Resources

In the rush to embrace “coaching,” sales organizations expect managers to offer salespeople one-on-one coaching sessions. As implemented by most firms, these are low-value, time-wasting affairs.  For coaching to work, management must forget the common view of what a successful one-on-one coaching session should be; namely, focused on past performance,...Read more

Key Performance Indicators (KPI's) are performance metrics that drive important management decisions. There are many commonly-used sales performance metrics, including total sales revenues, number of products sold, average order value, and year-to-date sales. Individually, these metrics yield significant insight, but management sometimes lacks deeper knowledge into how specific metrics impact...Read more

Miller Heiman’s annual study of sales organizations measures what separates “World Class” sales organizations from others. In this Sales Management Association webcast, 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...Read more

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...Read more

This spring's Sales Management Association chapter meetings in Chicago and Atlanta included panel discussions on "Motivating the Sales Force." [Our spring meetings were the first featuring a common topic, something we'll continue as we add new chapters (including Houston and Twin Cities in the fall).] In support of these sessions,...Read more

According to recent Sales Management Association research, sales organizations are poised for a tidal wave of tablet PC adoption. Though only 40% of salespeople are currently equipped with tablets, 70% of executives in sales organizations using tablets are already realizing ROI, and more than 90% of sales organizations plan to...Read more

Sales organizations competing in increasingly commoditized markets seek ways to elevate the sales conversation, sell higher in the organization, and participate earlier in the buying cycle. In short, they seek entirely new ways of engaging prospects. Similarly, buyers are looking for new ways to interact with partners. More than 230...Read more

We're all familiar with the Moneyball story: Billy Beane, General Manager of the struggling Oakland A’s baseball team, bypassed traditional decision-making methods and used data to make smart decisions. Today, many sales executives are overlooking some key Moneyball metrics and still doing business the old-fashioned way. Just as Billy Beane...Read more