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The 2006 Customer-Selected
World Class Sales Forces

© The HR Chally Group

Winning Company Profiles
Applied Industrial Global Imaging Systems
Technologies Global Imaging Systems,
Applied Industrial Technologies (NYSE: Inc. offers thousands of
AIT) is one of North America’s leading customers a One-Stop Shop
independent distributors of bearings, power providing 1) a broad line
transmission components, fluid power of digital office imaging
components and systems, industrial rubber solutions including the sale and service
products, linear components, tools, safety of copiers, fax machines and printers, 2)
products, general maintenance, and a video conferencing and other electronic
variety of mill supply products. Applied® presentation systems, and 3) network
represents more than 2,000 manufacturers integration and management services.
worldwide, offering more than 2 million Since its founding in June 1994, Global
specific products to about 156,000 has acquired more than 80 businesses and
customer accounts within a broad cross- has operations in 32 states and the District
section of industries, including primary of Columbia. The operating companies
metals, pulp and paper, food processing, are organized into core companies in key
chemical processing, mining, utilities, markets across the U.S. The remaining
textiles, agriculture, and automotive. businesses operate as satellites of the core
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, since its companies. Under the Company philosophy
founding in 1923, Applied® employs more of “Think Globally, Act Locally” and a
than 4,600 associates in more than 450 decentralized structure, core companies
facilities in 48 states, 5 Canadian provinces, operate under their pre-acquisition names
Mexico, and Puerto Rico. The company and management, preserving and building
changed its name from Bearings, Inc. to upon existing customer relationships.
Applied Industrial Technologies in January www.global-imaging.com
1997.
www.applied.com
Insight Enterprises, Inc.
Corporate Express Insight Enterprises, Inc. is a
Corporate Express, Inc., leading provider of a broad
a Buhrmann company range of top name-brand IT
(NYSE:BUH), is one of the world’s largest computing products, software and advanced
business-to-business suppliers of essential IT services helping companies around the
office and computer products and services world enable, manage and secure their IT
with 2005 sales of approximately $4.6 environment. Located in major cities around
billion in North America. Corporate the globe, Insight provides local account
Express’ product offering includes office and services in over 170 countries and has the
computer supplies, imaging and computer process knowledge, technical expertise
graphic supplies, office furniture, facility and management tools necessary to ease
supplies, document and print management, the burden of selecting and purchasing IT
desktop software, promotional products, assets while streamlining IT management
and other similar products. and costs.

Corporate Express’ broad product offering, Insight combines more than 200,000
commitment to service, distribution products with one of the most
expertise, technological excellence, and comprehensive IT service offerings in the
world-class associates bring a distinct industry to tailor solutions to businesses
competitive advantage to the office and public sector organizations. Today,
products industry. With operations in small-and-medium businesses, enterprise,
more than 17 countries and strategic government and education clients rely
partnerships in an additional 11, Corporate on Insight for expert technical support,
Express is currently the only B2B office industry-leading integration, onsite
products company with a true one-company deployment, management, and more.
global capability. www.insight.com
www.corporateexpress.com

© The HR Chally Group I

The Chally World Class
Sales Excellence
Research Report

Principal Author:
Jason Jordan, Mercer Sales Effectiveness Consulting

Authors:
Howard Stevens, HR Chally
Sally Stevens, HR Chally

Sponsors:
Advantage Performance Group The Real Learning Company
GM Fleet and Commercial Operations IBM
Mercer Human Resource Consulting Marriott Vacation Club
The Sales Centre at Ohio University Selling Power Magazine

Research Team:
Debbie Bailey Linda Faupel Pat Lokai Delores Smith
Betina Brown Karen Flory Jenny Mayl Marri Smith
Noralee Bussell Dana Jackson Robin Pacey Howard Stevens
Harmony Danielsen Beth Kauflin Mary Ann Rosser Sally Stevens
Danada Davidson Linda Kertesz Mike Roth Pauletta Wells
Brianne Elie Phyllis Kutzera Ryan Sexton Dean Wright

Production Team:
Cindy Burgess Nuannit Lilabhan Sue Pearson Dean Wright
Steve Krieg Cindy Mitchell Adrian Perez

© The HR Chally Group III

Dedication

This Report is dedicated to the great progress we need to make toward the “professional-
ization” of sales, and also to those few Sales organizations that have had the insight and
commitment to champion this transformation.

Today, more college graduates will become salespeople than all other careers combined.
Yet fewer than a few dozen of the more than four thousand colleges and universities in
the United States have established a formal sales program.*

It will take an effort from our great colleges and universities to develop suffi-
cient numbers of professionally trained salespeople to fill our present business
needs.

In the meantime the only blueprint for developing a truly “professional” sales
force comes from these customer determined “World Class sales forces” whose
exceptional “benchmark” practices are presented here. They have defined the
three major standards for a sales “profession”:

1. All professions specialize. Chemical engineers do not design bridges,
pediatricians don’t do brain surgery, and patent attorneys don’t defend
murder cases. Chally’s research has identified fourteen distinct types of sales.
The skills and training for each are distinct. Most are not interchangeable.
The great majority of New Business Developers (Hunters) fail at Account
Maintenance (Farming). Field Sales people seldom succeed in telesales, and
so on. In fact, 65 percent of the salespeople who fail do not fail from lack of
competence or commitment; they fail because they are in the wrong type of
sales for their talent and skill base.
2. All professions have a standard and recognized minimum “curriculum” of
academic education, on-the-job training, or internship. Members of professions
also benefit from the appropriate practice through supervised apprenticeship
that oversees the quality of their development and maturity as practitioners.
3. All professions have an independent “certification” process that anoints the
emerging intern or student as minimally qualified to practice their chosen
profession.
In the meantime, corporate sales organizations must fill the gap with the help of sales
training resources. Unfortunately, only a few non-college sales development organiza-
tions have recognized the hands-on participatory requirement for the “training” of sales
professionals.

* We have been honored to be involved with the Ralph and Luci Schey Sales Centre at Ohio
University and the other colleges of the University Sales Center Alliance. Fifty percent of the
revenues from this report will be contributed to them.

© The HR Chally Group V

Table of Contents

Winning Company Profiles. .................................................................................. I
.

The Chally World Class Sales Excellence Research Report. .......................... III
.

Dedication..............................................................................................................V

2006 World Class Sales Force Benchmark Executive Summary. .................... 1
.

Methodology.......................................................................................................... 9

Benchmark 1: Customer-Driven Culture............................................................... 17

Ensure that Your Salespeople Know Their Customer’s Business....................................... 18
Demonstrate the Value You Create for Your Customer....................................................... 20
Establish Formal Feedback Mechanisms – Both Good and Bad. ....................................... 22
.

Benchmark 2: Recruiting and Selection................................................................ 29

Recruit and Hire Specialists . .............................................................................................. 32
Go Beyond the Interview. .................................................................................................... 34
.
Make Sure there is a Cultural Fit......................................................................................... 36

Benchmark 3: Training and Development............................................................. 41

Sales Management Coaching Aligned with Training and Development Programs.............. 47
Coach, Coach, and then Coach Some More....................................................................... 49
Measure Results.................................................................................................................. 52
Provide Just-In-Time Training that is Easily Digestible ....................................................... 54

Benchmark 4: Market Segmentation. .................................................................... 59
.

