Identifying key sales drivers and being able assess the health of those drivers is critical in building and successfully managing a sales force. There are many staffing executives who believe that most sales issues begin and end with the quality of their sales force. While the quality of sales personnel is an important factor it is not the only one. By not appreciating the other drivers, managers are vulnerable to making to poor hiring decisions, causing unnecessary turnover and consistent underperformance. The book Building a Winning Sales Force defines these drivers within five different categories. This blog will discuss those categories and why they all play an important role in the execution of your sales strategy. Definers: A successful sales organization has clearly defined sales roles Definers determine how your sales organization should be structured in terms of size, territories, and specific roles within the sales organization. Definers are determined by the value proposition you are bringing to the marketplace and buyers you are targeting. If you do not have your value proposition or buyers clearly defined then you have no sales strategy and therefore no way of knowing what drivers you may need. Shapers: Hiring and developing the right people Now … Read More
The Strategy Focused Organization (Part 3): Mobilize Change Through Executive Leadership
Today’s CEO is wrestling with unique market challenges. These challenges have forced many leaders and employees to question current business models and are looking at change not as a threat but as a necessity. This openness to change provides an opportunity to inspire their team to a better destination. However, many changes are complex and can reach to the heart of the company culture. Therefore, strong executive leadership from the CEO is required to overcome these obstacles and fuel the company’s transformation. The CEO must first define that destination, and understand the characteristics the company must have in order to reach it. Those are the responsibilities unique to the CEO that cannot be replaced by consultants or even the most gifted employees. Strategic planning provides the framework to ensure the destination is defined and the path clearly mapped out. Strategic planning accomplishes this by providing essential focus that is needed regardless of the size or complexity of an organization. This focus allows companies to compete based on their strengths, and increases agility, empowering them to outmaneuver less focused competitors. The CEO must also reestablish the cultural foundation of the organization. Through establishing a vision, mission, and values that the CEO … Read More
The Strategy Focused Organization (Part 1)
In 1991 Kaplan and Norton wrote the highly influential book called “The Strategy Focused Organization”. One of the first things they address is the key principles a company must hold in order to create a break through strategy that drives profitable growth. There are five principles overall, today I will write about the first two. Principle one: Translate the Strategy to Operational Terms Successful businesses understand that your operations define your strategy. In order to execute your strategy a company must understand how you must change your operations in order to support it. Many companies make the mistake thinking strategy stops at defining your market position. A company wants to add an offering so they change their collateral and website, tell their sales people to sell it and poof, they are done. Who are the targeted buyers? Can the sales force sell this type of offering? How do you deliver the offering? What are the key performance indicators? These are some of the operational questions that provide important insight on the feasibility of the strategy and what capabilities are required in order to successfully execute. Principle Two: Align the Organization How does a company effectively leverage its strengths? Identifying and … Read More