approaches to their jobs. Managers can tend […]
SPIF Tip #40: The Last Thing a Fish Discovers is Water
A few years ago I received the following email from a reader. The issue may take a slightly different form today, but I’ll bet you’ve run into it yourself: Michael, I was recently fired from my sales job, because I wasn’t on the road “cold calling” enough … Instead, I had been working to set […]