Clearly Define Your Target Markets..................................................................................... 61
Organize Around Your Customers, Not Your Products........................................................ 63
Deploy Your Resources Wisely Across Market Segments. ................................................. 65
.

Benchmark 5: Sales Processes. ............................................................................ 71
.

Formalize the Way You Sell................................................................................................. 73
Sell How Your Customers Buy............................................................................................. 75
Clearly Define Your Selling Roles........................................................................................ 77
Measure and Manage Inside the Pipeline. .......................................................................... 79
.
Share Best Practices........................................................................................................... 81

Benchmark 6: Information Technology................................................................. 87

Customize Technology to Your Business, Not Vice Versa................................................... 89
Avoid ‘Big Bang’ System Development................................................................................ 91
Make IT Valuable for the Salesperson … And the Customer.............................................. 94

Benchmark 7: Organizational Integration.............................................................. 99
.

Request Dedicated Functional Resources to Support the Sales Force . .......................... 101

Appendices........................................................................................................ 105

Benchmark Survey Interview Questionnaire....................................................... 106
.

Customers Interviewed for Research................................................................... 109

2006 World Class Sales Force
Benchmark Executive Summary

The 2006 Theme: Change Creative engineers or other technical
experts who invent new products are not
If there were a theme for the 2006 World enough to sustain a competitive advan-
Class Sales Benchmark Research, it would tage.
have to be Change. Not a change in our
research – This year our team again inter- Too many new products do not match
viewed over 2,500 customers and collect- customers’ priorities or are too difficult to
ed their opinions of more than 4,000 indi- understand or use; sometimes they are
vidual salespeople. Nor a change in the simply not needed. A major challenge is
outcomes – Customers again identified moving a selling organization to become
only a handful of sales forces that they “customer driven” from whatever driving
truly perceived as ‘World Class’. Rather, force had previously dominated corpo-
the changes we observed this year were rate strategy. As Figure 1 demonstrates, a
in the demands that customers are placing simple scale distinguishes the progression
on salespeople and the ways that sales companies can make toward a custom-
forces are responding to those needs. er focus. Corporate managers who are
rewarded for quarterly profit, for example,
The changing dynamics between buyers have little likelihood of investing the time
and sellers are being driven by larger soci- needed to develop “customers for life”
etal trends that are affecting us all. The relationships or partnerships. The focus
proliferation of information, the mobility of must change from product to benefit or
the work force, the ease of communica- business result. Grandiose products and
tion, the globalization of markets … these services with more capacity, features,
and other trends have altered the way or options are often just seen as over-
we live. Similarly, they have altered the priced. Additionally, products and servic-
way we work. The overriding philosophy es must be simple to use and manage,
of these best sales forces, simply stated, either in their own right or because the
is: “Be the outsource of preference.” The seller manages the complexity as part of
basic priority, therefore, is to add value to the sale. The focus must also change from
the customer’s business. price and delivery to ease of use, not only
of the product but in doing business with
Changes at all the world class sales forces
the seller.
are still in process. Customers did not credit
these top sales forces with perfection...just The outsource of preference will take
being closer to it than their competitors. In responsibility for managing the relation-
fact, most of the top-ranked sellers were ship or, as sometimes defined, the “part-
surprised to be named. While customers nership” between seller and customer. This
see how far sellers have come, the sellers requires the role of the salesperson, and
themselves remain focused on how far consequently, the role of the sales manag-
they still have to go. ers who train and develop the salespeople,
to change.
New Requirements, New An examination of the actual sales figures,
Culture or metrics, produces some show-stopping
surprises. Since the salesperson is the key
To be the “outsource of preference” forces contact point between seller and buyer,
a seller to refocus the corporate culture. the most important skill is that of the sales

© The HR Chally Group Page 1

Executive Summary

manager who coaches and develops the The Critical Sales Evolution of
salesperson. However, most sales manag- the Millennium: Outsourcing
ers are more administrator than coach.
The surprise finding: salespeople who get the Sales Force
at least one half day a week, one-on-one, These new demands have stressed the
with their managers are twice as produc- major product, technology or even market-
tive than other salespeople. This means ing-driven companies. They realize their
a manager cannot be fully effective in strengths are in product development,
coaching or developing more than four research, or other driving forces, and
or five salespeople. The results clearly they are coming to realize these strengths
demonstrate that a sales manager having need to be maintained, rather than diluted
a span of control of more than four or five by attempting to develop a very differ-
to one can’t be fully effective, no matter ent corporate mission and culture. They
how much formal training is provided or are turning to “Alternatives Channels”, be
how powerful the compensation plan is. they efficient call centers, market segment
In addition, well-coached and very effec- distributors, or highly specialized “Value
tive sellers become so valuable that their Added resellers” (VARS). In 1992, all of
roles are actually changing. Top sellers the world class sales forces represented
are changing from product developers, their own products. In the mid 1990’s, we
to relationship managers, from “solution began to see distributors such as Boise
sellers” to consultants. In some cases, Cascade and CDW. By 2007, all of the world
order taking, service, technical support, class performers are specialized sales and
and product expertise are not even direct- service organizations who manufacture
ly provided by the salesperson. no products themselves. World class sales

How Well Different Corporate “Driving Forces” Support the Development
of a World Class Sales Force
Corporate Typical Average Customer Likelihood of
Driving Force Major Focus Evaluation of Developing a World
Examples Sales Force Class Sales Force
World Class Customer
Customer Driven Retention 91%+ High
Sales Winners

Value Added
Sales Driven Re-sellers (VARs) Market Penetration 88-95 High
Specialized
Distributors
The Invisible Corporate Threshold for Internal Sales Excellence
Market Driven Consulting Services “Project” Sales 75-90 Moderate

Financial Services
Technology Driven Software New Applications 50-80 Low
Pharmaceuticals
Office Equipment
Manufacturing or Building Supplies New Products Very Low
Product Driven 50-80
Raw Materials

