Resources

What salesperson attributes will be most important to customers in the future? Sales and marketing consulting firm Dechert-Hampe & Company launched a study in 2002 that attempted to find out on behalf of manufacturer sales forces and the retail sector customers they serve. DHC updated the research in 2007, and...Read more

Unproductive sales resources are a drain on sales growth, profitability and customer retention. Typically, the sales force’s least productive members are newly-deployed Sales Representatives – salespeople new to the organization, or experienced sellers recently re-deployed to new responsibilities. By shortening the time required to get new Sales Representatives up the...Read more

Gary Summy, Sales Management Association member and Director of Sales Development for Trane Commercial Systems, discusses ways in which an organization can quantify the effectiveness of its sales force training and development.  Mr. Summy contends that training should be viewed as an investment in the organization versus an expense.  And...Read more

Dennis Chapman, Founder and President of The Chapman Group and a veteran in the field of sales management, offers a best-in-class checklist for assessing an organization’s strategic account management effectiveness. In this Research Brief, he discusses role differences between traditional account managers and today’s strategic account manager. Role clarity within...Read more

Sales operations is an emerging management discipline in firms with sales organizations of significant size. Leveraging an array of support initiatives, sales operations can boost sales force productivity through technology, process improvement, reporting, and training. The Sales Management Association believes sales management is thinking more strategically about sales operations as...Read more

For large sales organizations, account profiling is an essential sales force planning activity. Account profiles offer a summary view of customers’ (or prospects’) characteristics and key issues, often providing the single most important sales force-to-management communication tool for customer issues. Like many firms that employ account profiles, Schlumberger Oilfield Services,...Read more

Many organizations use competency-based management programs as an over-arching framework for managing talent.  Competency-based management programs did not originate in the sales force, nor is their application unique to sales management.  Using competency-based programs in managing the sales organization yields significant benefits to many firms, and we believe it offers...Read more

The Sales Management Association’s Sales and Sales Management Competency Dictionary is designed as a resource for firms developing competency models for their sales organizations. It draws upon commonly used competency descriptions used by sales organizations in defining the knowledge, skills, abilities, and behaviors associated with high-performing salespeople, sales managers, and...Read more