selling & sales management in the future
DESCRIPTION
Selling the Future Prof Deva Rangarajan Just when companies were able to convince their salespeople about selling solutions, a recent study pointed out to the fact that solution selling was dead. This combined with the research on procurement professionals that suggests that face to face transactional selling was a waste of time indicates that sales organizations need to rethink their approach towards equipping their sales force with the right tools to be successful. In this session we will focus on tactics used by successful salespeople.TRANSCRIPT
PROFESSIONAL SELLING AND SALES MANAGEMENT
PROF DR DEVA RANGARAJAN
Reflection
WHAT IS SALES FORCE EFFECTIVENESS?
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$800 BN VS $200 BN
120 VS GREATER THAN 500
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OBJECTIVE
Identify some general trends in sales force management
How are companies trying to deal with generating growth using the sales force.
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Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan5 © Vlerick Business School
THE SELLING WORLD
Source: Zoltners et al., Building a winning sales team, 2009
Company
Companystrategy
Marketing andsales strategy
Sales force
Environment
Customers
Competition
Results• Customer• Company
Externalforces
Sales system
Effectiveness hunt
• Company goals and objectives• Mergers and
acquisitions• Product
portfolio strategy
• Market segmentation• Value
proposition• Sales process• Go-to-market
strategy
• Market segmentation• Value
proposition• Sales process• Go-to-market
strategy
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INSIGHTS: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Six things keeping sales executives up at night:
Source: Neil Rackham session at the Global Sales Science Institute meet- Milan 2011
1. The end of the “better mouse-trap” model
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1. MOVE TOWARDS SOLUTIONS
The move towards solution selling
Easier said than done:
1.Resistance to change
2.Silo Mentality
3.New capabilities and skills needed
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INSIGHTS: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Six things keeping sales executives up at night:
Source: Neil Rackham session at the Global Sales Science Institute meet- Milan 2011
2. The death of F2F transactional selling
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Transactional selling
Enterprise selling
Consultative selling
2. FACE TO FACE SELLING?
Transactional selling
Consultative selling
PAST PRESENT
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INSIGHTS: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Six things keeping sales executives up at night:
Source: Neil Rackham session at the Global Sales Science Institute meet- Milan 2011
3. Unsustainable hybrid sales force
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3. HYBRID SALES FORCE
“Why should my salespeople be taking business away from small stores while they should be robbing banks” adapted from a quote by Larry Ellison- CEO, ORACLE
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INSIGHTS: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Six things keeping sales executives up at night:
Source: Neil Rackham session at the Global Sales Science Institute meet- Milan 2011
4. The ever extending sales cycle
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4. EVER EXTENDING SALES LIFE CYCLE
More complex products/service offerings
More members in the customer organization involved in the decision making
Rise of the global customer/shared alliances
Need to invest early in the sales cycle
Creates more stress on salespeople and other functions internally: production, operations, finance
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INSIGHTS: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Six things keeping sales executives up at night:
Source: Neil Rackham session at the Global Sales Science Institute meet- Milan 2011
5. The decline of RFP selling
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5. THE PROBLEM WITH RFP/RFQ SELLING
The problem with RFP/RFQ selling today is that at this stage, value creation opportunity is limited
80% of the decision has been made
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INSIGHTS: EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
Six things keeping sales executives up at night:
Source: Neil Rackham session at the Global Sales Science Institute meet- Milan 2011
6. Skyrocketing costs of chasing an opportunity
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6. SKYROCKETING COST OF CHASING AN OPPORTUNITY
Do you know what it costs you to chase an opportunity?
How can you be sure that your customer will end up buying from you after all the effort you put into chasing an opportunity?