Venture or Stock “Venture” owned M&A 40-70 Very Low
Price Driven businesses

Figure 1

Page 2 © The HR Chally Group

Executive Summary

forces have transformed their approach- from the seller to the buyer, and buyers
es in order to set themselves apart in the are using that power to turn up the heat
eyes of their customers. on the salespeople who court them. As
any sales executive will recognize, this is
Changing Customers the bad news. But there is good news,
too.
To put the changes in perspective, think
of how differently you yourself purchase
things now than you did in the past. Recall Changing Salespeople
how you might have purchased a television
in 1992, the year that HR Chally began The good news is that these changing
benchmarking world class sales forces. customer expectations are very apparent.
Without the Internet and easy access to Customers expect salespeople to change
information, your search for a TV prob- along with them. They expect salespeople
ably began with the Saturday newspaper to transform themselves into professionals
and a trip to an electronics store. When who are deft at identifying and satisfying
you encountered a retail salesperson, you their new buying needs. Having conducted
were likely early in your buying process. extensive research into customer purchas-
You were probably still in ‘education’ mode ing behavior, we are able to enumer-
and wanting to learn about the products ate these new buying needs. This list of
that are available. expectations essentially defines the role
of the new sales professional of the 21st
By the time you encounter a salesper- century. In the customers’ own words …
son today, you have probably already
educated yourself on the alternatives and Need #1: “Be personally accountable
begun to narrow your choices. And with for our desired results”
the increased complexity of the products Customers are tired of pass-the-buck
(high-definition formats, flat-panels, etc.), sellers. They do not want a salesperson
you have probably also amassed a long list to close the deal and run, they want to
of technical questions that you will expect work with a partner who is personally
the salesperson to answer with great committed to a successful outcome. Busi-
authority and confidence. Compared to ness-to-business customers are usually
1992, you are a much more sophisticated accountable for the results inside their
buyer. organization, and they want someone else
to be accountable alongside them.
Consequently, you are a more demanding
buyer. You are less tolerant of the typical Need #2: “Understand our business”
deer-in-the-headlights salesperson who is The second customer need flows logically
no more useful than the tag on the retail from the first: For salespeople to personal-
display that you can read for yourself. You ly manage a customer’s results, they must
expect salespeople to be skilled, knowl- deeply understand the customer’s busi-
edgeable, and above all, value-added. If ness. This means knowing the custom-
salespeople cannot demonstrate in a very ers’ competencies, strategies, challenges,
brief amount of time that they can under- and organizational culture. To be a value-
stand and resolve your concerns, you added professional, intimate customer
will quickly discard them and move on to knowledge is now a prerequisite.
another salesperson or to another elec-
tronics store. Need #3: “Be on our side”
Customers have little or no control over
These are the trends that sales forces what happens inside the salesperson’s
face today … increasing product complex- company. Yet, the inner workings of the
ity, increasing customer sophistication, selling organization can have a dramatic
decreasing access to buyers, and decreas- impact on the buying experience. For this
ing customer loyalty. These factors all reason, buyers expect salespeople to be
combine to create a selling environment their internal advocates, manipulating
that is more challenging now than ever their own company’s processes and poli-
before. The power has clearly shifted


Executive Summary

tics to see that the customer gets what demands that salespeople encounter every
they need throughout the buying process. day. Sales executives, too, are aware that
customers are now more demanding and
Need #4: “Design the right want different behaviors from their sales-
applications” people. The challenge for executives is to
Customers want salespeople to think put these demands in the context of their
beyond technical features and functions to own sales force and create an organiza-
the actual implementation of the product tion full of people that can meet these new
or service in the customer’s unique busi- customer needs with the right skills and
ness environment. They want to know not aptitudes.
just what the offering will do … They want
to know what it will do for them. They This is how world class sales forces set
expect the new sales professional to be a themselves apart in the eyes of their
business consultant who thinks beyond the customers. Their sales forces have
transaction to the customer’s end state. evolved with their customers and have
created these capabilities in their sales-
Need #5: “Be easily accessible” people. They have identified the organiza-
If anything has changed in the workplace tional levers that determine success with
since 1992, it is the connectivity of today’s today’s customers, and they are driving
work force. Desk phones, PC’s, and pagers their sales organizations to higher levels
have been replaced by cell phones, laptops, of professionalism than their peers have
and Blackberries. This 24/7 access to yet been able to attain. This document is
communication has not escaped the notice a report based on our research into these
of customers. They expect salespeople to organizational levers that world class sales
be constantly connected and within reach, organizations have identified and exploit-
whenever and wherever they need help. ed.
Need #6: “Solve our problems”
The word ‘solution’ has been overused and Changing Sales Management
misused as much as any other term in the
last decade, but its prevalence does point Agendas
to one major shift in customers’ expecta- As the demands on salespeople have
tions. Customers no longer buy products changed over the last 14 years, so have
or services, they buy solutions to their the agendas of the sales executives who
business problems. They expect a profes- must invest wisely to ensure that their
sional salesperson to diagnose, prescribe, sales forces are in tune with their custom-
and resolve their issues, not just sell them ers’ needs, and 2006 was no exception.
products. In the four years since our last research
Need #7: “Be creative in responding effort, sales executives have not only
to our needs” shifted emphasis among their existing
With easy access to information, anything benchmark agenda items, new bench-
that was known yesterday is old news to marks have emerged as top priorities of
most customers. When they have a busi- the leading sales forces. The areas of focus
ness problem and pursue outside assis- we observed in this year’s class of World
tance, it is because they perceive their Class Sales Benchmark winners were:
problem as unique and not addressable 1. Creating a Customer-Driven
with conventional solutions. Buyers expect Culture
professional salespeople to be innovators
who bring them fresh ideas to solve their 2. Recruiting and Selecting the
Right Sales Talent
problems. Creativity is a major source of
value in today’s salesperson. 3. Training and Developing for the
Right Set of Skills
These seven needs are the new customer
expectations. They are not secrets hidden 4. Segmenting Markets in
Meaningful Ways
away from the sales force; they are


Executive Summary

5. Implementing Formal Sales Another benchmark that has exploded in its
Processes (New) prominence is Training and Development.
6. Developing Enabling Information Getting the raw talent in the office building
Technology is a critical accomplishment, but two
factors make continued investment in
7. Integrating Other Business the sales force an imperative. Foremost,
Functions with Sales (New) top sales forces are now highly complex
It is no surprise that creating a Custom- organizations with processes and
er-Driven Culture continues to lead the technology that are tailored to their
agenda for sales forces that are consid- particular selling tasks. A top salesperson
ered the best of the best by their custom- from another company cannot simply step
ers. As the customers’ needs have shifted into a specialized selling role of another
over the years, these companies have company and be expected to hit the
remained in sync with their customers ground running. The ‘onboarding’ process
by uncovering and adapting to the new is growing to a scale never before seen in
demands on their salespeople. This focus the sales organization.
on customer needs and expectations will
probably never fall from the list, because The second factor that makes Training
it is so fundamental to the success of a and Development so critical is the rate
sales force. Without it, companies become of change within world class sales forces.
internally focused and tend to impose These organizations tend to be nimble and
their own needs on customers, rather than willing to change as soon as the market
imposing the customers’ needs on their dictates. With complex internal process-
salespeople. What is evolving, though, es and technology in a constant state of
are the methods that sales executives are evolution, continuous training is the only
employing to drive this philosophy into way to keep the sales force operating at
the heads of their sellers. As you will see, peak productivity within the organization’s
world class sales forces are experts at business model.
connecting customer strategies to selling Another staple on the list of World Class
reality. Sales Benchmarks is Customer Segmen-
One very clear trend is a dramatically tation. Like Customer-Driven Culture,
heightened emphasis on Recruiting and Customer Segmentation is fundamental
Selection in leading sales forces. These to creating the differentiated customer
companies have come to realize that every experiences that lead customers to rave
other competitive advantage they can about a sales force. Reviewing the new
achieve in the marketplace (better prod- customer demands like Understand Our
ucts, better pricing, better relationships, Business, Design the Right Applications,
better technology, etc.) is fleeting except and Solve Our Problems, it is easy to see
for having better human capital. Nearly why Customer Segmentation is so critical
every other aspect of a business can be for a sales force to succeed in the custom-
duplicated by a competitor except the er’s eyes. Sellers cannot accomplish these
quality of the people they employ. objectives with a one-size-fits-all approach
to the market, so grouping customers who
As a result, world class sales forces are are alike and aligning sales resources
putting more and better effort into finding accordingly allows salespeople to develop
and hiring the right people for the job. They familiarity with their customers’ business
are putting more effort into the task by issues. It enables the salesperson to
investing more in the process and casting become a specialist with credibility and to
a wider net. They are putting in better engage customers with confidence.
effort by pursuing more specific skill sets
that map into their increasingly complex A new entrant to the list of world class
and specialized selling roles. Across the benchmarks this year is Formal Sales
board, this is an already large and growing Processes. These are the tasks and activi-
concern for sales executives. ties that define how a sales force manages
its time, its opportunities, its custom-


