http://salesmanagement.org/ - Sales Management Association http://salesmanagement.org/ Sales Management Association - events, resources.r Copyright 2010, http://salesmanagement.org/ Analyzing Sales Productivity: Using Workload, Opportunity, and Performance Metrics For Sales Territory Intelligence http://salesmanagement.org/events/analyzing-sales-productivity-using-workload-opportunity-and-performance-metrics-for-sales-territory-intelligence Measuring sales force effectiveness is more than simply counting revenue or customer wins. True effectiveness metrics consider performance in the context of available opportunity, and the productivity of assigned sales resources. Using this approach as the basis for deploying salespeople and defining their territory assignments yields powerful productivity improvements - and more effectively deployed sales organizations.


This SMA webcast explores the use of sales workload measurement, geographic potential estimates, and key performance drivers to establish multi-criteria weighting models for intelligent territory design. These complex sales analytics are available to all sales organizations; common practices and benefits associated with their use are outlined in detail.


Presented by Mapping Analytics' Cindy Reid.

]]> 2012-09-05 Sales Manager Coach Thyself: The Development Strategy That Dooms Sales Forces to Fail http://salesmanagement.org/events/sales-manager-coach-thyself-the-development-strategy-that-dooms-sales-forces-to-fail In recent years, the front-line sales manager has come into focus as a key point of leverage in the sales force. In particular, organizations are trying to improve their sales managers’ ability to coach their reps to higher performance. But what about sales managers themselves - who is coaching them? Are they expected to elevate their own performance through some hidden, inherent self-improvement mechanism? Hmm. In this SMA webcast we explore the best approaches for developing managers into coaches, preparing managers to develop salespeople, and implementing sales development programs for the management assets most responsible for sales force success.

Speaker:  Michelle Vazzana, Vantage Point Performance

]]> 2012-07-13 Best Practices in Sales Human Capital Management http://salesmanagement.org/events/best-practices-in-sales-human-capital-management Two-thirds (or more) of sales organization's total spend goes to compensate sales personnel, but how much do sales organizations really focus on the human resources they invest in? In fact, many sales organizations have a fragmented approach to people related processes, unlinked to a comprehensive program, leading to poor performance in their day-to-day activities and low returns on their investment.

On the other hand, firms that provide integrated approaches to supporting the sales force's human capital at key job/life cycle stages can enable higher performance. These firms provide salespeople with balanced and coordinated on-boarding, training, enablement, coaching, compensation, and next-job transition processes. These programs form a comprehensive approach to Sales Human Capital Management.

Sales Human Capital Management, in its most basic definition, is how a company acquires, uses, prepares, motivates, and monitors its investments in sales resources to drive the company’s go-to-market strategy.

In this SMA webcast, Sales Economics' Tom Magas draws upon many years of high-tech industry sales operations experience, and recent client engagements to detail best practices in sales organization human capital management.

]]> 2012-07-10 The New High Performing Sales Rep - Why Challengers Win (and Relationship Builders Lose) http://salesmanagement.org/events/the-new-high-performing-sales-rep-why-challengers-win-and-relationship-builders-lose A company’s brand, products and services, and pricing are no longer the main drivers behind customers’ purchase decisions. Instead, what customers want today lies within the sales experience itself—a salesperson’s ability to deliver unique insight drives 53% of customer loyalty.

With this in mind, The Sales Executive Council surveyed more than 6,600 sales reps and studied their performance levels. The results revealed there are five selling profiles which exist: the Hard Worker, the Challenger, the Relationship Builder, the Lone Wolf, and the Problem Solver. While each profile has its strengths and weaknesses, the profile best positioned to deliver a differentiated sales experience based on unique insight is the Challenger rep.

In this webcast, you will learn:

  • The strengths and weaknesses of each profile; 
  • What differentiates the Challenger rep from the others; and 
  • The three distinct skills which are prevalent in the highest performing reps.

Join Dr. Matt Dixon, Managing Director of the Sales Executive Council and co-author of The Challenger Sale, for this Sales Management Association webcast.

]]> 2012-06-21 Sales Operations Effectiveness Workshop http://salesmanagement.org/events/sales-operations-effectiveness-workshop

Download a summary document with agenda and session descriptions here.

SMA’s two-day Sales Operations Effectiveness Workshop focuses on trends in managing sales force productivity, drivers of sales operations department effectiveness, and emerging developments in sales technology.

Hosted by The Sales Management Association and DePaul University’s Center for Sales Leadership, this event features a series of short workshops and panel discussions. Participants will gain access to a wide range of thought leaders and topics, all emphasizing practical insights.

Attendees receive two credits toward SMA’s Certified Sales Operations Professional designation.

Attendance is limited. Included in each registration is a one-year SMA membership (or membership extension).

