Align Your Sales Strategy With Your Corporate Strategy

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Align Your Sales Strategy With Your Corporate
Strategy

• Russ Lombardo
• PEAK Sales Consulting
• [phone]
• Russ_at_PeakSalesConsulting.com

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Where is Your Strategy Going?
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Is your sales plan aligned with your corporate
strategy?

1. Yes, totally
2. Some, but not enough
3. No

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Sales Effectiveness Customer Retention Survey
Jan. 2004

• Is your sales plan aligned with your corporate
  strategy?

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Impact of Misaligned Strategies

• Perplexed Management
• Dispersed Sales Resources and Efforts
• Inconsistent Forecasts/Revenue
• Conflicting Marketing Messages
• Confused Customers
• Negative Effects on Customer Retention

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Symptoms
Negative Positive
Leadership Clouded inconsistent Clear vision direction
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Symptoms
Negative Positive
Leadership Clouded inconsistent Clear vision direction
Communication Problems, concerns creativity not shared Top-down, clear w/ buy-in of goals obj.
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Symptoms
Negative Positive
Leadership Clouded inconsistent Clear vision direction
Communication Problems, concerns creativity not shared Top-down, clear w/ buy-in of goals obj.
Management Cumbersome and lacks verification Processes in place to monitor progress
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Symptoms
Negative Positive
Leadership Clouded inconsistent Clear vision direction
Communication Problems, concerns creativity not shared Top-down, clear w/ buy-in of goals obj.
Management Cumbersome and lacks verification Processes in place to monitor progress
Courage No risk-taking Instinct guts to make tough decisions
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Symptoms
Negative Positive
Leadership Clouded inconsistent Clear vision direction
Communication Problems, concerns creativity not shared Top-down, clear w/ buy-in of goals obj.
Management Cumbersome and lacks verification Processes in place to monitor progress
Courage No risk-taking Instinct guts to make tough decisions
Timeliness Unnecessarily long and drawn out Efficient to meet customer demands
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Corporate Strategy

• Defines the overall
• Sales Process

The process by which a Customer moves throughout
the entire company
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The Corporate Silo
Disfunctional Sales Process
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The Effect on the Customer

• Stop screwing with their mind!

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Sales Process
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Life-Cycle Management
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Sales Process
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Does your sales team use any particular sales
process or methodology?

1. All use the same company approved process
2. Some use one, others do not
3. No

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Sales Effectiveness Customer Retention Survey
Jan. 2004

• Does your sales team use any particular sales
  process or methodology?

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Benefits of a Sales Process

• A good process helps you build an accurate
  Forecast
• Each stage is clearly defined
• More confidence in where you are in the process
• Helps plan your next steps
• Assists with territory management, reaching
  quota, task management, etc.

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Reality Check
For Sales to Succeed, You Need - Sales
Training - Sales Processes

• Sales People Sell By Process
• or By Accident
• And Accidents Dont Happen Often Enough!

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Sales Training

• The methodology within the process
• Aligned with the corporate strategy
• Includes
• Cold calling
• Qualifying
• Listening/questioning
• Presenting solutions
• Overcoming objections
• Negotiating
• Closing
• Customer retention

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Sales Process
Action
10 - Initial Contact
Listen/Qualify/ Understand Reqts
20 - Qualified
40 - Presentation
60 - Proposal
80 - Negotiations
Handle Objections/ Keep Sale
90 - Final PO
100 - Closed
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Selling The Process To Your Sales Team

• Understand the problems that need to be solved
• What needs to be fixed
• What needs to improve (refine whats right)
• Make sure sales reps fully understand those
  problems
• Ensure benefits are for the sales team
• Include Sales Reps on the planning team
• Part of the solution
• Successful, experienced Pros
• New and struggling reps
• Communicate train

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Incenting Sales to Succeed

• Compensation Plan
• Drives Sales behavior serves corporate
  strategy
• Align with corporate strategy and commitments
• Customer focus
• Should treat reps like customers
• Distinguish top, middle and low performers
• Simple to administer and understand
• Review yearly, modify accordingly

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Marketings Role
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Marketings Strategy

• A function of the corporate strategy
• Target markets, product promotions, etc.
• Must be compatible with sales goals
• Marketing campaigns target markets
• Support Sales efforts
• Align with comp plans

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Marketings Strategy

• Bad Marketing Strategy
• Marketing promotes Interior Upgrades but Sales
  gets bonus for selling Jet Engines
• Good Marketing Strategy
• Marketing promotes end-of-quarter sale to
  increase training programs, Sales gets bonus on
  selling training programs!!

