Sales Management Association Webcast
Six Emerging Trends in Sales Force
Effectiveness for Sales Managers
February 22, 2013
Presented by
© Copyright 2013 The Sales Management Association.
About The Sales Management Association
A global, cross-industry professional association for sales
operations and sales management.
Focused in providing research, case studies, training, peer
networking, and professional development to our membership.
Fostering a community of thought-leaders, service providers,
academics, and practitioners.
Learn More: www.salesmanagement.org
© 2013 The Sales Management Association. All rights reserved.
Slide 2
Today’s Panelists
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Slide 3
Sales Management Association Webcast
Six Emerging Trends in Sales Force
Effectiveness for Sales Managers
February 22, 2013
Presented by
© Copyright 2013 The Sales Management Association.
Sales Effectiveness
Learning & Development
Leadership Development
Change Management
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Comprehensive Curriculum
Fully Customized
Expertly Delivered
Strong Reinforcement
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We have won numerous awards
We have won numerous awards
2013 Top 20 Leadership
Training Company
We have won numerous awards
2012 Best New
Learning Technology
We work with large, sophisticated clients
In 2012…
• We trained over 75,000 professionals
• We created over 600 new customized programs
• We interviewed over 1000 senior executives
• We surveyed over 3000 sales reps
6 Business Trends
1. Focus on new business
2. Buyer Behavior
3. Social Media
4. Big Data
5. Leveraging Insight
6. Changing Workforce
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What do these mean for you
and the people you manage?
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1. Focus on new business
Source: CSO Insight
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Reps want better prospecting skills
Source: Richardson Research
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Reps want lead quality
over quantity
37%
33%
76%
61%
28%
39%
Source: Richardson Research
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Source: CSO Insight
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Source: CSO Insight
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Existing: 1-5 calls
Source: CSO Insight
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Existing: 1-5 calls
New: 3-15 calls
Source: CSO Insight
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Existing: 1-5 calls
Generating new business takes
at least 3x more effort!
New: 3-15 calls
Source: CSO Insight
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What this means for you
• Know a good lead from a bad lead
– Analyze wins from past 2 years
– How did the lead develop into a sale?
– Determine common characteristics
• Be a lead quality advocate
– Educate the marketing team when necessary
• Drive accountability on qualified leads
– Prospecting skill is low, expect to coach
– Set proper expectations
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2. Changing Buyer Behavior
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Think about how you
would buy a car today
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The car buyer’s journey
•
•
•
•
•
•
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Research
Decisions
Google
Cars.com
Consumer Reports
JD Power
Car Fax
Yelp






Make
Model
Options
Price
Financing
Dealer
Consumerization of B2B Buyers
Not all consumers
are B2B buyers,
but all B2B buyers
are consumers!
B2B Information Channels
Source: Buyer Sphere 2013
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B2B Information Channels
#1 Web
#2 Word of Mouth
Source: Buyer Sphere 2013
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B2B Information Channels
#1 Web
#2 Word of Mouth
# 3-5 Social Media
87%
Source: Buyer Sphere 2013
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Over
60% of CXOs
search
Understand
Buyer
Behavior
the Internet daily
How often do you access the Internet for business intelligence?
Source: Forbes Insight / Google
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CXOs
prefer toBuyer
do much
Understand
Behavior
of their own research
Source: Forbes
Insight / Google
Bringing Your New Website to Life| 30
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What this means for you
• Reps must understand customers
– The buyer’s journey & mindset
– Sharing “Voice of Customer” reviews are crucial
• Reps must sharpen their value prop
– How do you add value and differentiate?
• Reps need to be educators
– Do they understand your content marketing?
– Can they deliver compelling insight to buyers?
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3. Social Media
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Organizations and Reps are
struggling with social media
Source: Richardson Research
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Mainstreaming of social media has led to
many bad social media sales practices
Issues:
(Hmm… my name is “Mike” – Can you say, “Copy and Paste?”) ..
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• Copy & Paste – didn’t change name
• Using LinkedIn as an email marketing
database, without relationship.
• Misses the entire point of marketing
effectively through social channels.
• This rep & I were 1st-degree
connections. They had access to so
much information abut me, and a
chance to create a real relationship.
• Instead, they chose to practically spam
me, to present information about stuff
I don't buy.
Reps tend to forget to think from
the customer’s perspective!
Richardson
©2013
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©2013, All
Allrights
rightsreserved
reserved.
What this means for you
• Set a good example
– Learn the tools and how to best use them
• Be an advocate for your people
– Lobby sales leadership to empower your team
• Correct bad practice
– Do social media “ride-alongs” and coach
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4. Big Data
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4. Big Data
“The right use of Big Data allows
analysts to spot trends and gives
niche insights that help create value
and innovation much faster than
conventional methods.”