Executive Summary

ers, its territories, its salespeople, and its The final agenda item in our benchmark
business. In the past, sales process was research is a second new entrant this
almost inextricably mingled with infor- year. We observed that sales executives
mation technology, but the processes are becoming very skilled at Integrat-
are finally standing on their own as sales ing Other Business Functions with Sales.
executives strive for consistency of execu- Traditionally, Sales has been the function
tion and measurability of performance. in a company that was least understood
and most in its own silo. Sales executives
The top sales forces that we observed rarely went out of their way to engage IT,
manage their organization with the disci- HR, Marketing, and other peer groups in
pline of a manufacturing assembly line, any capacity.
with explicit processes that can be bench-
marked and improved in the spirit of Total Increasingly, sales executives are finding
Quality Management. They monitor and themselves at the table with these other
measure their salespeople from every business functions. They work with IT to
possible perspective to isolate best prac- build customized technology. They work
tices and pinpoint opportunities for with HR to hire and develop highly-skilled
improvement. They leave little to chance sellers. They work with Marketing to equip
by setting clear objectives for their sales and inform their salespeople. No longer is
force, providing a roadmap of how to Sales trying to go it alone in the world. Top
succeed, and managing their salespeo- sales forces focus on their core competen-
ple within this framework of formal sales cies and leverage other groups to improve
processes. the performance of their people.
Information Technology is now a well-
entrenched part of any sales force. From Changing Faces
e-mail to CRM, it is hard to imagine a
modern sales force without technology Amid all of this change, we are pleased to
there to hold it together. The trend that recognize four new faces as winners of HR
we do see with IT, thankfully, is the recog- Chally’s World Class Sales Force Bench-
nition that Sales Force Automation is not mark award.
a silver bullet that will cure all the ills of a
dysfunctional sales force. After the mete- • Applied Industrial Technologies
oric growth of SFA tools in the 1990’s, sales • Corporate Express
executives are settling down and putting
information technology in perspective as • Global Imaging, Inc.
an enabler of salespeople, not a reformer • Insight Enterprises, Inc.
of them.
These companies were deemed to be the
IT is undeniably critical to any company, best-of-the-best by the only people who
and all world class sales forces rely heavily are qualified to judge them – their custom-
on technology. They use hardware and ers. In a time of increasing demands on a
software to capture, manipulate, and share sales force, these four organizations were
information and to run their businesses agile enough to change in lockstep with
efficiently. However, no leading sales their customers and exceed their high and
forces would (or could) point to informa- ever-changing expectations.
tion technology as a source of competitive
advantage. Nor would they say that their In the following pages, we will explore in
CRM application is the backbone of their greater depth how these world class sales
sales force. What they will do is point to forces achieved this high level of perfor-
how much more effective their salespeo- mance. As you will see, they are innova-
ple are as a result of well-designed and tive companies that have worked diligent-
properly-implemented technology. World ly to plan and execute changes that were
class sales forces are very deliberate and frequently off the beaten path. Changes
thoughtful in the ways they leverage the that put them in very elite company as
power of information systems. World Class Sales Forces.


Methodology

T he HR Chally Group has conducted
World Class Sales research projects
since 1992. Each World Class Sales
Summary. The second phase, with the
cooperation of the customer-rated World
Class sales forces, provides full benchmark
research cycle has involved two phases. research results, including best practices,
The first phase is the assessment of the metrics, management processes, and
corporate needs of customers and their profiles of each World Class sales force.
ratings of excellent sales forces through Overall, Chally has developed the leading
telephone interviews. These results Six Sigma styled set of World Class sales
are presented in the Phase I Executive force metrics and databases.

Overview of the World Class Sales Databases & Metrics

Customers identified 21 Benchmarked the best for
80,000 customers interviewed world class sales forces processes and criteria
210,000 salespeople rated on
15 criteria
PLUS: How much each customer Identified top and bottom
bought from each salesperson over 7 critical best practices &
salespeople
3 years critical success metrics
Data on 7,300 sales forces
Statistically identified the 7
salesperson deliverables that drive
customer decisions
Achieve Sales Excellence

Identified 14 distinct salesperson
Statistically identified the profiles by the unique set of
salesperson competencies to achieve competencies for each
deliverables across markets,
products, and services sold
Assessed and tracked performance Statistically identified assessment
of 300,000 salespeople items that accurately predicted each
competency in each position profile


Methodology

Phase I: Survey Calls To
Customers To Identify World
Class Sales Companies

Data Collection to be investigated so that contacts would
be distributed over a variety of position
Using resources such as American Big classifications. An introduction call was
Business Directory, decision makers were made to each potential contact to explain
randomly selected from an even distribu- the research and to ask for an appoint-
tion of large and small companies (deter- ment to complete the interview. At the
mined by number of employees) across appointment time, a survey interview was
industry, geographic location, and position completed. See Appendix for the survey
classifications. Likely positions of contacts interview questionnaire.
were identified for each market segment

Company Size

Total Surveys
Surveys Completed
Completed Prior to
in 2006
2006

Small Companies
or units 90,315 1029
(1-249 Employees)

Large Companies
or units 120,300 1418
(250+ Employees)

Overall Response 210,615 2447

Industries Represented by the Completed Contacts

Aerospace Energy Media

Agriculture Financial Services Metals

Automotive General Services Non-Profit

Beverage/Food Products Healthcare Paper

Chemical Information Technology Printing & Publishing

Construction/Building Legal Public Sector

Distribution Manufacturing Retail

Education Materials Transportation


Methodology

Position Classification

Position Classification
Financial/Engineering
Human Resources
Purchasing 4.4%
5.3% Financial/Engineering
21.3% Human Resources
Information
18.1% Technology Information
Technology
Executive (Director
and above)
6.6%
29.6% Executive (Director Managers
14.7% and above)
Operations/
Administration