Agenda Overview

Sessions, topics, and speakers may change.

A welcome dinner the evening of 18 June may be added.

Sales Ops 2012 – Emerging Challenges, New Solutions | Bob Kelly, Sales Management Association

  • Review of SMA research on sales operations departments’ 2012 challenges and priorities.
  • Interactive discussion on participants’ sales operations issues.

Operating Priorities of High-Growth Sales Organizations | Joe Galvin, Chief Research Officer and EVP, Miller Heiman. Miller Heiman’s annual study of sales organizations measures what separates “World Class” sales organizations from others. In this workshop, Miller Heiman’s Joe Galvin details 12 best practice initiatives that characterize World Class sales organizations’ operating priorities. Each initiative is examined from sales operations’ perspective, with emphasis on how sales operations departments can direct, support, and execute initiatives essential to the sales force’s success. 


Using Metrics to Drive Sales Results | Jason Jordan, Partner, Vantage Point Performance

  • Provides frameworks for identifying essential performance metrics for managers.
  • Assists managers in determining how best to manage activities that impact performance.

Case Study: Optimizing a Field Sales Force | Warren Shiver, Managing Partner, Symmetrics Group

 

Sales organizations should periodically revisit sales force strategy and organization design to ensure alignment with changing market conditions. This session provides a structured approach to evaluating sales strategy and field coverage, highlights common pitfalls, and features a recent case study.

 

Structuring Sales Operations | Scott Shimamoto, Principal and Glenn Hollister, Associate Principal, ZS Associates

  • Presents strategies for addressing typical challenges faced by sales operations.
  • Includes diagnostic framework for assessing sales operations organization maturity and potential quick-win productivity gains.

Case Study: Introducing Quality Management into Sales Operations | David Fritz, Growth Solutions, LLC | Susan Davis, Kaiser Permanente

Case study review of two firms’ efforts to apply Total Quality Management (TQM) principles to the Sales Operations function.

Technology Roundtable: Innovation, Technology and Management Analytics

Enabling the Coaching-Focused Sales Force | Steve Potts, Vice President, CallidusCloud | Bob Sanders, Chief Operating Officer, AXIOM Sales Force Development

  • Defines coaching’s role in driving productivity.
  • Considers linkages between coaching effort and sales process.
  • Reviews tools and programs that support coaching effectiveness.

Improving Forecast Accuracy | Steve Bombassei, Cloud9 Analytics

  • Showcases forecasting best practices.
  • Discusses the emergence of predictive analytics.
  • Recommendations for improving forecast accuracy.

Sales Performance Management Systems: Best Practices, Trends, and Tools | Fred Sass, Director of Product Marketing, Varicent Software | Ken Kramer, Director of Business Development, TerrAlign Group

  • Showcases emerging trends in incentive compensation and sales performance management for sales forces.
  • Details best practices for optimizing pay and performance management analytics.
  • Profiles industry-leading technology solutions.

Automating Deal Cycle Intelligence | Will Wiegler, Chief Marketing Officer, The TAS Group

  • Using analytics to improve forecast accuracy
  • Deploying tools and technology that supports, enables, and guide
  • Automating sales cycle intelligence to increase deal win rate and average deal value, and shorten sales cycles.
  • Applying automated deal coaching to identify deal risks and vulnerabilities.
  • Review of research data from millions of sales cycles, including findings on the changing nature of buying practices

Upgrading Account Planning to a Core Sales Force Capability | Alejandro Erasso, President, Sales Economics.

  • Building a case for improved account management process
  • Creating active measurements of field outcomes
  • Ensuring high ROI from account management investments
  • Sales Operations’ role in process stewardship, metrics implementation, and sales force adoption

Structuring and Deploying Sales Forces | Scott Sands, National Practice Leader, Sales Force Effectiveness, Aon Hewitt

  • Provides assessment approaches for optimizing sales structure.
  • Addresses important organizing principles to align with go to market strategy.
  • Identifying sales roles that maximize opportunity coverage.
  • Determining optimal sales force size and deploying sales resources for maximum impact
  • Identifies the key drivers of sales productivity from utilizing social media

Sales Operations and the Social Sales Force | Speaker to be named, SAP | Koka Sexton, Director of Social Media Strategy, InsideView | Bob Kelly, Sales Management Association

  • Review of recent Sales Management Association research on social media and sales management
  • Discussion of emerging trends in social media usage and their implications for sales leadership

Hotels

A complete list of the many nearby hotels is here. Our favorites within a half-mile:

Transportation

  • CTA Trains: Seven rapid transit train lines service the downtown Chicago area and DePaul's Loop campus. From the subway trains, exit at Jackson Boulevard. From the elevated trains, exit at Adams Street/Wabash Avenue.
  • Cab: about $40 from O’Hare or Midway airports

 

Download a summary document with agenda and session descriptions here.

