(Sales) Management by Tactics ™ A supervisory technique used by contemporary sales management - An overview of its effects on sales performance Presented by James D. Roumeliotis JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo Do Sales Goals Actually Work? Sales goals can get in the way of a successful sale, if you spend too much time thinking about them. Goals are not a bad thing – it’s what spur you to take action. However, primary focus should be on the action, not on the goal, otherwise, you end up alienating customers through your pressure to reach your goals by making the sale. JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo Focus on the Process/Activities Things are very different when you focus primarily on the process of selling, rather than worrying about the day-to-day routine of closing and quotas. When you focus on the process, you stop trying to "make the sale." Because of this, you start building long-term relationships. Eventually your customers start bringing you new business and new opportunities. JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo What is (Sales) Management by Tactics™ (MBT) Management by Tactics™ is a term which describes a supervisory technique utilized by sales management. It is a process in which sales managers/ directors, along with salespeople, identify the day-to-day activities required to achieve sales objectives and focus their energies in controlling such activities (input) – rather than simply focusing on results (output). JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo What are the advantages of applying MBT? Management by Objectives (MBO) focuses on the outputs (sales results). On the other hand, salespeople improve their performance when they focus on tasks (inputs) rather than sales objectives (outputs). I t i s e f f e c t i v e i n s e v e r a l t y p e s o f i n d u s t r i e s – for both products & services. E f f e c t i v e i n p e n e t r a t i n g n e w m a r k e t s . E f f e c t i v e i n s e l l i n g n e w p r o d u c t s t o existing customers. JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo RESEARCH STUDY – pretest & post-test results* (with MBT) Twenty nine subjects from a sample of four companies representing different types of industries were selected. Three of the companies sold products (tobacco, textbooks and pharmaceuticals), while the other promoted/sold loan services. T h e f i r s t 3 c o m p a n i e s s o l d t o r e t a i l e r s , w h i l e t h e 4 th s o l d academic textbooks to schools (which in turn sold them to students). During this research, sales representatives from all 4 companies worked exclusively with output goals – namely sales objectives. Data were collected. This stage of the research was referred to as the “Pre -test”. * Source: Management By Tactics (MBT): An Investigation of its Effects on Sales Performance, Giovanni Di Girolamo, Ph.D. (Management), California Coast University, Santa Ana, California, December 2005 JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo Research Study - Post Test The researcher then proceeded to implement the Management by Tactics™ system. In this phase of the research, the salespeople were given Input goals, such as the number of telephone calls to be made, number of prospects to visit and types of sales presentations etc. This stage of the research is referred to as the “Post-test”. JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo Research Study - Conclusion Results from all four companies suggest that there is indeed a relationship between variables: MBT had a positive impact on Sales Performance. I n the absence of applying MBT, all representatives in the study under achieved sales objectives between 21% to 75% of their target. O n the other hand, when all reps were given input goals under the MBT system, the weakest rep hit 100% of target – while the other two reached 117% and 118% respectively for a combined average of 112% of sales targets. JD Roumeliotis | Prof. G. DiGirolamo Including the forms used for MBT™ Contact: jdr@affluencemarketing.ca (Sales) Management by Tactics™ Copyright 01/2013 James D, Roumeliotis Prof. Giovanni DiGirilamo