Operations/ Managers
Purchasing
Administration
Percent of Sample in 2006 and representative of the total

Geographic Distribution

Geographic Distribution of completed contacts throughout the studies

16% 27%
Southwest
Northeast
Northeast
7%
Northwest Southeast
10% North Central
18% Southeast
South Central South Central
22% Northwest
North Central
Southwest


Methodology

Data Analysis Phase II: Determining
Open-ended questions went through a
Methods of World Class
two-step coding process. Data was gath- Sales Forces
ered using a customized version of Survey- Each of the target companies was sent a
Pro to populate an SQL database. Further congratulatory introduction letter discuss-
analyses were run using the Statistical ing the history of the project and steps
Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Each involved in participation. They were then
variable included in the study was subject- contacted by telephone to solicit participa-
ed to detailed univariate analysis. These tion. The primary company contacts were
analyses provided a further check of the provided with the reasons their customers
data quality and a guide to the interpre- identified the sales forces as World Class.
tation of the data. Companies mentioned The contacts were then asked to identify
most frequently as World Class, and the key sales functions which they thought
reasons why they were mentioned, were would result in customer satisfaction in
identified. these areas. Each interview resulted in the
identification of critical success factors,
key processes that explain and support
Results critical success factors, and individuals
During the 2006 research project, Applied responsible for each process. Telephone
Industrial Technologies, Corporate interviews were scheduled and conducted
Express, Global Imaging Systems, and with each of the individuals responsible
Insight Enterprises, Inc. were the only for a process. Based on these interviews,
companies to meet the criteria of being Chally developed a company profile and
rated on average as “Very Good” or better identified best practices for each of the
by at least 50 customers. All four compa- target companies. Best-In-Class company
nies agreed to participate in Phase II of profiles were then reviewed by target
the research. company representatives for accuracy.
From the best practices, a set of key sales
Prior winners include: Allegiance Health- metrics was identified and subsequently
care Corporation, Applied Industrial Tech- collected from each of the target compa-
nologies, AT&T Consumer Products, AT&T nies. On-site visits to confirm information
Middle Market, AT&T Global Business gathered through telephone interviews
Communications Systems, Boise Cascade and to gain first-hand exposure to best
Office Products (twice), CDW, DuPont, practices were conducted when possible.
Exxon Corporation, GE Industrial Control
Systems, Grainger, Inc., IBM Corporation,
John Deere and Company, Moore Corpora-
tion Limited, and Motion Industries, Inc.,
(twice).


Benchmark 1:
Customer-Driven Culture

Best Practices

Benchmark 1:
Customer-Driven Culture

Objective: cally, they expect customer-driven behav-
ior. So if customers expect it and we know
Create a sales organization that is focused we need to do it, why is there still such
on the needs of the customer and is capable a chasm between the ubiquitously stated
of satisfying those needs in a manner that desire for a customer-driven organiza-
meets or exceeds the customer’s buying tion and the apparent widespread lack of
expectations customer-driven behavior by salespeople?

The challenge is that customers do not
A Perspective: interact with an organization’s culture;
they interact with its salespeople. Sales
By the year 2007, you would think that calls are incredibly tactical affairs, and no
the concept of being “Customer-Driven” level of organizational strategy will affect
would be so fundamental to the business the customer unless the strategy is trans-
landscape that it would not even warrant lated into field-level tactics. Therefore,
a mention in the definition of world class sales management must find ways to go
sales forces. It has been decades since beyond mission statements and conversa-
we collectively acknowledged the shift of tions about being ‘customer-driven’ and to
power from the seller to the buyer and put in place specific processes and mecha-
since terms like customer-centric and nisms to create sales forces full of individu-
customer-focused became basic elements als who behave in customer-centric ways.
of our business lexicon. However, our Saying you are customer-driven is one
research reveals that all of this corporate thing, proving it consistently to customers
conversation has been lost on the actual is another.
customers, who still perceive a noticeable
distinction between sales forces that are World class sales forces have solved the
highly responsive to their needs and those riddle and found actionable best practices
that are essentially oblivious to them. that connect their customer-driven strat-
egy to selling reality. They are leveraging
As discussed in our recent book, Achieve their organizational capabilities to create
Sales Excellence: The Seven Customer memorable customer interactions, and
Rules for Becoming the New Sales Profes- their customers have taken notice. The
sional, customers have deceptively simple ability to execute on a strategy is a hall-
expectations of the salespeople who serve mark distinction between good perfor-
them. They expect salespeople to under- mance and superior performance. Below
stand their business, to offer innovative we highlight some of the tactics this year’s
solutions to their problems, and to do so world-class winners are using to create
as a customer advocate who is commit- customer-driven cultures that lead to
ted to managing their satisfaction. Basi- customer-driven selling.


Best Practices

Best Practice:
Ensure that Your Salespeople Know Their Customer’s Business

BEST PRACTICE:
ENSURE THAT YOUR SALESPEOPLE KNOW THEIR CUSTOMER’S BUSINESS

TYPICAL SALES FORCE WORLD CLASS SALES FORCE

SALESPERSON SALESPERSON
EXPERIENCE EXPERIENCE

CUSTOMER BUSINESS OPERATIONS
CUSTOMER ISSUES
CUSTOMER NEEDS
CUSTOMER BUYING PROCESS

WORLD CLASS SALES FORCES GO OUT OF THEIR WAY TO TRAIN THEIR PEOPLE ON CUSTOMER ISSUES

W orld class sales forces recognize
that customers today expect profes-
sional salespeople to understand their
ing curriculum. Whether they train their
salespeople on their customers’ market
dynamics, their business operations, their
businesses inside and out. A knowledge- buying behavior, their business problems,
able salesperson can quickly engage in a or other customer-centric issues, world
meaningful conversation and offer insight- class companies no longer rely on their
ful business advice, rather than asking salespeople’s previous work experience
frustratingly basic questions and reciting or their ability to learn on the job. To be
product features and functions by rote. In a customer-driven company, your sales-
response, leading companies are taking on people must know your customer’s busi-
the responsibility of educating their sales- ness. Rather than leaving it to chance,
people about their customers. sales managers in leading companies are
making it their business to ensure that
We are observing with increasing frequen- their salespeople are prepared to sell to
cy companies that include customer insight their customers.
as a key component of their sales train-


Best Practices

Case Study
Global Imaging illustrates a commitment to a customer-driven culture
through its focus on customer knowledge. All of its employees receive
1½ days of training on customers and their issues. The training
begins with a module on customer satisfaction and its importance
to the success of Global’s organization. Training then proceeds to
understanding customer behavior, solving customer problems, and
communicating from the customer’s perspective. The intent of this
training is to put Global Imaging’s employees in the shoes of the
customer so that they are capable of delivering customer-focused
behaviors that resonate with the customer and distinguish them from
the competition.
Additionally, Global trains its sales force on their customers’ buying
needs. Rather than the more traditional approach of teaching its
salespeople how to sell its products and services, Global teaches its
salespeople how its customers buy its products and services. In doing
so, the salespeople are again put into the shoes of the customer and
see from the customer’s perspective how their own selling behaviors
are perceived. In the words of Dan Cooper, SVP of Sales, “We teach
our salespeople the buying process rather than the selling process. We
want them to understand the sales cycle from the buyer’s standpoint,
not necessarily ours. Because in the end, what we’re trying to do is
advance their buying process, not our selling process.”