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan18 © Vlerick Business School
THE SELLING WORLD
Source: Zoltners et al., Building a winning sales team, 2009
Company
Companystrategy
Marketing andsales strategy
Sales force
Environment
Customers
Competition
Results• Customer• Company
Externalforces
Sales system
Effectiveness hunt
• Company goals and objectives• Mergers and
acquisitions• Product
portfolio strategy
• Market segmentation• Value
proposition• Sales process• Go-to-market
strategy
• Market segmentation• Value
proposition• Sales process• Go-to-market
strategy
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan19 © Vlerick Business School
FIVE STRATEGIES FOR SALES GROWTH
Find growth before competitors do
Sell the way your customers want
Soup up your sales engine
Focus on your people
Lead sales growth
Source: Sales Growth: Five Proven Strategies from the World’s Sales Leaders by Thomas Baumgartner, Homayoun Hatami, and Jon Vander Ark
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan20 © Vlerick Business School
1. FIND GROWTH BEFORE YOUR COMPETITORS
Look 10 quarters ahead
Mine growth beneath the surface
Use big data
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan21 © Vlerick Business School
2. SELL THE WAY YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT
Master multi-channel sales
Power growth through digital channels
Involve sales early with the customers
Invest in partners for mutual benefit
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan22 © Vlerick Business School
3&4. SOUP UP YOUR SALES ENGINE
Company results
Sales force structure and
roles
Customer results
ActivitiesSalespeople
Definers Shapers Exciters Enlighteners Controllers
The Sales force effectiveness drivers
The Sales SystemForces outside the Sales
System
Company factors- R&D- Operations- Finance- Marketing- Product
offering- Pricing- Services- Channel- Strategy
Environment- Market growth- Competition- Consolidation- Government- Technology- Random
Shocks
Source: « Sales Force Effectiveness : A Framework for researchers and practitioners » by Andris Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha and Sally Lorimer, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Spring 2008
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SALES FORCE EFFECTIVENESS DRIVERS
Shapers
- Recruiting- Training- Coaching- Culture formation- Compensation
Enlighteners
- Customer Research- Targeting- Data and tools- Customer relationship management systems
Exciters
- Leadership- Compensation- Motivation programs- Meaningful work
Controllers
- Performance Management- Coordination systems- Vertical and horizontal communication- Compensation
Definers
- Sales strategy - Customer segmentation - Customer offering - Sales process- Go-to-market strategy- Sales force design - Structure and roles - Size - Territory alignment
- Skills- Capabilities- Values
- Customer insight
- Inspiration- Motivation
- Expectations- Success measures
- Roles- Territories- Selling Process
Impact
ImpactThe Sales job The Salesperson
Salesperson / activity
Source: « The Sales Force as an engine of organic growth » by Bernard Quancard and Andris Zoltners, Velocity 2009
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5. LEAD SALES GROWTH
Lead from the top
Create a continuous learning environment
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CONCLUSIONS
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Company
results
Sales force structure and
roles
Customer resultsActivities
Salespeople
Definers ShapersExciter
sEnlighten
ersControlle
rs
The Sales force effectiveness drivers
The Sales System
IMPLEMENTATION VS. DIAGNOSIS
Source: « Sales Force Effectiveness : A Framework for researchers and practitioners » by Andris Zoltners, Prabhakant Sinha and Sally Lorimer, Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management, Spring 2008
Implementation
Diagnosis
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SET UP A BALANCE SCORECARD TO PRIORITIZE
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Fix it. NOW. High five!
You can afford to procrastinate
There are bigger fish to fry
Impact of the drivers on
performance
Current performance on the driversLOW HIGH
LOW
HIGH
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SUGGESTIONS
Over resource the best opportunities
Take opportunity selection out of the hands of the salespeople
Involve marketing and marketing tools in opportunity selection
Push transactional opportunities to cheaper channels
Develop clear strategies to manage channels
Upgrade the consultative selling effort
Equip your sales managers to deal with managing the sales force during this transition
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan29 © Vlerick Business School
CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS
Key Account Effectiveness: focus groups with Deloitte
Characteristics of Successful Salespeople: IBM faculty research grant
Drivers of sales force effectiveness: CPI Consulting
Prof Dr Deva Rangarajan30 © Vlerick Business School
FEEL LIKE SOME MORE?
Executive Master Class in B2B Marketing & Sales (start 20 February 2013)
Negotiating to Create Value (start 24 April 2013)