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Big Data: CEO’s Perspective
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Expect to measure
EVERYTHING
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What this means for you
• Learn to manage “by the numbers”
– Start developing this competency now
• Sharpen your knowledge of CRM
– Improve your productivity on the tools
• Lean on Sales Ops
– Push them to make reporting better, faster and
more efficient
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5. Leveraging “Insight”
Insight:
Information
that enlightens
us in a way that
is not glaringly
obvious
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Leveraging Insight: Why now?
Top consulting
and banking firms
have used
research and
insight to support
selling for years
Leveraging Insight: Why now?
Top consulting
and banking firms
have used
research and
insight to support
selling for years
Why now is it becoming
mainstream in B2B sales?
The Customer’s Buying Cycle: Pre-2002
Buyer relies
on sales rep
for product
and solution
information
8.
Measure
Solution
7.
Implement
Solution
1.
Set
Business
Goals
2.
Define
Objectives
3.
Assess
Challenging
Issues
4.
6.
Identify
Select Solution,
Possible
Negotiate
5.
Initiatives
& Close
Research
and Compare
Solutions
© Richardson 2012 •
www.richardson.com
The Customer’s Buying Cycle: Post-2002
Buyers may be
much further
along in their
buying cycle
before they
engage suppliers
8.
Measure
Solution
7.
Implement
Solution
1.
Set
Business
Goals
2.
Define
Objectives
3.
Assess
Challenging
Issues
4.
6.
Identify
Select Solution,
Possible
Negotiate
5.
Initiatives
& Close
Research
and Compare
Solutions
© Richardson 2012 •
www.richardson.com
The Customer’s Buying Cycle: Post-2002
Insight can
disrupt
conventional
thinking and
create a
competitive
advantage
1.
Set
1.
8.
Business
2.
Set
Measure
Goals
Define
8.
Business
2.
Solution
Objectives
Measure
Goals
Define
Solution
Objectives
3.
7.
Assess
Implement
3.
Challenging
7.
Solution
Assess
Issues
Implement
Challenging
Solution
4. Issues
6.
Identify
Select Solution,
4.
6.
Possible
Negotiate
5.
Identify
Select
Solution,
Initiatives
& Close
Research
Possible
Negotiateand Compare
5.
Initiatives
& Close Solutions
Research
and Compare
Solutions
© Richardson 2012 •
www.richardson.com
49
Selling Modes
Create
8.
Measure
Solution
1.
Set
Business
Goals
(You enter at Stage 1, 2, or 3.)
2.
Define
Objectives
3.
Assess
Challenging
Issues
7.
Implement
Solution
Respond
4.
6.
Identify
Select Solution,
Possible
Negotiate
5.
Initiatives
& Close
Research
and Compare
Solutions
Shape
(You enter at
Stage 3 or 4.)
(You enter at Stage 5 once the RFP
has been issued.)
© Richardson 2012 •
www.richardson.com
50
Selling Modes
Respond
Shape
Create
• The customer already has determined what the issue is
and the approach to be taken.
• Scope/budget are usually set.
• Price and competitive pressures high.
•
•
•
•
The customer may have some ideas about the issue.
You may be able to influence scope/budget.
You influence customer’s thinking.
Preempt competition.
• The customer may be completely unaware of issue.
• You are actively involved in defining the scope/budget
with the customer.
• You are creating the need
• Shut out the competition, price pressure less intense.
© Richardson 2012 •
www.richardson.com
Reps need skills and content
to leverage insight
42%
40%
72%
33%
48%
30%
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67%
15%
27%
Sources of “Insight”
1.
2.
3.
4.
Corporate generated
Researchers, analysts & consultants
Personal wisdom / experience
Client-specific analysis
– Benchmarking
– Financial ratio analysis
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Too often, a seller’s insight
isn’t very insightful for the
buyer!
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Too often, a seller’s delivery
of insight can come across
pushy and arrogant.
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What this means to you
• Enter the customer buying cycle earlier through deeper
understanding of the customer’s business and by proactively
bringing them relevant insights and ideas
• Understand how to be a catalyst for change within the
customer organization — motivating the customer to move
into change mode by leveraging insights, tools, and solutions
• Understand how and why to share insights in a collaborative,
conversational dialogue that encourages sharing of
information and enhances the salesperson’s credibility
• Understand what different members of the customer decision
team value and tailor insights accordingly
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6. Changing Workforce
•
•
•
•
•
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Millennials
Digital generation
Highly tech savvy
Different values
Different expectations
Rapidly entering
workforce
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Bite Sized / Continuous Learning
Smaller
Chunks
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Trends
• Chunk down large volumes
of learning content into
smaller bite-sized pieces
• Space learning and
reinforcement over longer
period of time
Flipping the Classroom
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Gamification
Trends
• Create an active, competitive
learning experience
• Often technology enabled
• Engages
• Fits millennial preferences
(“Nintendo / X-Box Generation”)
• Fits flipped classroom model
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Slide 63
Thank You.
© Copyright 2013 The Sales Management Association