Best Practices

Best Practice:
Demonstrate the Value You Create for Your Customer

BEST PRACTICE:
DEMONSTRATE THE VALUE YOU CREATE


CAUSE EFFECT CAUSE EFFECT

BENEFIT

?
PRODUCT PRODUCT
- COST
OR OR
SERVICE SERVICE QUANTIFIED
BUSINESS
IMPACT

WORLD CLASS SALES FORCES CAN EXPLICITLY QUANTIFY THE VALUE OF THEIR GOODS OR SERVICES

World class sales forces again leave
U ltimately, customers interact with
salespeople for only one reason: They
believe that salespeople and the organiza-
nothing to chance. Rather than expect-
ing the customer to implicitly acknowledge
tions they represent can create some type the value that the salesperson has created
of business value through the implementa- for them, these companies have devel-
tion of their products or services. Viewed oped processes and tools to communicate
through this lens, the customer’s need for that value in very explicit terms. Using the
a salesperson to thoroughly understand customers’ own metrics and terminology,
their business is really just a means to an they quantify the productivity improve-
end. It accelerates the speed with which ments, cost savings, revenue increas-
a salesperson can accurately identify the es, or other changes that have resulted
business needs of the customer, and it from using their products or services. By
increases the likelihood that the solution demonstrating to the customer the value
the salesperson offers will successfully that they have created, they prove that
produce the promised business value. they have the customer’s business results
Customer-driven salespeople recognize as a top priority.
the often overlooked fact that they can
only create value for themselves by creat-
ing noticeable value for their customers.


Best Practices

Case Study
Applied Industrial Technologies has trademarked a process they call
DVA®, or Documented Value Added to help them demonstrate the
value that they create for their manufacturing customers. Applied’s
salespeople use a PC-based system to calculate the value they have
created for their customers through reduced maintenance costs,
increased productivity, lower procurement costs, and other means.
They work with local plant managers to identify the source of the
improvement and to assess the economic impact of the changes.
They then document the value they have created and obtain sign-off
from the plant managers as proof that the value was realized. These
improvements can then be shared and replicated across the customer’s
other facilities to further increase the value to the customer.
Ted Carl, Vice President of Strategic Accounts, illustrates how Applied
uses this program to improve its customer relationships: “Too often
customers simply do not remember all the good things that you do.
Through this process we have documented over a billion dollars worth
of savings for our customers. It is fun to go into a customer and say,
‘You bought $200,000 last year from us, but we saved you $85,000
in Documented Value Added® savings in your process and your
procedures in your plant.’ That takes the sting off of a three or four
percent price increase or competitive offer that might be a few points
better than you are. It clearly allows us to convey to the customer, in
terms the customer understands, what we are doing for them.”


Best Practices

Best Practice:
Establish Formal Feedback Mechanisms – Both Good and Bad

BEST PRACTICE:
ESTABLISH FORMAL FEEDBACK MECHANISMS


SALES
FORCE

SALES CUSTOMER CONTINUOUS CUSTOMER
FORCE EXPERIENCE IMPROVEMENT EXPERIENCE

CUSTOMER
FEEDBACK

WORLD CLASS SALES FORCES DILIGENTLY GATHER CUSTOMER FEEDBACK AND USE IT TO CONTINUOUSLY
IMPROVE THEIR SELLING CAPABILITIES

T o become and remain customer-driven,
a company obviously must understand
the perspective of the customer. Without
World class sales forces understand that
salespeople and executives are not the
best resources for customer research.
a clearly articulated understanding of the Instead, they establish formal feedback
customers’ perceptions, it is only through channels and processes to gather continu-
trial-and-error that a sales force can ever ous input from their customers. By doing
hope to align themselves with customer so, they remain in tune with their custom-
expectations. However, it is frighten- ers’ ever-changing needs and are able
ingly common for sales forces (and orga- to react quickly to problems and to take
nizations as a whole) to use executive advantage of new opportunities. These
commentary and anecdotal observations feedback mechanisms include written and
as the primary input to their customer online surveys, customer focus groups,
strategies. Salespeople are especial- executive councils, third-party research,
ly notorious for misunderstanding their and a myriad of other means to gain candid
customer, despite their frequent refrain of a view into their customer’s mind.
“I know what my customers need … I talk
to them every day.”


Best Practices

Another noteworthy observation from our Leading sales forces would rather learn the
research is that world class companies are bad than the good. When they solicit feed-
obsessed with what is wrong. Typically, back from their customers, it is frequently
our award winners are shocked that they to uncover the cracks in their armor. Unlike
have been recognized as the best-of-the- most sales forces, they prefer to focus
best by their customers, because they are on filling the cracks rather than admiring
so focused on what needs to be improved. the shine. This negative feedback can be
This focus on improvement is also reflect- garnered from traditional customer satis-
ed in the companies’ approach to custom- faction surveys, but there are also distinct
er feedback. All too often, companies ways to go exclusively after the ugly facts.
conduct customer satisfaction surveys to A common such method for discovering the
validate what they are doing well. Known in cracks is a “loss analysis” that is conducted
cynical circles as the “applause-o-meter”, post mortem to discover why a customer
these customer feedback mechanisms can defected or a proposal was lost. Was it
provide useful insights, but they can also because of price (which it rarely is), bad
provide false comfort.1 World class sales products, bad service, or bad selling? For
forces tend to look further. a customer-driven organization, informa-
tion like this helps them alleviate customer
pain, in addition to improving the pleasure
of the overall buying experience.

1 >80% of customers who defected from a
supplier ranked them as “good” to “very
good” as to the service they provided -
Harvard Business Review, Nov./Dec. 1995


Best Practices

Case Study
Global Imaging goes out of its way to identify areas of improvement
for its sales force. Among other means, they frequently conduct
loss analyses to understand what types of failures lead to customer
defections and lost bids. Also, they recently conducted customer
research to learn explicitly from its customers what they are doing
wrong in their sales and service efforts. The outcomes of this research
did not sit on a shelf; they were used to design training programs that
addressed the customers’ concerns and improved the customer-centric
behaviors of their sales force.

Case Study
Applied Industrial Technologies uses several means to stay in touch
with the opinions of their customers. Annually, they conduct one-
on-one interviews with 1500 customers to determine how they are
performing against key customer-determined criteria. To ensure the
candor of the comments, the interviews are conducted by a third-
party research firm who does not reveal that Applied is the sponsor
of the survey. This allows them to objectively track progress against
performance measures that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Applied also maintains a Customer Advisory Council that meets
annually to allow existing customers to discuss Applied’s areas of
strength and opportunities for improvement. These sessions are
conducted by a third-party facilitator with no Applied personnel in the
room to influence the commentary. The outputs of these sessions drive
improvement initiatives, and the customers are updated quarterly on
Applied’s progress vis-à-vis their suggestions.
Additionally, Applied conducts brand awareness studies that measure
customer perception in the context of the broader market. These
varying research methods allow them a comprehensive view of their
own performance, their customers’ evolving expectations, and the
competitive environment in which they go to market.


