Best practices for building and manaing a robust sales management system

1. The Partnership Between Sales
Operations and the Sales Executive
Todd Abbott

2. Agenda
1 The Changing Sales Process
2 Requirement for a Robust Sales Management System
3 Sales Management System Best Practices
4 The Role of Sales Operations
5 Q&A - Advice from a Sales Executive

3. B2B Marketing and Selling Facts
84% of CEOs and VPs use social media
to make purchasing decisions.
67% of the buyer’s journey
is now done digitally.
9 out of 10 B2B buyers say online
content has a moderate to major
effect on purchasing decisions.
55% of B2B buyers search for
information on social media.
B2B buyers are typically 57%
of the way to a buying decision
before actively engaging with sales.
80% of business decision-makers prefer
to get company information from a series
of articles versus an advertisement.
Nearly 73% of online consumers get frustrated with websites when content
(e.g. offers, ads, promotions) appears that has nothing to do with their interests.

4. B2B Marketing and Selling Facts
In a typical firm with 100-500 employees, an average of 7 people
are involved in most buying decisions.
The average salesperson only makes
2 attempts to reach a prospect.
Only 2% of cold calls result in an
appointment.
In 2007, it took an average of 3.68
cold call attempts to reach a prospect.
Today, it takes 8 attempts.
82% of B2B decision-makers
think sales reps are unprepared.
63% of consumers need to hear
company claims 3-5x before they
actually believe it.
Today’s sales process takes 22% longer
than 5 years ago.

5. The Sales Function
Sales Process Has Fundamentally Changed for Most Companies
Sales Reps Are the Most Expensive Resources in the Company
Average Number of Sales Reps Making Plan is < 60%
Average Tenure of the Global Sales Executive is < 3 Years
• CSF: Set and Meet Expectations … Meet the Forecast
• Sales Typically Gets More of the Credit When Things are Going Well …
and Definitely more of the Blame When Things Don't Go Well

6. Agenda
1 The Changing Sales Process
2 Requirement for a Robust Sales Management System
3 Sales Management System Best Practices
4 The Role of Sales Operations
5 Q&A - Advice from a Sales Executive

7. Sales Process – Relentless Focus on Improvement
Qualify Demo Quote NegotiationLead Gen
Order Entry &
Installation
Service
Service
Renewal
Marketing or
Partner
Generated
Who qualifies
… Marketing,
Inside Sales,
Field Sales,
VAR
Definition of
Qualified
Process and
Tools
Ease of Use to
Configure and
Quote
Capability of
Partners
Special Bid
Process
Cost of Digital
vs Partner
Developed
Measurement
Critical to Close
Loop
Accountability
Partners Not
Self-Sufficient
Is PLM
Focused on
Making it Easy?
Partners Skilled
and Tools
Simplicity?
Speed vs
Controls
Sets the Tone
of the
Relationship
Critical for any
SaaS Business!
Quote to Order
Entry Efficiency
Direct Services
or Partner Led
Effective
Handoff from
Sales Process
Post Install
Support
Process
Direct Service
vs Partner Led
Renewal
Processes
Customer
Success and
Maintenance
Renewal Teams
Churn in SaaS
and
Maintenance in
OnSite CAPEX
Business
Critical
Direct Sales or
Partner Led
Delegation of
Authority
SLA of Finance
and Legal
Identify the Highest Points of Friction

8. Measure the Behaviors Required to Deliver the Results
• Operational Performance Elements Critical to Delivering the Results
• Develop Fact Based and Transparent Measurement Process
• Transformation Requires Alignment on the What, Why and How
Measure and Report with a Consistent Cadence
• Drives Continual Focus within Organization
• Inspect what you Expect
Broad Reporting on Regional Results
• Transparency of Results Drives Execution Results
• Stank Ranking Drives Behavior as much as Sales Compensation
The Sales Management System
Translate Strategy into Results

