The document provides an overview of IDC's Sales Productivity Framework. It defines sales productivity as the effectiveness and efficiency of moving opportunities through the sales cycle. The framework identifies five levers that impact sales productivity: sales management, sales enablement, customer intelligence, sales methodology, and talent management. It also outlines key metrics and tools used to measure and improve sales performance across each lever.

1. Copyright 2009 IDC. Reproduction is forbidden unless authorized. All rights reserved.
The IDC Sales Productivity
Framework
Lee Levitt
Director, IDC
Sales Advisory Practice
July 16th, 2009

2. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 2
Agenda
 What is Sales Productivity?
 Key Sales Productivity Metrics
 The Five Levers
 Discussion/Feedback

3. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 3
Focus on Sales Productivity
Some Basic Precepts:
 Success in complex B2B selling requires both “art” and “science”
– The ability of the rep to build relationships is the “art of selling”
– The processes that support the rep’s activities is the “science of selling”
 Behavioral (activity-based) measures are useful, but provide only
partial diagnostic view
 Achievement (success-based) measures provide detailed, sequential
view of performance
 The “right” diagnostic measures support good prescriptive analysis –
literally “telling the story” of what’s going on and what needs to be
changed
 The “best” diagnostic sales measures encompass both sales and
marketing contributions

4. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 4
What is Sales Productivity?
Sales productivity is defined as the effectiveness and
efficiency of the sales organization in moving
opportunities through the sales cycle
Source: IDC 2009
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5. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 5
The IDC Sales Productivity Framework
Sales Productivity
Assessment
(sales performance)
Sales Productivity
Levers
(process improvement)
+ =
Increased
Revenues
&
Profitability
Sales Cycle by Stage
Sales
Productivity
Levers
Source: IDC 2009
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6. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 6
Key Sales Productivity Metrics
Components of Sales Productivity:
• Sales Effectiveness – the ability of reps to move specific opportunities forward to the
mutual satisfaction of both parties. Effectiveness is measured by conversion rates for
each stage of the sales cycle. Enhancements to this metric incorporate the qualifiers of
deal "quality" and customer satisfaction scores
• Sales Efficiency – the rate at which a sales person or team moves individual
opportunities from initiation to one of several defined conclusions (closed, lost, no
decision, returned to marketing for additional nurturing, abandoned). Sometimes referred
to as “Sales Velocity”
• Sales Volume – the number of open deals in a given period
• Sales Revenue – the revenue delivered by the sales person or team in a given period
• Sales Profitability – the profitability of the sales person or team in a given period.
Measured as SBR (costs/revenue).
Sales Cycle by Stage
Source: IDC 2009
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7. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 7
Key Sales Productivity Metrics
Stage 1
32 days
Stage 2
27 days
Stage 3
28 days
Stage 4
42 days
Stage 5
24 days
35% 65% 45% 55%
75%
$
Effectiveness = Conversion Rate by Stage
Efficiency = Days in Stage
Sales
Volume
Sales
RevenueSales
ProfitabilitySource: IDC 2009
IDC Proprietary

8. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 8
Sales
Productivity
Levers Sales
Management
Sales
Enablement
Customer
Intelligence
Sales
Methodology
Talent
Management
The Five Levers of Sales Productivity
Source: IDC 2009
IDC Proprietary

9. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 9
Sales
Productivity
Sales
Management
Sales
Enablement
Customer
Intelligence
Sales
Methodology
Talent
Management
 Purchase & Relationship
History
 Share of Wallet
 Role-based Intelligence
 Company-based Intelligence
 Industry/Vertical Intelligence
ToolsMetrics & Reporting
The IDC Sales Productivity Framework
Sample Processes
 Asset Creation, Management &
Delivery
 Governance
 Delivery Vehicle Selection &
Management
 Tribal Knowledge
 Staff Planning & Recruiting
 Hiring & On-boarding
 Training & Development
 Retention, Repositioning &
Replacement
 Compensation
 First Line Sales Manager &
Coaching
 Strategy & Planning
 Performance Management
 Quality & Change Management
 Forecasting/Quota Setting
 Pipeline Management
 Org Structure/Coverage
Model/Channel Strategy
 Sales Cycle Stages & Motions
 Call Planning
 Account Planning
 Opportunity Management
Source: IDC 2009
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10. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 10
Sales
Productivity
Sales
Management
Sales
Enablement
Customer
Intelligence
Sales
Methodology
Talent
Management
 Customer Satisfaction
 Customer Retention
 Share of Wallet
 Netpromoter Scores
ToolsMetrics & Reporting
The IDC Sales Productivity Framework
Sample Metrics
 Rep Time Allocation
 Asset Delivery, Utilization &
Impact
 Asset Ratings
 Asset Time-to-Market
 Hiring Pipeline
 Employee Satisfaction
 Employee Tenure & Retention
 Training Usage & Certifications
 Quota Attainment & MBO
performance
 Revenue/Margin Attainment
 Pipeline Ratios – Size & Shape
 Manager Time Allocation
 Span & Control
 Sales Velocity & Conversion by Stage
 Deal Quality – Size, Service Attach Rate, Growth/Erosion
 CRM Data Integrity
 Activity Mapping
Source: IDC 2009
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11. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 11
Assessment Data Suggests Specific
Levers (a sampling)
Data Output Talent
Management
Sales
Management
Sales
Methodology
Sales
Enablement
Customer
Intelligence
Stage 1 duration,
conversion rates
Rep quality Coaching
support
The “right”
tools?
Poor CI, poor
leads
Sales Volume Rep skills Coaching
support
Tools too
complex?
Enough
leads from
marketing?
Sales Profitability Compensation
driving
behaviors
Too many
resources
The “right”
customers?
Customer Satisfaction Comp, skills
issue?
Coaching
support
Conducting
discovery?
Portfolio selling, service
attach rates
Rep quality,
Training
Coaching
support
Portfolio
selling tools
Customer
requirements
Deal close rates Training Coaching
support
Source: IDC 2009
IDC Proprietary

12. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 12 12
Lee Levitt
Program Director
Sales Advisory Practice
linkedin.com/in/leelevitt
@leemlevitt

13. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 13
Appendix A:
Related Sales Advisory Research

14. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 14
Recent Sales Advisory Research
Sales Operations Best Practice Series
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: The Role of the First Line Sales Manager (IDC
#218087, April 2009)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: Global Inside Sales Strategies (IDC #216773, February
2009)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: Sales Productivity Metrics and Key Performance
Indicators (IDC #213031, July 2008)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: The Changing Nature of Inside Sales (IDC #210353,
February 2008)
 Best Practices in Sales Performance Improvement: Outsourcing Delivers High-Intensity Leads (IDC
#213848, August 2008)
Foundation Studies
 The IDC Sales Productivity Framework: A Structured Approach to Evaluating and Managing a Complex
Sales Organization (forthcoming)
 The State of the Art in Sales Enablement: An Intensive Study of Current Practices (IDC #219182, July
2009)
 Sales Enablement 203: A Framework for Driving Business Growth (IDC #TB20080619, June 2008)
 IDC’s Worldwide Sales and Marketing Taxonomy, 2008: A Blueprint for Cost Control (IDC #211900, Apr.
2008)

15. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 15
Recent Sales Advisory Research
End User Research
 Vertical Leadership Survey: Making the Grade (IDC #212817, July 2008)
 An Inconvenient Truth: The Role and Value of Information in the IT Buying Process (IDC #209985, January
2008)
 Winning the Midmarket: Cost-Effective Strategies to Improve Sales Performance (IDC #212165, May 2008)
Tech Sales Insights and End User Research
 Knock Knock – It's the Fourth Quarter (IDC #219180 , July 2009)
 Don’t Understand Sales Enablement? You’re Not Alone (IDC #TB20090127, Jan, 2009)
 Sales and Marketing Organizational Transformation (IDC #213915, August 2008)
 Account Planning for the 3.0 Customer (IDC #212166, May 2008)
 Sales Enablement – Empowering the Sales Rep (IDC #209669, Dec. 2007)

16. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 16
Upcoming Sales Advisory Research
Best Practices
 Sales Culture Change (in the field now)
 Account Planning (fall)

17. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 17
Appendix B:
Detail on the Sales Productivity Framework

18. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 18
Sales
Productivity
Sales
Management
Sales
Enablement
Customer
Intelligence
Sales
Methodology
Talent
Management
 Sales Operations
 Sales
 Marketing
ToolsMetrics & Reporting
The IDC Sales Productivity Framework
Organizational Engagement
 Sales Operations
 Marketing
 Information Technology
 Sales Operations
 Sales
 Training
 Human Resources
 Sales Operations
 Sales
 Executive Committee
 Sales Operations
 Training
Source: IDC 2009
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19. July 8, 2009© 2009 IDC 19
Sales
Productivity
Sales
Management
Sales
Enablement
Customer
Intelligence
Sales
Methodology
Talent
Management
 Databases & BI Tools
 Balanced Scorecard
 Satmetrix
 LucidEra
 Lattice Engines
ToolsMetrics & Reporting
The IDC Sales Productivity Framework
Tools
 Savo Group
 Kadient
 Ribbit
 Stratascope
 Google
 Job Boards – monster.com,
Career Builder, etc.
 Human Resource Software
 Compensation Management &
Planning Software
 Salesforce.com
 Oracle
 SAP
 Microsoft CRM
 LucidEra
 Xactly
 Balanced Scorecard
 SPIN Selling
 Customer Centric Selling
 Miller Heiman
 The TAS Group
Source: IDC 2009
IDC Proprietary