The principal issue facing the sales function is the effectiveness of their sales team. Sales territories have to be covered systematically, customer portfolios must be balanced, action plans should support the business unit sales strategy, and sales managers need tools to develop teams of sales professionals and their performances. All of these must be kept simple and very practical, aligned with day-to-day business realities, customer profiles / expectations and company sales culture.
In today’s highly competitive markets, Boards of Directors and Executive Committee of the business unit are increasingly looking to their sales and marketing colleagues for proof that their strategies and expenditure will result in sales and increased profits. Accordingly, sales teams and their activities need to be effective.
The Sales Diagnostic is a detailed, 360°, targeted assessment of your sales organization, along 20+ sales performance indicators grouped in four key areas:
a. strategy;
b. organization;
c. field activities; and
d. management.
The outcome of such diagnostic is a detailed action plan about:
a) growth & performance “reservoirs;”
b) areas of improvements; and
c) priorities and “quick wins.”
The Sales Diagnostic is the foundation of a good sales effectiveness program. Such a program can then utilize the diagnostic results to achieve a notable sales uplift in portfolio and territory management, sales action plans, KPIs, bonus scheme, sales training and other sales performance indicators.
The CEO and the Executive Committee, together with a small number of colleagues in sales, should be involved in a half- day workshop, to conduct a preliminary self-assessment of the sales function in the organization. Typically, this workshop is followed by the comprehensive sales diagnostic conducted in the field with the support of our sales consultants. Our engagement with client organizations and businesses typically results in tangible outcomes, such as increased quality and number of visits, new customers and/or an increase in net profits of up to 10%.
About Malcolm McDonald Consulting
The duration of the sales diagnostic in the marketplace can range from one to three weeks spent with the sales team and customers; it depends on the scope of the operations and size of the team. The fees for the workshop and diagnostic would reflect the time and effort required for customisation and pre planning work.
Two Action Points
Assess the need in your team and business unit, in current business context.
- Action: Meet formally and informally with peers and key decision makers inside your organization, and discuss issues faced in the sales organisation, as well as in related marketing initiatives.
Assess the nature of the support you may need in order to address some key issues identified internally.
- Action: Meet our senior sales consultants to introduce the sales indicators and diagnostic approach; arrange the preliminary self-assessment workshop with the Board/ExCom.