9. Sales Management System
Inspect What you Expect
Implementation of Weekly
/ Monthly / Quarterly Sales
Commit Process
Cultural Shift From
Forecasting
to Commit Process
Accountability Down
to the Sales Territory
Level – SFDC
Early Alert System
to Align Cross Functional
Executional Focus

10. Agenda
1 The Changing Sales Process
2 Requirement for a Robust Sales Management System
3 Sales Management System Best Practices
4 The Role of Sales Operations
5 Q&A - Advice from a Sales Executive

11. Sales Management System
ACTIVITY FOCUS
• Improves selling ability
• Clean, accurate pipeline
• Team synergy, alignment, commit
• Learning Huddles
• Funnel Update
• Sales Commit
TEAM
• Build existing and new customers
• Accurate, predictable forecast
• Planning to succeed
• Pipeline 1:1
• Forecast 1:1
• Master Sales 1:1
INDIVIDUAL
EXECUTIVE
• Accountability, insight, and strategic
alignment
• Executive Roll-Up

12. Sales Management System Cadence
Week 3 421 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Pipeline 1:1Pipeline 1:1
Learning Huddle
Weekly Commit Call
Forecast 1:1
Executive Roll-Up
QBR
Sales, Mktg & BU Alignment

13. Sales Management System - Metrics
• Enterprise Premise YTY
Growth: Commit / Upside /
Uncommitted
• Enterprise Cloud TCV
Bookings YTY Growth
• CC YTY Revenue Growth
• Distribution Sales Out QTQ
Growth
Growth
• Funnel Growth and Mix
• Lead Generation Funnel
• Funnel Conversion Rates:
Commit, Upside, Uncommitted
• Sales Stage/Cycle Length
• On-Site / Cloud Win Rate
• On-Site Install Base to
Cloud: Hybrid or Rip and
Replace
• Competitive Attack Funnel and
Conversion
Funnel
• Bookings Linearity
• Sales Rep Productivity
• Expense / Revenue and
Expense / Bookings
• Sales Profitability
Operational

14. Develop Dashboards to Enable Focus

15. Agenda
1 The Changing Sales Process
2 Requirement for a Robust Sales Management System
3 Sales Management System Best Practices
4 The Role of Sales Operations
5 Q&A - Advice from a Sales Executive

16. The Role of Sales Operations
Sales Reps are the
Most Expensive
Resources in the
Company!
• #1 Priority must Always
be on Productivity of
the Sales Team
• HQ Data Reporting
Requirements are
Priority #2!
Run the Sales
Management System
• Measure and
Report Out on Key
Operating Metrics
• Engagement with the
Field on Sales Process
'Friction Points'
• Stank Rank Regional
Execution –
Identify Regions
Requiring
Improvements
Develop Strategies
to Improve the
Sales Process
• Process, Tools, and
Training … Focus on
the Middle of the Bell
Curve
• Within the Sales
Function and Driving
Alignment on Cross
Functionally
Requirements
Be the ‘Eyes and
Ears’ of the Sales
Function to Sales
Leadership
• It is a People Business
… Receptivity and
Effectiveness of Sale
Process Improvements
• Assessment of the
Pace and Amount of
Change the Teams can
Absorb
• Reality Check on
Field's Commitments

17. Common Mistakes of Sales Ops
Keep your CRM Systems as Standardized as Possible
• Sales Processes are not that Different
• Complexity often Translates to Wasted Time with your Sales Teams
It's less about Reporting and More about Interpreting the Data
• Less Reviewing and more about Targeting Areas of Improvement
• Volume of Data vs Quality of Data
• Identify Trending within the Business … Week to Week within the Quarter
• Spot the Trends on Execution Issues and Prioritize Management Focus Areas
Not Keeping the Organization Honest about Reporting Capabilities
• Manual Effort / Cost of Producing Report … Is there an ROI?
• Do we Really Need that Report?
Not Calling “BS” to the Sales Executive on Field Commitments!
• Balance being the Eyes and Ears into the Field Organization and Supporting the Field

18. QUESTIONS?

19. THANK YOU