]]> 2012-06-19 Solving the Puzzle of Territory Design http://salesmanagement.org/resources/single-article/226 New research shows that few companies are focusing on sales territory optimization. Yet intelligent territory design yields substantial productivity improvements - as much as 10% in a single year - to those firms who embrace it. Optimizing account assignments, territory design, and sales resource deployment might be the single highest-return investment sales operations departments can make in sales productivity.

In this SMA webcast Mapping Analytics' Cindy Reid reviews prevailing territory management practices, identifies approaches that yield the best results, and offers insights into how sales organizations can implement optimal territory design to make sakes forces more efficient and productive.

Presenter: Cindy Reid, Chief Operating Officer, Mapping Analytics

]]> 2012-05-16 The Role of Analytics in Sales Transformation http://salesmanagement.org/resources/single-article/227 "Sales transformation" initiatives often fail. They aim to increase revenue and margins - and involve investment in new selling programs, processes and methodologies - but too frequently see inadequate results. Why?

For many, it's because analytics are poorly applied to change initiatives. This SMA webcast addresses the role of analytics in successful sales transformation, and features ideas from four thought leaders in an interactive panel format.

Topics include:

  • Identifying obstacles to successful sales transformation.
  • Ensuring transformation has a significant, measurable impact.
  • Analytics' critical role in sales transformation success.
  • The importance of emphasizing changes in sales behavior.
  • Calibrating sales process design to support new sales strategy.
  • Adapting performance metrics to address both sales force output and behavioral change.
  • Using analytics to identify the most critical performance gaps that impede sales effectiveness.

Panelists include:

Bob Nicols, CEO, AXIOM Sales Force Development, author The Journey to Sales Transformation
Kimberly Senior, Executive Director, Professional People Development, AT&T
Jon Bock, Director of Product Marketing, Cloud9 Analytics
Josh Kuss, Manager, Commercial Analytics, Illumina

]]> 2012-05-08 The iPad's Impact on the Sales Force http://salesmanagement.org/resources/single-article/225 iPads are portable, compelling, and cost-effective, and they are having no small impact on the sales organization. More powerful than smart phones, and more mobile than laptops, iPads have an additional benefit uniquely suited to sales: they are consummately social devices. That is, they offer an easily share-able user experience. Unobtrusive and intuitive to use, iPads are starting and sustaining sales interactions, and delivering information to mobile sales professionals in new ways.

In the scramble to deploy iPads, many questions remain regarding their use within the sales function. In this SMA webcast, we examine the sales force’s use of iPads from several perspectives, and articulate sales leadership’s priorities in making the most of this new tool. Drawing upon research recently conducted by SMA, the session will also detail key trends in iPad usage. Topics covered include:

  • The promise of tablet computing
  • Sales-specific applications: an overview
  • Killer applications
  • Management’s priorities
  • Quick hit ideas for optimizing iPad’s sales impact

Speakers:

Bob Kelly, Chairman, The Sales Management Association
Cliff Alper and Tim Knox, Analysis Factory
Paula Crerar, Director of Content Marketing, Brainshark

]]> 2012-05-06 DePaul Center for Sales Leadership Research Update: What Drives Superior Sales Performance? http://salesmanagement.org/resources/single-article/224 Dave Hoffmeister, Executive in Residence at the DePaul Center for Sales Leadership, provides a research briefing on the important characteristics of high performance sales organizations recently identified in the Center's biennial Sales Effectiveness Survey. Conducted over a six-month period among over 3,000 firms in the US, the results of this survey indicate that only a few key organizational and operational behaviors are needed to drive high performance. Key areas such as talent, coaching, motivation, and development – combined with sales competencies, process and technology – drive superior results

]]> 2012-04-13 Sales Strategies for Conquering the Competition http://salesmanagement.org/resources/single-article/222 Increased competition is among the toughest challenges facing sales organizations today. As pricing pressure mounts and customer budgets shrink, sales leaders must bring a new level of innovation to their efforts to beat the competition.

In this webinar, AchieveGlobal’s Greg McDonald and Colleen O’Sullivan illustrate how best-in-class companies practice a strategic process in competitive situations to close more deals and drive revenue growth. Together they will share AchieveGlobal’s research on the competitive landscape – examining proven approaches to help salespeople succeed in the face of rising pressures against competition.

Topics include:

  • How the economy has altered the competitive landscape
  • What to do to leverage this landscape in order to beat an incumbent
  • Implementing a simple two-step process to overcome the challenges of competition: “assess and apply”
  • Applying resources to learn more about your customers and competitors  
]]> 2012-04-05