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Do you have a comprehensive lead flow system that
effectively acquires leads, qualifies them, sends
them to the appropriate sales person, and then
follows up on those leads over time?

1. Good system that works well
2. Partial system, needs improvement
3. No

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Sales Effectiveness Customer Retention Survey
Jan. 2004

• Do you have a comprehensive lead flow system that
  effectively acquires leads, qualifies them, sends
  them to the appropriate sales person, and then
  follows up on those leads over time?

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Technologys Role
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Technology

• Used to deploy your strategy and process, not
  drive It
• Replicates best practices
• Helps weaker sales reps succeed
• Reduces learning curve for new hires
• Use specialists to design implement

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How Technology Helps the Customer

• Follow-up
• Fast answers from customer service, support, etc.
• Corporate awareness of customer history
• Fast, efficient support and service
• Consistency
• Develops loyalty, encourages customer retention

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Technology - Sample
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Measuring Success

• Internal productivity gains
• Shorter transaction times
• Reduced support requirements
• Customer satisfaction measurement
• Repeat business
• Closer customer relationship
• Sales force assessment and rating
• Increased revenues, profits, ROI, etc.

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Measuring Success

• Set the success criteria from the outset
• What are your business performance targets
• What are your technical performance targets
• How can you measure organizational and workgroup
  satisfaction
• Use these measures as focal points throughout
  the process
• Continually seek feedback from participants

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Customer Example

• High-tech vendor
• Large reseller channel
• Direct/indirect sales team
• Recent merger

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Customer Example
20 of leads distributed to channel 80
stagnated
New Lead-Flow System
80 leads distributed to channel
Leads not for right target market or product
Marketing focused on core business as defined by
Corporate Strategy
50 increase in lead quality, determined by
successful entry into pipeline
New product from merger not gaining in sales
Comp plan incented Sales on new product revenue
25 increase in new product sales first year
Customer Satisfaction Loyalty low, worsened by
increased competition
Began Customer Care program
Cust. Sat. increased defections decreased, thus
loyalty increased. Increased future sales.
Dissention among competing groups (inside,
outside, product-line, departmental, etc)
Instituted Team Selling programs associated
comp plans, bonus structure
Eliminated problem 1 Qtr. Increased program cost
but increased sales and retention.
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Summary
Corporate Strategy/Goals Sales Strategy
Improve Customer Retention Bonus plan for Customer Satisfaction ratings
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Summary
Corporate Strategy/Goals Sales Strategy
Improve Customer Retention Bonus plan for Customer Satisfaction ratings
Increase Market Share Compensation geared toward acquiring new customers
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Summary
Corporate Strategy/Goals Sales Strategy
Improve Customer Retention Bonus plan for Customer Satisfaction ratings
Increase Market Share Compensation geared toward acquiring new customers
Reduce Expenses Provide tools for Sales to do remote meetings/demos
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Summary
Corporate Strategy/Goals Sales Strategy
Improve Customer Retention Bonus plan for Customer Satisfaction ratings
Increase Market Share Compensation geared toward acquiring new customers
Reduce Expenses Provide tools for Sales to do remote meetings/demos
Prevent Customer Defection Streamline sales process, order processing, follow-up, etc.
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How did you like my presentation?

• Loved it, cant believe I learned so much
• Looking forward to getting back to start
  implementing these ideas
• Hated it. Wish I stayed at the bar!

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Thank You!

• Russ Lombardo
• PEAK Sales Consulting
• [phone]
• Russ_at_PeakSalesConsulting.com
• www.PeakSalesConsulting.com