Benchmark 2:
Recruiting and Selection

Best Practices

Benchmark 2:
Recruiting and Selection

Objective: fied by their customers as having world
class sales forces. It is fair to say that our
Improve productivity and reduce turnover world is short a few great salespeople. A
in the sales force by recruiting and select- shrinking labor pool will not make it any
ing the right salespeople with the right easier to fill a sales force with qualified
skill set for the right sales roles sellers.
Second, the cost associated with hiring
A Perspective: a wrong candidate is extremely high in
the sales function. The investment to
Recruiting and selecting the right employ- hire and train a new salesperson ranges
ees has always been a challenge. Unfor- from $75,000 for a tele-salesperson to
tunately, the challenge is going to get more than $300,000 for a more senior
increasingly difficult in the very near sales position. These costs probably pale,
future. According to Human Resource though, beside the economic damage
Executive magazine’s Forecast 2006, “70 done by a poor salesperson who repeat-
million Baby Boomers will retire over the edly loses deals that would have been won
next 15 years. During this time, only 40 by a better seller. When these costs to
million workers will enter the workforce.” hire and maintain the wrong salesperson
The implication of this math on the labor are coupled with the disruption caused
market is easy to see – we are entering when a salesperson leaves, the negative
an extended period of time where finding impact of a hiring mistake is tremendous
and hiring appropriately qualified workers for a sales force.
is likely to be even more difficult than it is
Given this context, it is no surprise that
today.
sales executives are turning more and
While this challenge will affect every func- more attention to recruiting and selecting
tion within a company, it will have an the right salesperson for the job. However,
acutely painful impact on the sales force. more attention does not necessarily corre-
Foremost, there already exists an enor- late with more success. The troubling
mous deficit in the number of highly-skilled reality that most organizations face is that
professional sellers. While no one reading they do not have the strategies or tools to
this report is likely to disagree with this identify or hire the right candidates. Until
assertion, it is not a difficult one to quan- sales forces and their human resource
tify. Since 1992, we have collected data counterparts improve their own capabili-
on more than 7,200 sales forces in over 20 ties, it will be hard for them to improve the
major industries. During this time, fewer capabilities of their salespeople.
than 20 companies (or less than three-
tenths of one percent) have been identi-


Best Practices

Strategically, companies suffer from a to identify why salespeople fail in partic-
traditional focus on the wrong criteria for ular roles than it is to identify why they
selecting candidates. Most companies look succeed. This allows sales and human
for candidates that share common traits resources executives to concentrate on not
with their superstar sellers. For a number hiring, promoting, or training candidates
of reasons, it is very difficult to identify the who are likely to become below-average
unique characteristics of top salespeople. performers with limited potential. By
And even more to the point, there are not simply eliminating the bottom salespeople
that many superstars out there to be had. and replacing them with at least average
Our perspective is that it is more fruit- performers, a sales force’s overall produc-
ful to focus on the other end of the bell tivity can be dramatically improved.
curve – the poor performing sellers. With
good statistical analysis, it is often easier

Example: Beating the 80/20 Rule for dramatic sales increases

In this example of a 200 person sales force that produces $200 million in sales, we apply the
80/20 rule (which is typical), meaning that the top 20% of the sales force will produce $160
million in sales. The bottom 20% will produce only $6 million in sales.
If we reassign or replace the bottom 20% with candidates that just meet or exceed the
Chally predictive competency levels for success, sales will increase by a minimum of $30
million and a more probable $70 million.


Best Practices

Another strategic error that companies Weak outcomes such as these from typical
often make is in believing that candidates hiring methods were the reason the Justice
are either good salespeople or bad sales- Department originally funded HR Chally.
people. In fact, there are a typical number Our research demonstrates that by using
of different sales positions for winners position-specific, statistically-validated job
(account manager, new business devel- assessment tools, recruiting and hiring
oper, sales engineer, etc.), and success or decisions are improved to 75-85% accu-
failure in one role does not predict success racy*. A strategy is only as good as its
or failure in another. Often the issue is implementation, and the tools that many
not having too little talent in a sales force organizations use today to recruit and
or in a candidate pool … it is putting the select candidates prohibit their ability to
wrong talent in the wrong role. A world execute their hiring strategies dependably
class sales organization typically has and successfully.
several different types of salespeople, and
understanding the need to mix and match In summary, the effective recruitment and
individuals accordingly is a key strategic selection of candidates must be near the
advantage in today’s (and tomorrow’s) top of any sales executive’s agenda. When
tight labor market. the wrong people are in the wrong roles,
every task of a sales force is made expo-
Beyond the strategies companies use to nentially more difficult. The salespeople
recruit and select salespeople, the tools are are more difficult to manage, they are
hard to find. Research has shown that the harder to motivate, their performance is
methods most commonly used to screen sub-optimal, and their customers know it.
and hire candidates are only marginally Today and in the future, finding and hiring
more predictive of success than the flip of the right salespeople will be the most criti-
a coin. Interviews, reference checks, and cal input to a world class sales force.
other mainstay recruiting tasks are fraught
with biases and subjectivity.

Typical Hiring Method Improvement
Methods* Flipping a Coin
Interview + 2% Accuracy
Any short selec-
+ 3% Accuracy
tion test
Scorable Interview + 7% Accuracy

Reference Check + 7% Accuracy

* Taken from the research; “Validity and Utility of
Alternative Predictors of Job Performance,” Psycho-
logical Bulletin, July 1984


Best Practices

Best Practice:
Recruit and Hire Specialists

BEST PRACTICE:
RECRUIT AND HIRE SPECIALISTS

PROFILE OF A SUCCESSFUL SALESPERSON PROFILES OF SUCCESSFUL SALES SPECIALISTS

SALES SPECIALTY MAP

Outside: Field Sales Inside: Telesales/Mktg.
AGGRESSIVE Customer Service
Indirect Sales Direct Sales

RESILIENT Full Line Specialized
Products/Services
Strategic Territory
PERSUASIVE Account
Major Account

System Product/ Product/
ETC. New Business Account Specialist Service Transactional
Development Management Specialist Specialist
(Hunter) (Farmer)

Outbound Inbound Customer
Sales to Service
Resellers or Consultive Relationship
through (more Hunter) (more Farmer)
Distributors Product/System Product/System

