Once upon a time there was a little red hen who lived in a big sales organization. She had three fluffy yellow chicks.
One morning as they were busily scratching about the yard, looking for something to eat, the little red hen found a prospect.
“Look!” she said. “See what I have found. Who will help me qualify this lead?”
“Not I,” said the Sales Engineer. “I must troubleshoot a network failure.”
“Not I,” said the Support Specialist. “I have unfinished reports to complete.”
“Very well, I will then”, said the little red hen, and she did.
After a while some buying signals appeared at the prospect. The little red hen asked, Who will help me craft a solution for this prospect??
“Not I,” said the Product Marketing Manager. “That sort of work is not strategic.”
“Not I,” said the Pricing Analyst. “Prospects make me nervous.”
“Very well, I will then”, said the little red hen, and she did.
After a while the prospect appeared interested in purchasing:
“What fine revenue growth opportunities we have,” said the Sales Engineer, the Support Specialist, the Product Marketing Manager, and the Pricing Analyst.
“Yes, indeed, it is time to close the sale,” said the little red hen. “Who will help me close the sale?”
“Not I,” said the Sales Engineer and the Support Specialist
“Not I,” said the Marketing Manager and the Pricing Analyst.
“Very well, I will then”, said the little red hen, and she did.
Then she called to her colleagues and she asked, “Now, who will help me implement this new customer?”
“Not I,” said the Sales Engineer and the Support Specialist
“Not I,” said the Marketing Manager and the Pricing Analyst.
So she carefully implemented the new customer, who loved the product and paid the invoice.
Well now,? asked the little red hen’s Field Sales Manager, Who should get credit for this fine, large deal??
All of us should,? said the Product Marketing Manager, speaking on behalf of the Sales Engineer, the Support Specialist, and the Pricing Analyst. We are overlay sales resources in a firm whose performance management scheme makes generous use of multiple-crediting mechanisms and shared quotas. This approach is a well-intentioned effort to encourage cross-functional collaboration and shared incentive participation, but ultimately dilutes accountability and confuses us all. We struggle to find meaning in this crediting approach, though on an existential level it’s less troubling than the talking chicken in the room.? The End.
Assigning sales credit to multiple contibutors forces difficult management decisions and requires careful planning. Make crediting overly restrictive and you’ll throttle motivation; over-generous approaches run the risk of increasing selling costs; and needlessly complicated schemes muddle communication to the field. Getting crediting right involves a principled examination of sales strategy, sales job roles, terroitry assignments, and sales process ? and the smart use of enabling technology.
Our friends at IBM have developed the guide Sales Crediting: Strategies to Help You Succeed.? It offers a planning process for reviewing sales crediting effectiveness and a set of best practices and pitfalls to avoid. It’s available for download along with access to an archived webcast presented by IBM’s Fred Sass on Making Sense of Sales Crediting.
SMA members may access both by going here (join as a Basic member at no cost).