WORLD CLASS SALES FORCES REALIZE THAT SELLING IS A SPECIALIZED PROFESSION --
THERE IS NO "ONE SIZE FITS ALL" SELLER

T he term ‘salesperson’ often conjures
up a singular image of the stereotyped
seller – the aggressive smooth talker
various tasks – identifying new opportu-
nities, developing technical requirements,
negotiating profitable deals, and managing
who succeeds through persistence, resil- executive relationships, to mention a few.
ience, and personal persuasion. The new To find these experts, they target special-
reality, though, is that sales has become ists with the precise skills and experience
a profession with highly specialized roles to excel at each task, recognizing that
that require a wide range of skills. Just as salespeople are not interchangeable and
doctors, lawyers, and accountants develop no candidate can excel at every job.
particular areas of expertise, so do sales-
people. And just as you would not hire When salespeople are properly cast in
a chemical engineer to build a bridge, their roles, they are highly productive and
you should not hire a relationship build- enjoy their jobs. When they are miscast,
ing salesperson to make 200 cold calls per their performance falters and turnover
week. Different selling roles require differ- ensues. Top sales executives recognize
ent skill sets, and there is no such thing as that getting the right people in the right
a universally equipped salesperson. roles is fundamental to a high perform-
ing and stable sales force. Consequently,
World class sales forces appreciate the they are adept at clearly defining their
myriad of selling roles and the unique selling roles and in pursuing specialists to
demands of each. They have complex staff them.
sales processes that require expertise at


Best Practices

Case Study
When Insight began an overhaul of its SMB sales force in 2005,
one of its key objectives was to reduce turnover in its sales force by
50%. While there were many options that they could have pursued to
accomplish this goal, they chose to focus on recruiting and selecting
the right type of candidates for the demands of a pivotal role in their
sales force – their telesales reps. Julie Dervin, Global Vice President
of Learning and Development at Insight describes their thought
process:
“We began by looking at the front end. How were we hiring and
selecting our candidates? We were about to spend a lot of time, money,
and effort on developing them, and we wanted to make sure that they
were the right fit. We have over 600 salespeople selling to the small to
medium size business market, so it was significant for us to focus on
that part of the organization and how we hire and develop them. As
any of you know who work in a telesales environment, it is very hard
to bring in the right talent. It is very hard to retain those folks, as well
as to train and develop them to a level where they can engage in a
consultative type of sale over the telephone.”
By understanding the unique challenges that Insight faced in hiring
people who could succeed in their telesales role, the company was able
to target and hire candidates that not only were capable of performing
the job, but also were likely to last in the position. Within 12 months
of the first new hire, the attrition rate of the new salespeople had been
reduced by over 40%.


Best Practices

Best Practice:
Go Beyond the Interview

BEST PRACTICE:
GO BEYOND THE INTERVIEW


INTERVIEWS

EXTENSIVE SELLING
REFERENCE SIMULATIONS
CHECKS
QUESTIONABLE
INTERVIEW HIGH-PROBABILITY
HIRING DECISION
HIRING DECISION

"RIDE-ALONGS" OTHER
COMPANY-WIDE
METHODS
CAPABILITIES TEST

WORLD CLASS SALES FORCES DO NOT RELY ON INTERVIEWS ALONE -- THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THE MORE
PERSPECTIVES THEY GET ON A CANDIDATE, THE BETTER THEIR HIRING DECISION WILL BE

I nterviewing job applicants has long been
the lifeblood of the recruiting and selec-
tion industry. Few, if any, salespeople have
think that a company could get nearly
equal odds of success by merely employ-
ing a single, corporate coin flipper.
ever been hired without a face-to-face or
telephone interview during which they got World class sales forces do not leave their
the chance to do what they supposedly do hiring decisions to chance. They go beyond
best … sell. They sell themselves, their the interview and supplement it with a
experience, their capabilities, their poten- variety of other screening tools and tech-
tial contribution, and any other feature, niques. Top sales forces employ statisti-
function, or benefit they can possibly offer cally validated job-specific assessment
a prospective employer. If a salesperson tools. They also use other filters, such
can not sell themselves, then you would as putting their candidates in a simulated
have to question whether or not they could selling environment to ‘test-drive’ their
ever sell a product. abilities and see how they react in certain
situations. They might let the candidates
It is not surprising, then, that so many ride along with their existing salespeople
bad hiring decisions are made in a sales to get a glimpse into their behaviors in the
force. As we mention above, the inter- real world. They go the extra mile … or
view is only slightly more predictive of two … to limit the risk of hiring the wrong
on-the-job success than the 50-50 chance person for the job, because they realize
you get with the flip of a coin. When you that getting the right people in their sales
consider all of the time and money that is force makes everything else they do both
spent interviewing sales candidates over easier and better.
the course of a year, it is remarkable to


Best Practices

Case Study
Global Imaging employs many of the recruiting and selection
techniques that personify a world class hiring effort. Dan Cooper,
Global’s Senior Vice President of Sales, explains how they use multiple
methods to ensure that they have a candidate that can succeed in their
organization:
“With 1400 salespeople throughout North America, we obviously need
to find good quality salespeople. One of the ways that we do that is
through a capabilities test. Then we send a prospective sales rep out
into the field to ride with one of their peers. There is nobody better
than another sales rep to tell you if they think this person is going
to make it and will be a team fit. Next they meet with two or three
different sales managers, eventually coming up to the VP of Sales or
the President. We also do extensive reference checking. It is not just,
‘Let’s call their HR department and talk to them.’ We want to dig down
to the third and the fourth level person they give us to try and find
out really what makes up this person. Finally, like everybody, if you
are going to take care of your customers, you have to find employees
that are willing to be customer service focused. We spend a lot of time
asking questions about how they like to be satisfied as a customer in
their own lives.”


Best Practices

Best Practice:
Make Sure there is a Cultural Fit

BEST PRACTICE:
MAKE SURE THERE IS A CULTURAL FIT


CURRENT EMPLOYER PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER CURRENT EMPLOYER PROSPECTIVE EMPLOYER

HAVE THEY ARE THEY
SUCCEEDED IN ONE OF
THE PAST? US?

WORLD CLASS SALES FORCES ARE AS CONCERNED ABOUT CULTURAL FIT AS THEY ARE ABOUT
THE POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESS

N owhere in an organization is there
more of a ‘show me the money’
emphasis than in the sales organization.
companies want to hire a salesperson they
believe will show them the money.

Most salespeople have quotas and other Of course, world class sales forces also
financial goals, and their compensation prefer a candidate with a history of success,
and recognition are usually perfectly corre- but they put the candidate’s selling ability
lated to their achievement of those objec- in a larger and less quantifiable context.
tives. Success is defined in a very simple The sales forces that achieve world class
fashion – the more you sell, the better you status are obsessed with finding individuals
are as a salesperson. who fit their culture, not just their quota.
In fact, not one of this year’s winners cited
That same mentality also exists in the a candidate’s track record as a key selec-
recruiting and selection process. A candi- tion criterion, yet each of them noted the
date that can point to a track record of importance of a cultural fit. World class
high productivity and quota-busting sales forces do have different cultures and
performance is a highly desirable recruit. different means of testing for fit, but each
A candidate with less quantifiable success company views cultural alignment as the
is no doubt a second-tier recruit. Put final litmus test of a candidate’s desirabil-
simply, if a person has sold a lot in the ity.
past, recruiters believe they will sell a lot in
the future. More than anything else, most


Wc sales research

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